The Private Sector of the Iranian Publishing Industry is Enhancing

1397/02/12-12:00

Books and Publishing must be considered as the main national and civic elements of a society as books are the very basis of a culture.
In the opening ceremony of the Thirty First Tehran International Book Fair, attended by a number of foreigner guests, Iranian literati and publishers, Seyyed Abbas Salehi also added, “Iran is the land of culture and literature and I welcome all the domestic and foreigner guests especially those from Serbia that is attending this edition of the TIBF as the Guest of Honor.” 
Then, emphasizing on the importance of books in the human life, Salehi added, “We must not see books just as a medium and something like a cultural vessel, but we must know that they make a very basis for each culture so that all components of a culture are connected to them and grow roots based on them.”
There is no cultural, art, or scientific area which is not fed by books and the TIBF belongs to all the people, literati, cultural figures etc. Books have been the sources of civic uprisings. Each nation starts a leap with new books. Even in the history of civilizations, humane progresses have been triggered with books. Books are the links that connect nations and civilizations to each other. It is through them that cultural exchanges are made possible. Iran is known by Saadi, Shahnameh and Hafez as we know other countries by their books. Books are perpetual assets. Mines are ephemeral while books remain forever. 
Then Salehi presented a statistical report on the publishing field during the last 40 years in Iran. He said, “During the last 40 years, the Islamic Republic of Iran has taken forward steps in various fields including the publishing industry. In this period, a total of 1,230,000 titles have been published among which 667,000 titles are first print books. 960,000 are original while 272,000 are translated books.”
The Iranian Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance emphasized that, “These figures show that Iran has travelled the path of culture making and science production as fast as possible. A considerable variety of subjects is observed in the last 40 years. In the field of literature, poetry, novels and playwriting, 256,000 have been printed during the last 40 years among which 145,000 are first print. This indicates that our country is still the land of poetry and storytelling, our people are in love with poems and pass their lives to the others with stories. In the field of children and young adults, 175,000 titles have been published and we have one of the greatest capacities in this area. Also, the private sector has been more active during these 40 years. It is more dynamic now, and the stream is enhancing.”
Pointing out to the per capita reading in Iran, he added, “To promote the per capita reading in Iran, all of us must work hard. This hard work is not limited to the publishers and the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance. All the government, people and the state are to help. Book reading is threatened by competing unrestrained media. And this must be considered closely. In order to promote the book reading rates, serious determination by other ministries such as Ministry of Education, Television, mass media etc. is necessary.”
Regarding the book reading crisis in Iran, Salehi continued, “The threat by this crisis shall not be considered any less than the water crisis. We must realize this threat and form a committee for that. In this regard, measures have been taken in the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, but a national determination is needed.”
He also emphasized on the continuation of safety in publishing and added, “Publishing is facing disturbances from both safety in distribution networks and freedom of thoughts. However, we support the freedom of thoughts and criticizing in the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance. This supporting and protecting roles need assistance from the government and state.”

Emphasizing on the issue of security in publishing and distribution networks, he said, “For instance, when gasoline or foreign currencies are smuggled out of the country, economic resources are plundered. But book smuggling, is plunder of thoughts and destroys them. Therefore, safety in publishing must be taken more seriously as publishers are not secure when the marauders of their products feel safe.”