Speaking in a ceremony in the Organization of Libraries, Museums and Documents, head of Manuscripts Center of Imam Reza shrine, Abolfazl Hassan Abadi, talked about the 40-year-long history of the ‘Oral Hisotry’ project, referring to the shrine’s prominence in that regard.

“The central library of the shrine has the most documented history in the past 500 years”, said he.

Elsewhere in the event, Shokouh Sadat Sami’ee, a cataloguing expert, provided a brief history of the central library, pointing to the formation of the ‘Oral History’ section in the center in 1998, which was aimed at recording personal information and fragmented interviews with the staff in the central library.

 “The interviews with male personnel kick-started as a part Oral History of the central library in 2005, and proceeded until 2006. During this period, 65 retired staff of the library were interviewed”, noted she.

Head of the research section, Zahra Tala’ee, also said: “We’re witnessing that a greater number of women are involved in different professional levels in society as well as in the shrine after the 1979 Islamic Revolution”.

“Documenting this post-Revolution rise in women’s number is a subject for research; that is, how the Revolution helped women have a better understanding of their capabilities and fulfill them”, added she.

The Organization of Libraries, Museums and Documents of Imam Reza shrine is one of the major cultural centers in Iran and Islamic world with over 31 million references, which dates back to the 4th century AH.