TEHRAN- The Secretary General of the Iran Public Libraries Foundation of Iran announced that the enemy has inflicted damage on 55 libraries, two of which have been completely destroyed.

During a field visit to the site of the destroyed Seyyed al-Shuhada Library in Zanjan, which was hit by missile attacks from the US and Zionist regime, Azadeh Nazarboland stated: "Since the onset of the criminal attacks by the US and Zionist regime on our country, 55 libraries have suffered damage, and many of their books have been lost."

She noted that among these, two libraries in Zanjan and Ilam provinces have been entirely destroyed. "The Dehloran Border Guard Library in Ilam province and the Seyyed al-Shuhada Library in Zanjan have been 100 percent destroyed," she emphasized, Mehr reported on Sunday. 

She lamented that unfortunately, nothing remains of the structure, shelves, or books in the Seyyed al-Shuhada Library in Zanjan. "This library had a footprint of 1,000 square meters and housed over 35,000 volumes of books."

She reiterated that culture will not be halted by such destruction, and this library will be fully reconstructed using cultural, national, and patriotic resources, with library services reinstated.

Nazarboland urged international cultural organizations, scientific unions, and professional associations of librarians across the country to firmly condemn these attacks, stating: "Attacking cultural, scientific, and educational infrastructure is essentially an assault on the generational identity and written culture of a nation."

She concluded by affirming that with all the cultural and specialized capacities at our disposal, we will rebuild the library. "Some of the books in this library were unique and may not be replaceable; however, other resources will be substituted."

SAB/