Speaking in an interview during Book and Book-Reading Week in Iran, Ms. Bibi Sakineh Alavifar stated: “Currently, some 123,000 books in 92 spoken languages (excluding Persian and Arabic) are available to scholars and researchers in this hall”.

She pointed to the Quranic translations in 79 languages in the section, saying, “The available books and Quranic copies are in various languages, including English, French, Russian, Urdu, German, Turkish, Tajik, Italian, Sindhi, etc.”.

The head of the specialized foreign books hall further added that the hall contains some 1,800 audiovisual materials related to language education at various levels for visitors to use.

The resources in this hall of AQR’s Central Library are divided into two groups: reference books and non-reference books. Reference materials include encyclopedias, dictionaries, thesauri, handbooks, atlases, etc., while non-reference books cover a wide range of subjects.

“The priority for purchasing foreign books is given to topics such as Islam, Iran, the Middle East, and humanities”, added Ms. Alavifar.

Detailing the services provided by the hall, she noted: “Library members can use the study and borrowing services. Visitors can also study the books available in the library repository on-site”.

She highlighted that there are more than 30,000 books in English, French, and Urdu in the borrowing section of the hall. “In the first seven months of this year, some 2,100 books were borrowed by library members, and around 1,400 books were studied on-site by visitors”.

She further said that copying or scanning of resources are coordinated with the hall's experts after filling in the relevant forms or via the digital library's website.

Additionally, the hall is ready to collaborate with linguists as part-time assistants and researchers of valuable books in German, Russian, etc.

Currently, the specialized foreign books hall at AQR’s Central Library is open daily except on holidays, from 7:30 AM to 1:30 PM (until 12:30 PM on Thursdays). It is located on the ground floor of the library in Sheikh Tousi Complex, in Imam Reza shrine (northeast Iran).