Iran throws open Book Garden, possibly world’s largest library

For those who thought Iran was like some other Islamic countries that discourage literature and the arts, here's an eye-opener: officials unveiled the Book Garden - possibly the world's largest library - in a giant academic complex on Wednesday.

At roughly 65,000 sq metres, the centre has apart from the library several movie theatres, science halls, classrooms, a restaurant, a prayer room and whole a lot of literature. On its roof is a green park area for reading.

The centre aims to encourage Iranian children to be ''active and creative through modern methods and equipment'', as Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani said earlier this week.

''The opening of the Book Garden is a big cultural event in the country, so that our children can make better use of this cultural and academic opportunity,'' Tehran Mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf added, according to a Mehr News Agency report.

It was a long time coming. The idea for the Book Garden was first pitched in 2004 as a way to cater year-round for fans of the city's annual International Book Fair round. Construction on the centre wrapped up last spring, and organizers spent the past few months stocking it with books. More than 400,000 titles are available for kids alone. One part of the centre even has shorter shelves so youth can reach books better.

Iran has censored its literature for years, making publishers submit their books to the government so it can check for inappropriate content before publication. As such, a number of works have been banned, among them acknowledged classics like James Joyce's Ulysses, along with bestsellers like Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code and Tracy Chevalier's Girl With a Pearl Earring, Newsweek reported. In addition, authors have been asked to avoid using terms like kiss, wine, drunk, dog and dance, according to The Guardian.

"Those responsible in the book industry should not let harmful books enter our book market on the basis that we let [readers] choose [what they want to read]," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in 2011. "Like poisonous, dangerous and addictive drugs which are not available for everyone without restrictions … as a publisher, librarian or an official in the book industry, we don't have the right to make [such books] available to those without knowledge."

There are some indications the policies have recently relaxed under President Hassan Rouhani, but some books are still on the blacklist, according to the Financial Times. Others are being sold underground.

The Book Garden may increase availability, but whether it was officially the largest bookshop wasn't immediately clear.

According to the Guinness World Records team, the biggest individual bookstore since 1999 had been the Barnes & Noble along Fifth Avenue in New York City,which shut in 2014. It was about 154,000 square feet and includes more than 12 miles of shelves.