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THE CENTRAL LIBRARY

 

History of Central Library:

As the development of libraries gives quality to academic activities, Jundishapur University of Ahvaz attempted to enrich its library treasuries and establish new independent libraries in different units of the university. Therefore, in 1973, in an iconic attempt, a 15000 square meter Central Library was constructed in 4 floors inside the campus. At first, 300000 volumes could be placed in the treasury which could increase up to half a million. In this building, the study site was designed for over 2,500 visitors (at a time), and the architectural style of the Central Library has been unique in the Middle East, and the only similar building in the world could be found in Paris. The library is known as the Rose Building since it is designed in the shape of a flower.

In 1975, the central library was established on the second floor of the faculty of science. The center of university's documents and statistics was founded in the next year, 1976, the first statistics of a complete list of available documents was published. Moreover, since 1976 this center has attempted to buy both the most recent books and magazines, and the old ones as well as buying references and English books to enrich its treasury. With this capacity, the center is considered as one of the most important sections of the central library which includes many documents, pictures, rare books, and many more valuable documents that narrate the history of Iran, especially Khozestan's province. In fact, this center was established to serve the needs of students and researchers who are interested in sociopolitical and economic issues of the country.

As a need for implementing a library system was felt, Center for Documentation and Books (the Center for Library Sciences) was established in 1976 which supervised all the libraries in different faculties. In fact, this center became the scientific symbol of the university where members could study, do research, and give lectures. Having a proper management was another necessity for this university which led to the establishment of a graduate librarianship course. In this regard, the first entrance exam was administered in 1977 which led to the admission of 12 students out of 69. In 1977, the Central Library's treasury included 5648 books in English and 5122 in Persian. In the same year, the Center for Documentation and Books of the University had 18 libraries, all of which were governed by those libraries. Jundi Shapour University libraries are affiliated with the Center of Documents and Books and have the latest scientific books in English and Persian, where the famous scientific and literary journals in Iran and the world are accessible.

In 1981, the Center for Khuzestan Studies and Research began its activities in the documents section. When Iran–Iraq War began, there was a need for resettling forces in the university campus, the unfinished building of the central library was at the disposal of the army. Therefore, the Central Library of Shahid Chamran University was located in the Faculty of Sciences until 1990, after which it was temporarily transferred to the Faculty of Engineering. By the end of the war and the evacuation of the university, the building completion project started from 1992 and finished in 2000.

In 2005, the library of the Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences was merged into the central library complex, and in the year 2010, the library of the Faculty of Engineering was transferred to the Central Library and was merged into the core library. Currently, four decades has passed since the establishment of the Central Library and Documentation Center with its twelve satellite libraries, and today this academic center is considered as one of the largest university libraries in the southwest of Iran.