Examining the Condition of the Manuscript Sections of the Libraries of Sabzevar's Fakhriya and Fasihiya Seminaries

The present research is intended to introduce and examine the condition of the manuscripts preserved in Sabzevar seminary. The research limits are the electronic archives and the repositories of two libraries of Fakhriya and Fasihiya seminaries.

Research Method/Approach: 

The present research is conducted by the tool of document-library collection and descriptive-analytical method and with an approach based on the tool of observing the original work.

The findings showed that more than two hundred volumes of manuscripts, with an antiquity of three hundred and fifty years, and more than one thousand volumes of lithographs are preserved in these libraries with no temperature, light and humidity control systems and even without any shelving, which are not catalogued either. An electronic archive has been prepared for all manuscripts with the cooperation of Astan Quds Razavi and Hakim Sabzevari University and the office of the reverend prayer leader of Sabzevar. However, no action has been taken so far concerning the lithographic manuscripts. Asking for the permission and consent of endowment trustee of these works, the high expenses of restoration and reconstruction, the need for a specialized librarian, and inappropriate storage place are among the most important challenges. According to the field observation, there are valuable and exquisite works in these small libraries, but the condition of preservation, management, and accessibility of people to manuscripts and lithographs in Fasihiya and Fakhriya libraries is not suitable and requires more attention from the authorities.