ABSTRACT
The library is basically the place where the books are stored, but it also serves as a scriptorium. It is found in shrines, in khaneqah and in palaces. The library is one of the treasures of the palace. Like the workshops, it follows the movements of the court, and it is jealously guarded. The houses of the nobles also had libraries. The librarian is sometimes an artist, sometimes an “administrator”. If he is an artist, he will look after both the artistic management of the production of the workshops and the management and maintenance of the books. The colophons or the marginal notes on manuscripts sometimes give information about the cost price of the books. Bodaq-e Qazvini (984/1576) provides some interesting information about the cost of both manuscripts and qat‘e made by renowned calligraphers.
