Tribune News Network
Doha
Qatar Digital Library (QDL) received the Arab Federation for Libraries and Information (AFLI) Award for Best Arab Initiative at the 35th AFLI conference held in Muscat, Oman, from November 12 to 14. The conference was organised under the theme ‘Libraries and Arab Archive Institutions and Their Role in Enhancing Identity and Digital Citizenship’.
HE Dr Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al Kawari, Minister of State and president of Qatar National Library, was presented with the award by Dr Fahd bin Al Julanda Al Said, president of Sultan Qaboos University, at an event that brought together a host of academics and experts in the library and information sector across Arab countries.
Launched in October 2014 by Qatar National Library in partnership with Qatar Foundation and the British Library,QDL is the world’s largest digital repository dedicated to heritage documents and manuscripts on the Gulf region and the Arab world, as well as scientific discoveries in Arab and Islamic civilization.
Commenting on QDL’s recognition, Dr Al Kawari said: “The library takes pride in this achievement, which reflects QNL’s success in fulfilling its mission as a premier knowledge hub founded in a profound vision. Over the past ten years, our efforts have yielded significant achievements in preserving documentary heritage and disseminating knowledge through the establishment of an Arabic digital portal, now recognised as the foremost and primary reference on the history of the Gulf, the Arab world, and the broader Middle East.”
“This award from the Arab Federation for libraries and Information, in collaboration with the esteemed Sultan Qaboos University, underscores our team’s steadfast dedication and commitment to safeguarding our cultural heritage of manuscripts and documents. It further strengthens our services, solidifying the library’s role as a bastion of knowledge and a premier destination for researchers and academics in Qatar and across the region,” he added.
QDL is home to a wealth of primary historical materials and collections, offering insights into the region’s trading practices, the two World Wars, the petroleum industry, Britain’s imperial administration, treaties, marine navigation, military operations, civil aviation, economic forums, Arab nationalism, and medicine. It also houses a rare collection of Arabic manuscripts covering a variety of topics, including medicine, astronomy, mathematics, geometry, geography, and military science.
The platform, which currently holds nearly 2.5 million digitized pages of records, maps, manuscripts, photographs and drawings, attracts an average of 200,000 users and over 2 million page views per year.
