The National Library and Archives continues its efforts in organizing and enriching archives

The National Library and Archives continues its educational and awareness-raising role in the importance of documenting the past, recording the present, and organizing government archives in accordance with the Federal Law No. 7 of 2008 on the National Library and Archives and its amendments and executive regulations.  In this regard, it presented a virtual training course on "Inventory of Documents in Government Agencies" and a virtual lecture entitled: "Oral History in the National Library and Archives".

The first training course was presented by Mrs. Amal Abdel Hamid, Head of the Government Archives Regulation Unit at the National Library and Archives. It aims at explaining the method of inventory of documents and archives in government agencies in compliance with the said law and its regulations.

 This training course is essential because it comes within the scope of applyig the integrated management system of documents and archives in government entities, which contributes greatly to enhancing the employees’ skills and developing qualified cadres in document and archive management.

The course focused on the inventory mechanism of all documents in government entities in all conservation sites, in  compliance with the requirements of Law No. 7 of 2008 on the National Library and Archives and its amendments and executive regulations, in order to identify the files  which must be preserved, and those are no longer needed so as to transfer them to the permanent preservation in the National Library and Archives. The course also shed light on facilitating the application of all inhouse archiving-related procedures such as determining the file preservation periods, classifying functional documents, and facilitating access to documents to preserve the rights of the government entity, its customers and its employees. It also emphasized that the document inventory ensures the preservation of the entity's assets and provides the necessary protections from disasters and crises.

The other lecture, which was presented by Maitha Al Zaabi, Head of the Oral History Section at the National Archives and Library, and Maryam Al Mazrouei, senior researcher in the said section, confirmed the NLA’s interest in the interviews which the oral history teams conduct with UAE senior citizens and personalities that have lived through the establishment of Union, so that generations may learn from their distinctive historical experiences.

The lecture pointed out that oral history is concerned with recording the history and moral heritage of the United Arab Emirates, and documenting it with oral narratives, including what was conveyed by the memory of the centenarians, veterans and witnesses of the times.

The lecture touched on the articles of Law No. 7 of 2008 on the National Archives and Library and its amendments, which urged the completion of historical information documented with the oral archive in addition to making it available in a scientific manner.

The lecture shed light on the objectives of oral history, methods of conducting interviews by audio and video recording, international standards followed, and topics of oral history, which include social life, political and administrative life, economic and cultural life, architecture and arts, and the most important projects.

The lecture reviewed the stages of conducting oral history interviews through to making them available, and publishing them in NLA’s publications, namely Their memory, Our History, first and second editions.

In conclusion, both lecturers emphasized the importance of nominating the appropriate narrators with a view to preserving and documenting their living national memory.

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The National Library and Archives participates in the 18th edition of Liwa Date Festival

The National Library and Archives participated in the 18th edition of the Liwa Date Festival and exhibition held in Al Dhafra region, the events of which shall run until July 24th, under the generous patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Presidential Court.
The National Library and Archives’ participation in this festival comes through an exhibition of historical photographs, that reflected to visitors a vivid glorious image of the establishment and development of the UAE, and  demonstrated the various aspects of its heritage. The exhibition aimed at instilling in the UAE generations the values, virtues, and exploits of the Late Sheikh Zayed.
The exhibition presented to visitors the UAE historic aspect and its leadership as a Role Model in a continued march, following the footsteps of the Founding Fathers towards building and establishing the UAE and developing its human resources.
It is noteworthy that the exhibition organized by the National Library and Archives at the Liwa Date Festival was well received by the various participants and visitors, as it represented a window through which they viewed the UAE’s glorious past and history.
The National Library and Archives raised the awareness of its visitors of different age groups of its valuable role in collecting and preserving the memory and history of the nation for future generations and allowing researchers and interested parties access to it.
The National Library and Archives’ exhibition and platform included its most important publications on the history and heritage of Al Dhafra region, being such a key historical area that will always be the source of Emirati heritage’s pride; as it includes many ancient and deep-rooted historic monuments.
The most important National Library and Archives’ issued and displayed books on Al Dhafra region include: The Dhafra Fort.. The History of the Early Chiefs of Bani Yas, The Place Names gazetteer in the Poetry of Al Dhafra People, Immigrants from Al Dhafra.. The Migration of Bani Zaraf as a Model, Historic Water Resources in the Al Dhafra Region, and Castles and Towers in Al Dhafra Region.
In line with the National Library and Archives’ pursuit to achieve its vision, mission and strategic plans aiming at documenting and preserving Al Dhafra region’s authentic history and heritage, and its people’s rich history in the past, it assigned different Experts and Specialists to conduct oral history interviews during the Liwa Date Festival, to record the stories of the senior citizens who witnessed the UAE various development stages before the establishment of the union, during which they depended on agriculture in Al Dhafra oases, to document the successive generations’ various witnessed events and practiced professions.
It is noteworthy that the National Library and Archives’ date Festival’s platform was keen to strictly adhere to all necessary precautionary and preventive measures, as well as to general safety guidelines.

