Reflecting on Our Participation in MELA 2024

Reflecting on MELA 2024

We are grateful for the opportunity to participate in the Middle East Librarians Association (MELA) conference this year nov 7-9 2024, held at the Stanford Humanities Center in Palo Alto. Since 2019, our CEO and I have attended this important event, continuing a tradition built on over 20 years of experience by Mehdi Rahimzadeh in supporting libraries and fostering collaboration. However, recent years the activity and launch of continues development by Benjamin Rahimzadeh's general manager and his emerging relationships with deeper understanding of the ever changing ecommerce and specializer service and sophistication, competitivitiness and market expansion has shifted to a range of languages by the more global influential areas of Middle Eastern focused publications. The new catalog of publications and volume of sales has expanded significantly, since the paper monographs, magazines and journals published in Iran has a much smaller demand, and has shifted to a declining publishing industry.  


A Focus on Diversity and Shared Goals

This year’s MELA conference, held independently from MESA, brought a unique energy by:

  • Meeting many new librarians.
  • Fostering discussions on a wide range of important topics.
  • Seeing many libraries thrive in their R&D and historical evident based collections 

Key Conversations Included:

  • Preserving collections related to the Lebanese and Palestinian conflicts.
  • Addressing healthcare illiteracy among pregnant women in rural Iran.

These discussions reflect Ferdosi’s commitment to:

  • Promoting diversity.
  • Preserving underrepresented voices and histories.

Post-COVID Challenges and Achievements

The post-COVID landscape has posed significant challenges for libraries, including:

  • Shrinking budgets.
  • Inflationary pressures.
  • Increasing demands for digital transformation.

Ferdosi’s Response:

Despite these hurdles, Ferdosi has remained steadfast in its mission to support libraries worldwide by:

  • Curating and distributing diverse materials, from monographs to specialized newspapers and journals.
  • Strengthening relationships with institutions across the U.S., Western countries, and beyond.

Ferdosi: Bridging Academia and Publishing

Looking to the future, Ferdosi is thrilled to announce:

  • The launch of a new online book platform in Q1 2025.

This Initiative Aims To:

  • Streamline access to publications.
  • Foster diversity, innovation, and accessibility for scholars and consumers.

A significant part of this initiative includes:

  • Establishing a centralized data center to serve individuals, schools, and libraries globally.
  • Consolidating bibliographic and business needs.
  • Offering a wide range of publications.

By integrating resources into a cohesive system, Ferdosi aims to bridge cultural, linguistic, and institutional gaps in publishing and knowledge-sharing.


Looking Ahead with Purpose

We extend our heartfelt thanks to the organizers of MELA for hosting such a meaningful and impactful event at the Stanford Humanities Center. The conversations and connections made during the conference reaffirmed the importance of collaboration in ensuring libraries remain vibrant and accessible to all.

As we look ahead, Ferdosi is committed to:

  • Implementing insights from the conference to promote journals, books, and studies.
  • Contributing to greater understanding and diversity.

Our hope is to foster an environment of:

  • Friendship, trust, and shared purpose—whether through collaborations with publishers, libraries, or cultural institutions worldwide.

Ferdosi remains dedicated to:

  • Preserving knowledge.
  • Ensuring access to valuable collections for generations to come.

    From all of us at Ferdosi, thank you for supporting libraries and fostering knowledge-sharing. / B.R