Participation of Library Science Students in the American Library Association Conference
Students from the Scholarships Office, sponsored by the National Library and Archives (NLA), participated in the 2025 American Library Association (ALA) conference in Philadelphia. The conference, a platform for exchanging ideas and technological innovations in the field of libraries, brought together over 25,000 professionals and was coordinated between the NLA and the Scholarships Office.
On the sidelines of the event, His Excellency Dr. Abdullah Majid Al Ali, Director-General of the NLA, met with Brigitte Weinsteiger, Director of the University of Pennsylvania Libraries. His Excellency provided a brief overview of the NLA’s objectives, role in preserving memory of the nation and vision of collecting and archiving documents according to scientific principles.
The two parties explored opportunities for collaboration to exchange expertise, valuable scientific and practical experiences, and specialized publications. They also discussed adopting modern methods for collecting and preserving oral history to promote global information sustainability.
His Excellency highlighted this opportunity as a valuable gesture from the wise leadership toward students specializing in library science and praised their dedication to acquiring knowledge and learning about the latest practices in the field.
The students visited several libraries in Philadelphia, including the University of Pennsylvania Library, where they saw unique collections. They also visited the conference exhibition, which showcased the latest innovations in library technology and smart applications. In addition, the students toured the Library of Congress and the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) to study the latest methods for cataloging, classifying, and preserving records.
His Excellency Dr. Abdullah Al Ali affirmed that the wise leadership has established an approach to support and qualify the nation’s youth to enrich knowledge societies, thereby enabling the National Library and other local libraries to keep pace with the latest technologies, digital transformation, and the use of artificial intelligence applications.
Mr. Juma Atiq Al Rumaithi, Director of the Scholarships Office, commended the wise leadership’s directives to invest in young national talent. He noted that this aligns with the mission of the office to qualify a new generation of leaders by providing educational opportunities for academically outstanding Emirati students at prestigious international universities. This program aims to keep pace with the latest developments in library science, contributing to a sustainable knowledge economy and preparing the nation’s libraries for the future.