Under the title “The Homeland’s History in the Perspective of Art and Media”,
The National Library and Archives is getting ready to hold the 6th symposium of its cultural season for 2022
The National Library and Archives is getting ready to hold the 6th symposium of its cultural season for 2022, entitled “The Homeland’s History in the Perspective of Art and Media”, given its belief in the importance of documentation in its various forms in preserving the homeland’s history and making use of it in writing and preserving the history as it constitutes a primary pillar of national identity.
The NLA attached considerable importance to the media’s role in documenting the homeland’s history as media professionals serve as the “historians of the moment” who have been and remain the witnesses to event, and they document the truth. Nowadays, media’s role is doubled due to the fact that advanced media focuses on historical events, broadcasts them from its documentaries and obtains attention-worthy information from narrators. Media documentation is promoted to a higher rank at present since the world has become a small village, thanks to the technological revolution in media and communication.
By focusing on the importance of art in documenting history and heritage, the NLA aimed to highlight the role of creative arts as a witness to history as such role cannot be ignored, especially that some artistic collections are turned into archival collections that present aspects of social and urban life at some time in the past.
Devoting attention to the role of art in documentation stems from the fact that art is an international language that documents significant aspects of the homeland’s history in various cultural, social and intellectual fields. Moreover, it is also concerned with the heritage and popular culture as an element of national identity and a part of history.
Given the NLA’s interest in bringing advantage to all, the 6th symposium will be held virtually on Wednesday, July 20, 2022, at 12:00 pm, via interactive media platforms and the following link:
https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_jrlvXH_KSXGjeCxj21J7hw
The poet and researcher Moayed Al Shibani and the Emirati Theatre Director Faisal Al Darmaki will participate in the 6th symposium, which will be moderated by Dr. Husniya Al Ali, Educational Programs Consultant at the NLA.
The NLA’s 2022 cultural season symposiums that are organized monthly discuss important aspects of the UAE’s glorious history and bright present. This will significantly enhance belonging to the homeland and loyalty to its wise leadership and provide attendees with precise and significant information and knowledge. The historical dimension of these symposiums instils the national culture among generations.

The National Library and Archives derives the best standards and practices for the UAE National Library From UK, Egypt and Singapore.

