The essence and the necessity of the library

The necessity and importance of research in the field of Ashura and its related issues led Zeitoon Institute, as a non-governmental organization to provide the ground for activities to achieve this important goal. For this purpose, Imam Hussain (P.B.U.H) Digital Specialized Library has started its activity since 2014. The establishment of a specialized library, along with the activities of the Institute in the fields of research, social activities and me dia, seems to be important as well as necessary. This project is in the form of information support for scientific projects of the institute which need reliable, documented, up-to-date and available sources and information to extend their activities. The other case which shows the importance of the existence of Imam Hussein (P.B.U.H) specialized library is the effort Zeitoon is making to preserve Imam Hussain’s spiritual heritage by providing resources to interested audiences,. To this aim, the collection of valuable scientific resources is essential. The limited budgeting and funding on one hand, and the lack of a fixed sponsor on the other hand, has caused the present project to be implemented in several different phases while parallel phases may be defined if such problems are addressed properly. There are also conceivable goals in this regard that are examined in the long and short term.

Goals

Considering the importance of Imam Hussein (P.B.U.H) school of thought in Shiism, and the importance of Karbala incident in religious research, we decided to launch the first specialized library related to Imam Hussain (P.B.U.H).

To this aim, the library has to have strong relevant resources.

Long-term goals Focus on and preservation of works related to Imam Hussain (P.B.U.H)

Easy access to published works

Publishing new works

International activities

Short-term goals

Establishing the basic core of the library with available printed and electronic resources

Opening the Library

Initiating the process of users’ enrollment

Expanding the resources

Communication with related centers

Our services

Library activities generally involve providing resources and making them available. The following steps have been taken to achieve these goals:

Creating collections which includes preparing lists and purchasing resources based on the needs and demands of users.

• Mechanization of resources including cataloging and preparing indexes, abstracts and metadata for better access

• The borrowing section of the library, which includes printed materials and resources in the traditional section, and supports and educational services to users in the digital section,

Upcoming plans

Collections of resources to create the first and largest specialized library focusing on the subject of Imam Hussein (P.B.U.H)

Expansion of resources, communications, members and supporters, and library mechanization so that it can be claimed that everything on this subject has been collected and listed.