The status of academic publications and their scientific output, setting up specialized exhibitions for academic books and financial and intellectual support to their publishers, as well as taking advantage of the facilities and potentials at Iran Book House Institute, were topics of discussion at a meeting on Tuesday.
The Iranian Association of Academic Publishers (IRAAP) organized the meeting in coordination with the Iran Book House Institute at the institute premises on Tehran’s Enqelab Avenue.
“Academic publications in Iran go back to 1851, when Dar ul-Funun, the country’s first modern university and institution of higher learning was established,” said Majid Gholami Jalisseh, managing director of the book institute.
He emphasized the role of academic publication in development of cultural, political and economic areas. “Academic publications bring knowledge and maturity to the society.”
In developed countries, academic works constitute the biggest portion of published books. In these countries, academic publications are the second most in demand after fiction and novels.
“Therefore, this section of the publishing industry in Iran deserves special attention,” he said.
“Unfortunately, we haven’t taken academic publications very seriously after the 1979 Islamic Revolution,” he said, referring to the barely six exhibitions of academic publications over 37 years.
But, in a series of meetings with the Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution and in line with the National Vision 2025, “it was decided to promote development of academic publications.”
He also regretted that academic publishers do not have a fair share of subsidies, due to “a short-sighted “approach of some senior managers.
The book institute has an infrastructure capable of hosting an online exhibition of academic publications. The publishers can use the infrastructure and send their books online to all parts of the country, said Jalisseh.
He proposed an electronic book exhibition between September 5 and October 6, and said the institute could provide the platform to represent and register academic publishers at various book fairs.
The IRAAP members present were Mohammad Taqi Erfanpour, Mojtaba Taleqani, Mehdi Sadeqi and Morteza Zeynali.