The National Library and Archives concluded a tour of the world’s largest, most famous and distinguished libraries in UK, Singapore and the Arab Republic of Egypt, with the aim of starting from where others ended up, and getting acquainted with and benefiting from the best adopted practices and standards for the projected UAE National Library, which is to be established and equipped as a national reference and a cultural hub and an information center that preserves the UAE heritage, and reflects its scientific and civilizational development.
The National Library and Archives’ delegation headed by His Excellency Abdulla Majid Al Ali, Acting Director General, began the tour of the UK major libraries with a visit to the Library of Birmingham, being UK’s largest public library with a prominent position among the world’s distinguished libraries. It consists of 41 floors, and annually attracts three million visitors. The delegation members were briefed on the best adopted practices, policies and strategies, and on the digital infrastructure, they greatly benefited from the advanced experiences and distinctive mechanisms and regulations.
The delegation visited the Library of Birmingham, the Children's Center and Music Library, the Business and Learning Centre, the circulation and Reference Libraries, Shakespeare’s Room and the indoor and outdoor cafes.
The Library of Birmingham is distinguished by its environment-friendly building with a distinctive exterior that matches Birmingham’s industrial characteristic feature, and associated interconnected circular halls that provide natural light and ventilation.
During that official visit to the Library of Birmingham, the National Library and Archives’ delegation met Dawn Beaumont, Head of Library Services at the Library of Birmingham, and member of Birmingham City Council.
The delegation also visited the University of Birmingham’s Library and discussed with both Professor Adam Tickell, Vice Chancellor of the University of Birmingham, and Dr. Tariq Ali, Deputy Pro-Vice Chancellor, Strategic Partnerships the role of the University of Birmingham’s Library in providing information sources that benefit researchers, and support curricula, and the library’s key advanced facilities and services. The delegation members also visited the University of Birmingham’s Manuscript Center and were acquainted with the best manuscript restoration and preservation practices, and viewed the oldest manuscript from the Holy Qur’an among other rare manuscripts.
Following that visit to the University of Birmingham, the delegation visited the British Library in London, which is the national library of the United Kingdom, to benefit from its experience and provided services to its various readers, intellectuals, and visitors. The delegation members were received by the library's executive office officials who took them on a tour of the Library’s reading halls, and permanent specialized and art exhibitions. They were also briefed, in the Arabic and Islamic manuscripts section, on the various holdings’ preservation, display and search mechanisms, access regulations, as well as the digital infrastructure, the access and circulation policies and procedures, and the printed and digital book collection’s technical management processes.
The British Library’s importance stems from its distinctive management of its holdings that exceed 150 million items including publications, manuscripts, digital materials, artworks, various multimedia, periodicals, and audio recordings from all over the world, some of which date back two thousand years BC. This library annually attracts more than a million visitors which earned it, along with the American Library of Congress that impressive ranking as the two world’s largest libraries.
 At the end of the tour, the delegation praised the British Library’s rich content and significant role on both local and global levels, being the target destination of senior researchers and librarians from around the world, and expressed its optimism and aspirations that the projected UAE National Library shall immensely benefit from the distinguished British Library experience to provide research requirements and mechanisms for future generations in the UAE and the Arab region.
The delegation visited the Pitt Rivers Museum in London, which has an exclusive agreement with the National Library and Archives, under which it may allow interested researchers access to Wilfred Thesiger, also known as Mubarak bin London’s collection.
And from the United Kingdom to Egypt where the delegation visited the Library of Alexandria, Egypt’s civilizational and cultural beacon, and was received by Dr. Sherif Riad, Head of External Relations and Media Sector. The delegation members toured the library and were briefed on its administrative and organizational structure, inspected its holdings, the Manuscripts and Rare Books Museum including rare documents and collections of books, the Children’s Library, the Antiquities Museum, including antiquities from the old library site, and artifacts dating back to the Byzantine and Pharaonic civilizations, in addition to the Museum of the late President Anwar Sadat.
