The National Libraries Summit kicks off in Sharjah with an international discussion on digital alternatives

Ahmed Al-Amri and Dr. Carla Hayden during the summit.

From the source

With the participation of 50 experts from 20 national libraries from Europe, North America, Africa and the Middle East, the two-day National Libraries Summit, hosted by the Sharjah Book Authority, kicked off yesterday.

The opening of the summit was witnessed by the Chairman of the Sharjah Book Authority Ahmed bin Rakkad Al Ameri, the President of the US Library of Congress Dr. Carla Hayden, the Director of Libraries Collections in France Marie de Loubert, and the President of the Arab Federation for Libraries and Information Hassan Al-Suraihi.

Ahmed bin Rakkad Al Ameri stressed that libraries have formed one of the pillars of the Sharjah Cultural Project, since the establishment of the first library in the emirate in the name of Al Qasimia Library in 1925, and it has continued to grow until today, every city in Sharjah has become a public library, thanks to the directives and patronage of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan Bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, and his belief that knowledge is the basis of development and civilization.

Al-Amiri said: “The development of national libraries and the preservation of their identity and role can be achieved in two correlative paths. The first is to restore the social status of the library, and this is through planning events and meetings to revive cultural, national and social events as well in its gardens and buildings, along with more attention to being a platform for culture. And intellectuals and artists, including poets, writers and folk tale narrators, and the second track is to work on employing modern technologies in archiving, organizing, managing and promoting titles, and sharing data between national libraries.”

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