Treasures, rare manuscripts, and events that adorn the integrated cultural edifice
Mohammed bin Rashid Library..a journey with knowledge accompanied by a million books
The library is an addition to the cultural scene in the UAE.
Photography: Ahmed Ardeti
Jamal Al Shehhi: “An integrated plan in the new knowledge edifice to attract the public, especially students, as two libraries have been allocated to attract tomorrow’s readers.”
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In a new edifice bearing the shape of the wooden stand used to carry books, known as “God”, the Mohammed bin Rashid Library receives its visitors to navigate - from tomorrow - in the world of knowledge with more than 1.1 million books, paper and digital, to constitute an addition to the cultural scene in the UAE.
The Mohammed bin Rashid Library is characterized as a contemporary library that is divided into nine libraries, as well as holding exhibitions that include ancient manuscripts, in addition to a set of activities that will make it an integrated cultural center.
The tour begins with entering the public library, which contains 100,000 books in different languages, in various fields, including history, novel, philosophy, technology, science, and others.
As for the Emirates Library, it contains thousands of titles that were printed on the Emirates or by Emirati publishing houses.
The youth library allocates a special space for the young group with “comics” books, self-development books, novels and philosophy, while the children’s library contains 17,000 titles in Arabic and English.
The Mohammed bin Rashid Library also includes other specialized libraries, including the Special Collections Library, the Map and Atlas Library, the Arts and Media Library, the Business Library, and the Periodicals Library.
The new knowledge destination overlooking the Dubai Creek holds sections that make it an integrated cultural center, including the Library Treasures exhibition, which includes an impressive collection of books, atlases, manuscripts and rare documents.
It also includes rare copies of the Holy Qur'an, early editions of literary classics, Latin translations of scholarly works from the Islamic Golden Age, and rare periodicals from the Arab world and beyond.
Language Garden
As for the language garden in the Mohammed bin Rashid Library, it comes within the external library facilities, and includes 60 columns displaying dozens of quotes from the sayings of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, about leadership, government, advancement of the state, learning and knowledge, in different languages. several.
A member of the Board of Directors of the Mohammed bin Rashid Library, Jamal Al Shehhi, told "Emirates Today", "The library contains nine libraries and hundreds of thousands of addresses in a variety of languages, and the building includes a range of services provided by the library, including the accompanying cultural program, and includes several activities. These include (library dialogue), workshops, book signing parties, and cultural evenings, all of which will be available to the public.
He added: "The library includes a theater that can accommodate 500 people, and evenings, cultural events and plays will be organized in it, and films can be shown on the big screen in the theater."
Al-Shehhi stated that the library opens its doors from nine in the morning until nine in the evening, and it can be accessed by registering through the library’s application by choosing the time of the visit, knowing that the full absorption of the library will be opened after three months, noting the effectiveness of the “Library Dialogue”, as there will be a monthly station It is witnessing a dialogue with a writer or a cultural figure, and it will be organized for the first time on the first of next July.
He stressed that there is a busy program accompanying the library for all age groups, especially children, in addition to art exhibitions that will be organized periodically every three months.
Services
Regarding audio books, Al-Shehhi stated that the audio library is available and will be developed in the near future for the public, and will include a group of important audio versions, books and research, explaining that the library’s audience is a lover of culture and difference, as the library is not elitist but is for everyone, and all age groups have been taken into account, pointing to It is characterized by modernity and contemporary form, and provides many services.
He explained that there is an integrated plan to attract the public, especially students, as two libraries have been allocated to attract tomorrow's readers, namely the children's library and the youth library, in addition to the cultural program that carries a great orientation to allocate activities for these groups, which will be focused on, as they are the future generations.
Regarding the cooperation between book fairs organized in the UAE and the library of Mohammed bin Rashid, Al Shehhi said: “We consider ourselves a permanent book fair, and we participated in the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair a month ago, and we had a breakthrough in it, and for us, book fairs are a platform to enrich our library. Through it, Dubai, as it is an economic emirate, is an emirate that pulsates with culture, and it can be said that the library comes within a large cultural plan in which the cultural scene integrates between museums, galleries and art centers.”
A friend of the environment
The building of the Mohammed bin Rashid Library is an environmentally friendly building, designed to maximize periods of self-shading.
The library gets 10% of its energy from solar panels installed on the roof of the building.
It was designed in a way that allows to reduce irrigation consumption by 50%, and the water collected from the air conditioner is reused for use in irrigating green spaces.
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