The Central Library of Kharazmi University was established in 1932, during the presidency of Dr. Issa Seddigh at the Central Teachers College (Dar al-Moallemin-e Markazi). Its origins can be traced to the library of the Faculty of Literature at the University of Tehran, which operated under the name of the Higher Teachers College (Daneshsara-ye Ali).
 

In 1963, the university's Central Library was relocated to the university's present site. Until 2000, the Central Library in Tehran, together with the university's affiliated faculty libraries, held a collection of more than 90,000 volumes, of which printed catalog cards had been prepared for approximately 75,000 volumes. At that time, the circulation system was entirely manual and relied on traditional card catalogs. Furthermore, the Central Library in Karaj lacked a dedicated and suitable space and underwent several relocations and organizational changes over the years.

The collection of books held in Karaj consisted primarily of six categories:

1. Books transferred from the Pars Higher Education School Library.

2. Books belonging to the Higher School of Physical Education.

3. Books from the Physical Education Library.

4. Books from the Library of the Revolutionary Guards.

5. Books transferred between the Central Library in Tehran and the Hesarak campus.

6. Books acquired through purchases over the years.

These six collections had been registered and cataloged using different methods, without a consistent and standardized cataloging framework. To address this issue, a proposal was submitted to the then Vice President for Research to replace the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) system with the Library of Congress Classification (LCC) system. Following this proposal, the transition to the new classification system was implemented between 2001 and 2003.

In 2015, following the merger of the University of Economic Sciences with Kharazmi University, three faculty libraries—Finance, Economics, and Management—were added to the university's network of affiliated libraries.

With the inauguration of the new Central Library building in Karaj, the consolidation of faculty libraries was completed in 2017.

Recognizing the importance of collecting, organizing, preserving, and providing access to the historical and institutional records of this long-established university, the Documentation Center began its activities in 2022. The Museum joined the complex in 2023, and the institution has since continued to expand its activities and services through an integrated range of library, museum, and archival services.

Current Collections and Resources

At present, the Museum and Documentation Center, along with part of the Central Library's collections, operate across the university's Tehran and Karaj campuses.

This rich academic and cultural institution currently holds the following collections and resources:

• More than 314,000 Persian and Latin-language book volumes;

• Over 21,000 thesis and dissertation titles;

• 3,000 full-text electronic books in Latin languages;

• 1,200 audiobooks;

• 850 internal and external research project records;

• 800 historical documents;

• 153 manuscripts;

• 497 museum objects.

Notable Figures and Former Directors

One of the distinguished highlights in the history of this institution is the association of the renowned contemporary Iranian poet Parvin Etesami with the library. She served as its director from 1936 to 1937.

The following individuals have also served as directors of the institution over the years:

• Mohammad Javad Mashkoor (1962–1970)

• Parvin Soleimani (1970–1976)

• Parvin Sadr-Seghath Eslami (1976–1997)

• Siamak Arab (1997–1999)

• Mahmoud Fotouhi (2000–2002)

• Bahador Bagheri (2002–2005)

• Fouad Pourarian (2005–2007)

• Hassan Afrakhteh (2007–2011)

• Yazdan Mansourian (2011–2013)

• Nosrat Riyahinia (2013–2014)

• Yazdan Mansourian (2014–2016)

• Dariush Alimohammadi (2016–2019)

• Majid Afshari Rad (2019–2021)

• Ahmadreza Bordbar (2021–2024)

• Somayeh Sadat Akhshik (2024–Present)