What is Iranak?

Iranak means kids’ Iran. Iranak is the link between Iranian children’s culture and literature and the era of information and communication.

Iranak is the name of a series of information and communication data bases which are a part of the strategic mission of The Institute for Research on the History of Children’s Literature of Iran (IRHCHI). They are:

• Iranak-Bank A children’s culture & literature databank

• Iranak-Museum A children’s culture & literature virtual museum

• Iranak-Portal A connection portal between children’s literature and the Internet highway

• Iranak-Library An electronic and virtual library of Iranian children’s literature

• Iranak-Letter A news and research journal on Iranian children’s literature

In the strategic missions of The Institute for Research on the History of Children’s Literature of Iran, historical research is mixed with the informational technology of the future. Accordingly, the first children’s culture and literature databank—Iranak—is preparing to come online.

What kind of bank is Iranak-Bank?

Iranak-Bank is the first databank in Iran which gives the public access to complete and extensive information on children’s life, education, health, art and literature. Iranak-Bank is based on information which is gathered and prepared by IRHCHI. After a decade of extensive research on the history of Iranian children’s literature, IRHCLI has gathered thousands of documents and data in different fields of Iranian children and young adults’ lives. On the basis of this data, IRHCLI has published seven volumes of a ten-volume series called The History of Children’s Literature in Iran. At the end of this national research project, IRHCLI has started establishing Iranak-Bank to make its extensive repository of data available in two languages, Persian and English, to those who are interested around the world.

Establishing Iranak-Bank is a promising new period in the development of Iranian children’s culture and literature because it links it with the digital era and makes it accessible to a wide audience.

 How Extensive is the Information?

The information included in Iranak-Bank will cover an extensive range of subjects from ancient times to the modern era and will cover the childhood from birth to the end of adolescent period. Topics will include children’s health, children’s rights, games and entertainment, child labor and children’s art and literature.

The information sources are categorized to primary sources which are for children and secondary sources which are about children. The scope of subjects include: the history of children’s literature, oral literature (folktales, lullabies, fables), written literature, the knowledge of characters, the children’s literature of the world and Iran. The scope of the related subjects include: Education, games and entertainments, Printing and publishing, biographies, the information technology centers, educational centers, children’s cultural centers.

There are thousands documents in every mentioned category. Descriptive and analytical information is stored according to the international standards of librarianship and information science and made available for public access in 14 databases:

14 Databases of Iranak:

1. Books (Manuscript, Lithography, usual printing: primary and secondary sources)

2. Articles (primary and secondary sources)

3. Publications (primary and secondary sources)

4. Dissertations

5. Documents

6. Reports, research projects, pamphlets, brochures

7. Book/publication illustrations (primary sources)

8. Pictures 

9. Biographies

10. Organizations

11. Children’s rights

12. Literature/Art awards (Prizes)

13. Publishers

14. Thesaurus

 Who Are the Target Audiences?

The audiences for Iranak-Bank are researchers, authors, illustrators, librarians, reading promoters, educators, students and anyone who is interested in education and children’s literature. Iranak is not only for Iranians all over world, but for all Persian-language people and for all researchers.

What are the Uses for Iranak-Bank?

1. Access to extensive and various information in one place

2. Access to information, any time, any place

3. Access to authentic and reliable data

4. Easy and methodical retrieval of information for audiences with different levels of knowledge.

 What are the Features of Iranak-Bank?

• Creating connections between 14 databases for complex searches

• Presenting categorized information

• Illustrated databases

• Online ordering

• Consistent bilateral connection between the information base and users

 Iranak-Bank Needs Your Support:

• If you have any information that is not included in Iranak-Bank, you can transfer it to the databank to help complete the first database for children’s culture and literature.

• Iranak-Bank is just beginning. To extend its work, it needs financial supporters. The name of supporters will be cited on the Iranak-Bank site.