The Bibliotheca Alexandrina's interest in the people of determination resulted in the establishment of the Taha Hussein Library, which caters to people with visual impairments to provide them with programs that transfer written formats to audio ones. The Library of Alexandria bears witness to the greatness and richness of the Egyptian civilization, history and culture. The Library of Alexandria is one of the most important research centers throughout history. The delegation praised the Bibliotheca Alexandrina - which stands out as a cultural beacon that promotes knowledge and preserves human civilization, in the era of information revolution and communication technologies, and a major Egyptian civilizational project that brings to mind the old library's ancient and distinctive role and experience in preserving and enriching human culture.
Parallelly, another delegation from the National Library and Archives visited Singapore and met Ms. Julia Chee, Director of the National Archives of Singapore and Ms. Jennifer Quang, Deputy Director of the National Library, who briefed the delegation on the library and archive strategies, facilities and services, advanced practices, preservation, access, circulation regulations, that can be employed in the UAE National Library.
It is noteworthy that the Singapore National Library was established in 1845 to support the educational field. It includes a unique digitized cultural wealth from various world countries and cultures including photos, books, manuscripts, maps, audio recordings and films among others. The library, since its establishment, has uninterruptedly met its users’ needs and requirements with a distinguished book circulation system which does not require users to return the borrowed books to the same library from which they borrowed but to their nearest library, or automatically through e-devices especially developed for such purposes in several areas and regions in Singapore.
In the context of this tour, His Excellency Abdulla Majid Al Ali, Acting Director General of the National Library and Archives, said: The vital contemporary role played by the National Library in archiving and preserving the intellectual heritage of the nation establishes it as a book haven, a readers and researchers’ hub, as we witnessed during our visits to the world largest libraries to get acquainted with their adopted best practices and latest standards. The National Library and Archives takes great pride in its holdings of various historical documents and records documenting the memory of the nation, vast and various paper and electronic book collections, and specialized libraries characterized by distinguished and valuable holdings and content - looks forward to establishing a green, environment- friendly National Library with sophisticated, modern, advanced and smart facilities and infrastructure that provide comfortable reading spaces, as well as take into account and cater to users’ needs of facilitated circulation.
His Excellency added: In the United Arab Emirates, we are highly aware of the importance of reading for the dissemination of knowledge, development of societies, and establishing civilizations. Thus, we intend to establish a National Library that matches the world’s largest libraries in its allowing access to information, its design and designated vital and comfortable reading areas, that meet the needs and requirements of its various customers and users. Accordingly, we toured three different countries, namely: the United Kingdom, Egypt, and Singapore - in order to get acquainted with their Libraries’ adopted latest practices and highest standards; to assert the National Library’s great and diverse role.
H.E. added: During the NLA delegation’s visit to the British Library, we focused on its leading experience in its rare sources, references, and distinguished services’ provision mechanisms to customers and users to employ and benefit from such experience in establishing the projected UAE National Library in Abu Dhabi that combines the authenticity of Emirati origin and modernity of employed techniques, means, and systems to provide its customers easy access to its knowledge sources with the aim of disseminating sustainable national, Arab and international knowledge and culture in a pleasurable, comfortable and inspiring atmosphere, while maintaining the National Library’s main and leading functions and characteristics on a local level, and performing its role in the planning, supervision, and control of intellectual production, besides performing its national bibliography duties.
His Excellency also said: The Singapore Library’s great significance reflects its long history and successful experience in its sources and references circulation, digital infrastructure, and relentless endeavors to fully digitize its holdings in various library fields, accordingly, we aim to benefit from such great experience.
His Excellency the Acting Director General of the National Library and Archives concluded that successful experiences can only result from benefiting from others’ experiences, i.e. starting from where others ended up towards a future with rapid development, advancement and progress rather than inventing the wheel from scratch. Similarly, the UAE adopts that strategy as it sets its strategic plans for the next fifty years.

