Education for librarianship in Iran before the 1979 Islamic Revolution: A historical review of American roles and influences

Purpose – To record and evaluate the impact of the American contribution to Iranian librarianship education. Design/methodology/approach – Describes how American support created modern librarianship in Iran, thanks to a range of initiatives such as the American development foundations and programs, and the Fulbright Program, which helped the country to renovate its higher education. Reviews the advantages and disadvantages of the American model of education for librarianship, which was implemented by a number of Iranian universities. This paper also describes how American library educators were influential in the creation of some major professional library organizations such as the Tehran Book Processing Centre (TEBROC), the Iranian Documentation Centre (IRANDOC) and the Iranian Library Association (ILA). Findings – Concludes that, despite the fact that modern librarianship in Iran came to life after the Second World War due to American assistance, the major shortcomings of the American model of library education in Iran led to lack of creativity in Iranian students, lack of independent research capability, and lack of integration between what students learned and what the Iranian library profession actually needed. Research limitations/implications – Establishes the context of influence behind the growth of Iranian library science education, which can inform further research on such cultural impacts. Practical implications – Since many other countries have based LIS education on an American model, they may find some similarities in the discussions in this paper with their own case