The Calgary Persian Library opened at the University of Calgary last on January 24 in the Women’s Resource Centre, giving Iranians in Calgary an opportunity to access Persian literature and culture.
“The number of Iranian people in Calgary is rising over time, and we realized that there is not a lot of Persian literature that is available,” said Somayeh Goodarzi, a coordinator of the new library. “So bringing in Persian books here basically helps Iranians keep that connection to literature and culture.”
According to Neda Moazen, another coordinator, a lot of time was spent gathering money, donations and resources to ensure that building a library was possible.
Also, the coordinators thought it was significant to create a place for Iranians to gather and learn.
“We were thinking about creating an environment for Iranian people to come together,” said Moazen. “It is very important to give our future generations this opportunity.”
The library includes several books and journals, in which Moazen says is important in maintaining knowledge of the Persian home language.
The library will be open on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at the wrc.