For the service of researchers and scientific research, the al-Abbas's (p) Holy Shrine provides a database of Iraqi authors and their publications for the first time in Iraq.

The Indexing and Information Systems Center of the Library and Manuscripts House at the al-Abbas's (p) Holy Shrine, launched its national project "The reference file of the Iraqi authors" within an integrated database that makes it easy for the researcher to perform easily the research in a short time.

Mr. Hasanein al-Musawi; head of the Indexing and Information Systems Center stated to Al-Kafeel Network about this project, the following: "The project is being implemented for the first time in Iraq, and is one of the most important tools that regulate and codify the names of people in the library catalogues. There was a need for a reference list for Iraqi authors to provide a unified database by the name of the author or the book, in addition to the addresses and places of their presence in Iraqi libraries, making it easier for the researcher to find his sources in the following link:http://afiqa.net/ "

The database project includes:

- A form to be filled by the author and send to the Center in order to control the names of authors.

- The authors' names are limited in regard of their writings, as the authors' work is one of the main sources used in the documentation of authoritative names, in addition to other sources such as catalogues, translation sources, websites and other sources of information.

- Addressing the authors when there is a lack or an error in the data required for the registration by telephone or e-mail.

- If the author is dead, the form can be filled out by his children or his close relatives and sent to the website of the Iraqi authors.

- Conducting an investigation and standardization of records according to the rules of cataloguing, especially the modern cataloguing rules (RDA) for adoption as a reference record.

- Dependence on birth, death or activity for (religious scholars).



The benefits of the project are:

- Easy access to a unified name in libraries by providing a uniform list of names in a website.

- The database works as a link between different versions of authors' names through available references (see and see also) which facilitate the search.

- Service of researchers and beneficiaries through the control of registrations.

- The database works to reduce the cost of setup and maintenance, saving time and effort.

- It contributes to the creation of high quality indexes.

- It mentions the publications' titles of the Iraqi authors and determine their whereabouts in Iraqi libraries.

- Providing a map of the geographical locations of Iraqi libraries.