ABU DHABI // Fourteen new libraries are to be built in Abu Dhabi and the Western Region.
While not giving a specific date, Abdulla Majed Al Ali, director of library management at the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority said: “We are resolute about providing the best access and quality of services to the public, and we are very excited about the project.
“We look forward to transforming this town into a technologically advanced yet friendly cultural hub.”
He said that one of the main purposes of a library was to provide and have sustainable knowledge available to the public.
This, he said, would be ensured by “acquiring, organising, preserving and securing a comprehensive record of the UAE, Arab and Islamic history and universal collection of human knowledge”.
He said the library aimed to make its collections accessible to the Government and the public through websites and various outlets.
After extensive research, the authority found that reaching out to the public in popular recreational areas such as malls would increase literacy rates in the community.
“Associating entertainment with the act of reading is what we aspire to, to help encourage children and adults alike,” he said.
Samah Kamal, 36, recently started going to the library to study. The Sudanese doctor said she thought the atmosphere at the library was quiet but that the library needed more space because at times it felt crowded.
“I would like it if there was a separate, private ladies area, we would be more comfortable I suppose,” she said.
Before heading to the library, she had heard from her friends that there was little space for people to work, and that it could get noisy.
“I have come the past few days, it is OK, not as noisy as I expected,” she said.
Another library user, 17-year-old student, Thejus Humayun, spends most of his day studying there.
“I come because it is quiet and at home there are many distractions. Here there are none, just better concentration.”
He said that people in the library were always working, which motivated him to do the same.
“In a coffee shop you can’t help but notice what others are doing, which causes distraction, and it’s obviously louder,” he said.
The overall atmosphere of the library, he said, was perfect for his purpose, although others might not like the cramped space and lack of books.
“It is a national library, it should be bigger and should offer a variety of books for avid readers.”
Mr Al Ali said there was a diverse range of books and journals in fiction, psychology, sciences, languages, history and geography.
“It also has a rich resource on UAE’s history, social and political affairs and the Islamic world,” he said.
aalkhoori@thenational.ae