The National Archives and Library enriches the national memory with historical images on Google Maps

The Archive and the National Library took the initiative to enhance the national memory by enriching the business file on Google Maps with many historical photographs, as well as old and modern professional images of forts, towers and castles in the United Arab Emirates, which, in their historical dimension, symbolize the loftiness and greatness of the past, and the creativity of the Emirati man in the field of traditional architecture. . The interest of the Archive and the National Library in publishing these images stems from their being part of the urban heritage left by the fathers and grandfathers, the urban identity and the national history, and its keenness to use programs and technologies in order to enrich the memory of the nation.
At a time when the Google Maps service has become an essential thing for people to know the places they go to, their details, and the roads that lead to them, the Archives and the National Library have fed information on Google Maps with images that enhance Internet users' knowledge of the most important historical places in the UAE. The Archives and the National Library own collections of these photographs, which were taken recently with professional lenses.
This initiative demonstrates the interest of the Archives and the National Library in the place with all its different spaces and its extensions in the deep roots, and in describing the urban styles and their symbols as one of the most important distinguishing elements of the place, especially since a large part of the place's genius is embodied in the architecture.
The Archive and the National Library are among the pioneering institutions in preserving the memory of the nation and making it available to its beneficiaries inside and outside the country, with its keenness to ensure that what it publishes on the Internet bears its logo that preserves its copyright and property rights.
The Archives and the National Library focused on supporting the Google Maps site with pictures of its headquarters in Abu Dhabi, its preservation and restoration building, and the Emirates Library, which is concerned with sources and references related to the history and heritage of the Emirates in particular and the Gulf region in general.
The images that the archive and the National Library have enriched Google Maps with vary, as they are from all the emirates of the country, the most prominent of which are: Qasr Al-Hosn, Al-Maqtaa Fort in Abu Dhabi, Muzaira’a Castle in Liwa, Al-Murabaa, Al-Jahili and Al-Anka Castles in Al-Ain, Umm Al-Quwain Museum (Al Ali Castle), and the Clock Roundabout in Dubai, Masafi Castle in Ras Al Khaimah, Sharjah Fort... and others.
This step is the beginning of the launch of a national project that the Archive and the National Library will continue to enhance with modern professional photos, maps and historical photos that it derives from the Photo Archives and the Presidential Archives  in it.

​​​​​​​The National Library and Archives receives a large number of various books from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The National Library and Archives has received a large number of various books in Arabic and other languages from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. The Ministry received this large number of books from the UAE’s embassies abroad after they have expressed their desire to keep them with the NLA in order to be accessible to researchers, academics and the public.
The NLA received about (130) large boxes, some of which were provided to the Emirates Library while the others were kept at the national library’s warehouses to be established in the near future.
With regard to this initiative, Mr. Hamad Al Hamiri, Director of Research and Knowledge Services Department at the NLA, said: “These collections of books enrich the Emirates Library and the national library and diversify their sources and references, so they become distinctive by their holdings and role in meeting the requirements of their patrons.”
“Books are the primary information assets that contribute mainly to the establishing of the knowledge economy in order to reach the future and maintain the march of progress, and this is what the UAE aspires to.”, he added.
He expressed his warm thanks to the UAE’s embassies for taking the initiative to preserve these various and valuable books at the NLA, and to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation for supervising the evaluation and sorting of the books and providing them to the NLA.
 He emphasized that this step is a remarkable sign of confidence in the NLA, which aims to establish the national library as a national reference and a cultural and information center that preserves the UAE’s heritage and highlights its scientific and cultural development on the lines of the international libraries that incubate human heritage.
Al Hamiri called upon all national figures and entities inside the UAE and abroad to provide their collections of books to the NLA, which will devote great attention to the collections it receives and will keep them in the appropriate place in the Emirates Library at the present time or in the national library in the future so that they become accessible to readers, researchers and beneficiaries who are keen on knowledge.
It is worth mentioning that the books received by the NLA from the Ministry were characterized by their various topics, most prominently, the UAE’s sheikhs and main leaders, most notably the Late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan and Sheikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum.
This is in addition to topics in history, national identity, literature, poetry, Islamic jurisprudence, translation and economy as well as some significant topics pertaining to the UAE.

The National Library and Archives signs a memorandum of understanding with Alef Education with an aim to support digital learning based on modern technological innovations.

The National Library and Archives signed a memorandum of understanding with Alef Education Company aimed at supporting and enriching the platform with national scientific material that contributes to enhancing the values of loyalty and belonging to the homeland, instilling civic education and national identity in students and future generations, building a knowledge society, that takes pride in its identity and glorious history, strengthening bilateral strategic relations, and enhancing the cooperation and integration prospects in educational and other fields or areas of common interest.

