The place of Waqf in weeding of written resources from the points of view of the great religious authorities (Maraji Taqlid) , legal sources and library managers

Abstract

Purpose: One of the most common problems with the waqf (endowed) books is their weeding. The present research, while identifying the problems of waqf books in libraries, aimed to present some solutions from the points of the view of the great religious authorities (Maraji Taqlid), legal sources and library managers regarding the weeding of waqf books. Methodology: The research was conducted through library and survey methods. Data were collected via library resources, questionnaires and interviews. The library resources were used for preparing the theoretical foundations, designing the questions and identifying the solutions in Iranian law. Interviews were applied to obtain expert opinions and a questionnaire was used for obtaining references from the great religious authorities. Findings: According to the research findings, between 5% up to 100% of the book collections of the reviewed libraries were waqf books. However, all library managers considered waqf and especially manuscripts and exquisite books good and useful, and 70% of them suggested that the acceptance of waqf books depended on the actual needs of the users. On the other hand, waqf books had imposed them some obstacles such as waqifs’ (founder’s) preconditions, duplication of resources, and the impossibility of weeding. As a result, there was a problem with the lack of space and the maintenance costs of the waqf books for the libraries. According to the experts, the great religious authorities (with the exception of Ayatollah Noori Hamedani) and Iranian law the waqf books could be weeded if they were damaged, but if they had the conditions of being used, they could be donated to other libraries.

Keywords

• waqf
• collection development
• book weeding
• book donation
• islamic libraries