According to the Statutes of the National Library and Archives of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the National Library is an educational, research, and service institution. In line with this definition, the library undertakes the following duties:
Collection: Based on its legal duties, the National Library is required to collect and preserve resources with the following specifications:
All written and non-written works published inside the country, including books, magazines, pamphlets, newsletters, posters, maps, audio and video tapes, digital documents, and similar materials.
Works published outside Iran in the field of Iranian and Islamic studies in non-Persian languages, especially English and Arabic, as well as all works published in the Persian language.
Reference and authoritative resources in subjects in non-Persian languages, particularly English and Arabic.
Organization: To fulfill this responsibility, various tasks such as cataloging, classification, indexing, and abstracting are performed in accordance with international standards.
Since 1998, all publishers are required to submit pre-publication cataloging (FIPA) for books.
In addition, the library is responsible for assigning the International Standard Reference Number (ISSN) and the International Standard Book Number (ISBN) to applicants.
Dissemination of information: The main activities of the National Library in this area are as follows:
Providing a variety of information services to library users.
Publishing a wide range of resources in subjects such as library and information science, manuscripts, bibliographies, Iranology, Islamology, and providing the necessary tools and standards for libraries and related topics.
Offering two major databases: “National Bibliography of Iran” and “National Index of Iran” in printed and CD formats.
Launching of the National Library’s website at www.nlai.ir, offering bibliographic information on various resources and works that have been organized by the National Library.
Research: Research in the National Library is carried out to enhance and improve the field of information science in the country. Some of its research activities are as follows:
Development guidelines and standards for all types of libraries and information centers, including standards for university libraries, specialized libraries, school libraries, prison libraries, the Iranian Library Guides, and similar resources.
Creating, developing, and authoring the necessary tools and resources to facilitate activities in the field of information science and knowledge studies, such as the development of Persian subject headings, a list of distinguished individuals, the three-language thesaurus (Asfa), Iran’s Mark, an expanding classification system related to Iran’s language, literature and history, Islam, philosophy, law, and similar subjects in both the Library of Congress and Dewey classification systems.
Conducting applied and fundamental research and supporting research in the fields of information science, philology, Iranology, and Islamology. These research projects are implemented after approval by the Research Council.
In addition to the mentioned research activities, due to the nature and research mission of the organization, research is also conducted in other sectors.
Education: In the 1990s with the establishment of the Higher Education Center for Library Science at the associate and bachelor levels, students began their studies in Library and Information Science. In-service training for the National Library staff and librarians from other organizations has been another important educational program carried out.