The memorandum was signed by His Excellency Abdulla Majid Al Ali, Acting Director-General, on behalf of the National Library and Archives, and by Mr. Geoffrey Alphonso, CEO, on behalf of Alef Education Company, in the presence of several Department Directors and officials of both institutions.
On this occasion, His Excellency Abdulla Majid Al Ali, Acting Director-General of the National Library and Archives, said: This memorandum establishes mutual distinguished future relations in the context of enhancing students’ interactive learning experience with information on the history and heritage of the United Arab Emirates. Especially that we attach great hopes and aspirations to the important national role played by the National Library and Archive as a strategic partner in the future generations’ sound civic education. From this point of view, the National Library and Archives provided the Alef platform with its publications and educational material that will surely contribute to instilling in students and future generations the values of loyalty and belonging to the homeland and its wise leadership and to enhancing their national identity and good citizenship.
His Excellency stressed the importance of this memorandum given both parties’ keen interest in the educational process’ progress in line with the educational vision of the United Arab Emirates Government, which attaches great importance to and is highly interested in including the memory of the nation within its educational system.
His Excellency thanked the management of Alef Education, and all concerned for the great cooperation and coordination that lead to the signing of this memorandum, which comes as a mutual benefit to both parties, and serves their interests. H.E. praised the role played by Alef Education to develop the students’ educational experience, and to make the educational process more interactive and enjoyable.
Dr. Aishah Al Yammahi, Board Advisor of Alef Education Company said: “We are honoured at Alef Education to conclude this memorandum of understanding with the National Library and Archives within our mutual cooperation framework in various areas in which both parties are distinguished, including the digitization of knowledge resources and the use of technical innovations to facilitate learners’ access to content This cooperation reflects our common vision to advance learning based on modern technical innovations, and contribute to achieving national goals in the transition towards a more flexible and comprehensive digital knowledge system, in line with the rapid global changes in the field of artificial intelligence applications in the educational field.
She added: The importance of this cooperation for Alef Education stems from the fact that it supports coordination and exchange of experiences with leading institutions, and highlights the innovative features of our smart products, most notably the Alef educational platform. We look forward to expanding our cooperation with the National Library and Archives, in our belief in the importance of concerted efforts in providing an educational and knowledge environment that supports the era of the UAE sustainable development.
Geoffrey Alphonso, CEO of Alef Education, said: “We are pleased to sign that agreement with the National Library and Archives, and to further enhance bilateral cooperation prospects in line with our keen interest to promote cooperation with various sectors’ authorities and institutions, to share our experiences in education digitization, and expand our smart solutions users’ scope. In “Alef” we will continue our commitment to aligning our strategies, projects with the UAE Government’s national vision, especially in the educational sector as a fundamental growth and progress pillar, and the driving force for the transformation towards a more sustainable future, in which the UAE continues to excel in all fields, and to assume the distinguished status of an education and knowledge hub and a unique model for adopting the latest learning innovations, and employing modern technologies to enhance the quality of life and services efficiency.
Under this memorandum, the National Library and Archives provided both the Alef and Abjadiyat platforms with national academic and scientific material including a group of reading publications particularly prepared for children and students from the National Library and Archives’ publications, and the students’ national creative stories resulting from the (Zayed 100 Stories), the “Fifty Writers” projects, besides the national lectures, documentary films recorded for the National Library and Archives, and other cartoon films for children, and the electronic version of the educational brochure (Watani Al Emarat) or (The UAE.. My homeland) in both Arabic and English.

