Information Organization in Iranian Libraries and Information Centers: Trends

Information organization (i.e., cataloging, classification, abstracting and indexing) is a crucial service in libraries and information centers. Modern and standard practices in this regard started around 1960s in Iran. This paper outlines the development of modern practices in information organization in Iran. It illustrates how Iranian libraries and information centers implement standard practices and organize information for easy access. A number of international standard tools for information organization, such as AACR, ISBD, LCC, DDC, LCSH and MESH have been modified to fulfill the needs of different types of libraries. The CIP project is successfully implemented nationwide and the Iranian National Bibliography is now a standard source available online and on disc. Furthermore, indexing and abstracting services in Iran benefit from standard practices. So far many general and subject thesauri have been developed and used in Iran. A major step towards information organization is the design and development of a considerable number of online and on disc databases by Iranian libraries and information centers. Teaching, research and publishing in information organization are flourishing due to the establishment of many library departments and schools during the last two decades.