There is nothing quite like a library. Access to local spaces that contain a world of information and possibilities is essential for children who are learning to read. That is why we welcome initiatives such as Sheikha Shamma bint Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nayhan's Wanna Read? programme that puts books into hospital paediatric wards.
Of course, even the world’s largest library can’t store the sum of human knowledge and imagination. That’s where the internet comes in, making it possible to buy printed books for home delivery and e-books for instant consumption.
But few of us can afford to buy all the books we want to read. Amazon already has a vast library of free books available to users of its Kindle reader, but most of these are in English. Perhaps with some philanthropic support, publishers who say it is not economically viable to print a wide range of books in Arabic in a relatively small market could be encouraged to make e-books available to borrow or buy at a modest price.
