The Library of Congress has maintained offices abroad since 1962 to acquire, catalog, preserve and distribute library and research materials from countries where such materials are essentially unavailable through conventional acquisitions methods such as book dealers. The Library currently has six regional offices -- in New Delhi, Cairo, Rio de Janeiro, Jakarta, Nairobi and Islamabad -- whose collective acquisitions effort covers more than 60 countries. Iran has not been a participant in this program, which benefits other libraries and research institutions across the United States as well as the Library of Congress, since the Islamic Revolution of 1978-1979.
More information on the Library's acquisitions from around the world under this program can be found on this Web page.
Efforts to reach out to major national libraries around the world -- to build collaborative initiatives to acquire and share digital collections -- has been one of Billington's priorities as Librarian of Congress. Starting in 1999 with a partnership with the Russian State Library and the National Library of Russia, the program has led to what is now called the Global Gateway Web site. It is a portal to the Library's international collections with links to information from other sources around the world. In addition to Russia, the site includes partnerships with the National Library of Spain, the National Library of Brazil and the National Library of the Netherlands.
An excellent source of information on Iran is the Library's Country Study volume on that nation. These Country Studies, from the Library's Federal Research Division, are comprehensive guides to more than 100 nations.
A. [Southside Street, Tehran(?), Iran], [1955]. Prints and Photographs Division. Reproduction information: Reproduction No.: LC-USZC4-2179 (color film copy transparency); Call No.: LOT 7631 [P&P]