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The performance context of medieval Arabic and Persian lyric poetry has yet to receive sufficient scholarly attention. This paper attempts to reconstruct the physical context of medieval Islamic poetic performance and (to a lesser extent) the social setting and human dynamics of such gatherings, with a view to enabling modern-day readers to better appreciate how contemporary audiences enjoyed and understood lyric poetry. This article focuses on the convivial majlis, the primary performance context for lyric poetry in both 'Abb&asline;sid Baghdad and medieval Iran (c.1000-1450), two key milieux in which lyric poetry flourished. Information on maj&asline;lis at which poetry was performed is scattered through a variety of medieval Arabic and Persian prose sources (primarily works of adab and histories), and is largely anecdotal. The poetry itself, insofar as it reflects the context in which it was performed, is also a valuable source of information which can aid our understanding of the medieval majlis. Reference has also been made to art historical studies inasmuch as they provide material evidence to further illustrate what is found in the written sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grey literature is an important source of information due to the uniqueness of the content that gets published. It provides information in emerging or less popular research areas. It seems that it reinforces research and accelerates continuous movement toward having a scientific society. Any source of information that has not been commercially published is considered to be grey literature. Grey literature is a special resource that is created for a specific purpose and audience and is replicated finitely. It is impermanent and invisible, and cannot be seen in the directory of publishers, bookshops, and libraries. The National Library and Archives of Iran was founded in 1937. The main goal of this organization is collecting, preserving, organizing, and disseminating information about printed and nonprinted works in Iran, and taking measures and making decisions to guarantee the accuracy, ease, and speed of research and study in all fields to promote national culture. In order to achieve these goals, and according to the law, all private and public publishers are required to submit a copy of their publications (book and nonbook materials) to the National Library of Iran. There are more than one million issues in the grey literature group at the National Library, over 52,000 issues of which are digitized. After being collected, these resources are organized and made available to users. Report, research project, standard, and dissertations are among the most important sources of the National Library of Iran's grey literature, used by many researchers daily. The National Library of Iran has also subscribed to Persian online databases in order to facilitate and expedite access to articles as another important grey literature. The clients can use these resources for free inside the library. In this research, the process of collecting, organizing, and disseminating of information of these sources in the National Library of Iran will be expressed as a successful practical experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]