Qatar National Library (QNL) acts as a steward of Qatar’s national heritage which this library has collecting, preserving and making available the country’s recorded history. The library has fosters and promotes the greater global insight into the history and culture of the Gulf region where it is their role as a research library with preeminent heritage library. The QNL which is a public library have provide equal access for all of Qatar’s residents to an environment that supports creativity, independent decision-making, and cultural development.
They also have provide leadership to the country’s library and cultural heritage sector through all of their functions. Not only that, the library have providing support to students, researchers and the public in order to supports Qatar’s transition from a reliance on natural resources to become a diversified and sustainable economy. This is to promote the lifelong learning and empower individuals and communities for a better future.
Moreover, the library currently has more than one million books in its collection, along with more than 500 000 ebooks, periodicals and newspapers, and special collection other than full-text online resources. The librarian in the QNL are mostly experts in teaching, research skills, literacy programs and knowledge management as they only accept the qualified librarians to give the best for their users. There are many events, programs and activities can be offer for the local community to do, learn and discover by combining all these sills together with their strong service ethic.
On 19 November 2012, Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser who is the Chairperson of Qatar Foundation has announced about the library project. Later, on 20th March 2018, the library was granted the status of national library under the Emiri Decree No. 11 while on 16 April 2018, His Highness Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani who is the Emir of Qatar, officially inaugurated the library at a grand opening ceremony.
In this library, there are several services that they provide for their users. The service that been provide is conservation and preservation. The library provides this services as they know of their collection that are inherently susceptible to deterioration from both natural and external causes. Not only that, the characteristic of the collection which is fragile especially the documents produced since the 19th century. The library has appoint the highly trained international experts as a team in order to provide this services with the world-class technology for the laboratories equipment. The library preserving the region’s cultural heritage because they want dedicate it for future generation. The activities of conservation and preservation that they can handle are preventive conservation section, bio-deterioration analysis and treatment section, conservation section and the materials analysis to support conservation action as well as codicological studies.
Moreover, the library also provide digitization services as they want to make it freely available to anyone and at anywhere by digitize the rare books, photographs, maps, manuscripts and other historical items in the Heritage Library. Their aim for doing this because they want to increase Arabic content by digitally preserving rare and valuable Arab and Islamic heritage materials. The library facilities are equipped with the resources, technology and infrastructure for the digitization services.
Furthermore, innovation station is also one of their services which the librarian will foster creativity, inspiration, collaboration and engagement by providing the tools for innovators, artists, musicians, creators and learners. This is space where the users can learn about new technologies and bring the users creative ideas to life in expressing themselves. The library have provide free access to users in using the 3D printing and scanning, recording studio and videography or photography room, musical instruments and recording equipment, virtual reality accessories, do-it-yourself (DIY) electronics and others.
National Heritage: Qatar National Library. (2021, Oct 31). Retrieved from http://envrexperts.com/free-essays/essay-about-national-heritage-qatar-national-library