Master in Records Management and Archival Studies is accredited by the Commission for Academic Accreditation
The Master degree program in Records Management and Archival Studies, offered by Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi in collaboration with the National Library and Archives, has been accredited by the Commission for Academic Accreditation “CAA” of the Ministry of Education. This provides quality assurance about content and methods of teaching and ensures meeting the required academic standards.
This highly specialized academic program aims to broaden students’ skills at archiving and to cope with nowadays advancements in archiving and documentation as well as the artificial intelligence programs and other technological sciences. The program stands as a culmination of a series of academic programs, designed in collaboration between the NLA and Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi, including the Professional Certificate in Archives and Records Management, which is designed to qualify government archives staff and enhance their knowledge as well as the Bachelor in Records Management and Archival Science for high school students. Both programs were successful, which led to the introduction of the master program in archiving.
With respect to the accreditation of the master in Records Management and Archival Studies, H.E. Abdulla Majed Al Ali, Acting Director General of NLA, said: “This specialization derives its value from the importance of archives, historical studies and records, and the UAE’s ancient history. This is in addition to the fact that this master provides students with a deep theoretical and methodological knowledge and an educational experience that is gained through training and academic research. At the end of the day, this allows students to utilize their acquired and remarkable skills at the workplace.”
“Given the importance of preserving our cultural assets for next generations in line with the highest standards and best practices, this highly specialized academic program has been introduced by Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi, which is one of the most prestigious universities in the world, and in turns it promotes the potentials of constructive academic research in this field and of keeping up with modern technology and employing it in managing files and historical documents in various stages.”, His Excellency added.
The Acting Director General of the NLA expressed his pleasure at accrediting the master in Records Management and Archival Studies, which provides quality assurance about content and methods of teaching and ensures meeting the required academic standards. He also appeared optimistic that this specialization will receive, in the next stage, the attention of further more students who pursue higher academic studies that are in line with scientific and academic policies and procedures.
His Excellency confirmed that “the accreditation of this academic specialization is contributable to the constructive and fruitful cooperation and coordination between the NLA and Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi, to which we wish all success.”
It is worth noting that registration in the Master program is open now for next academic year until August 10, 2022.

The National Library and Archives praises the distinguished experience of the British Library

An official delegation from the National Library and Archives headed by Abdulla Majid Al Ali, the Acting Director General visited the British Library in London, which is the National Library of the United Kingdom, to benefit from its experience and provide services to various readers, intellectuals, and visitors.
The delegation was received by members of the Library's executive office who escorted the visiting delegation members in a tour of the reading halls, the permanent specialized artistic exhibitions; and the Arabic and Islamic manuscripts corner; where they briefed them on the adopted preservation and display methods for the various Library holdings, and the regulations for their access. The delegation members listened to a general explanation of the digital infrastructure of that Great Library, and inspected the services provided by the Library to its visitors, and its search mechanisms. The delegation was also briefed on access policies, procedures, circulation regulations, and technical management processes for the library's printed and digital book collections, etc.
At the end of the tour, His Excellency Abdulla Majid Al Ali praised the British Library’s significant role whether locally or globally. With its rich invaluable holdings, it is the targeted destination for senior researchers and librarians from all over the world. H.E. expressed his optimism that the projected UAE National Library would benefit from the distinguished experience of the British Library to provide research requirements and mechanisms for the UAE and Arab region’s future generations.
His Excellency said: The British library is no longer a mere book repository or a readers and researchers’ hub, this is indicated by its great role in providing its visitors diverse, rare sources, references, and distinguished services. With its great experience and expertise, it serves, in many aspects and fields, as a significant source for the UAE National Library. We are currently working on establishing a National Library in Abu Dhabi, for the sustainable dissemination of national, Arab and international knowledge and culture, combining authenticity of Emirati origin, and modernity of employed techniques, means and systems to allow customers easy access to knowledge sources, to benefit and achieve scientific, academic and knowledge progress in an inspirational pleasant and comfortable atmosphere, while maintaining the National Library’s characteristics, and leading functions in comparison with other UAE libraries, and performing its integral role in intellectual production planning, control, and supervision fields and performing its tasks in connection with national bibliography.
It is noteworthy that the National Library and Archives delegation’s visit to the British Library came due to the great importance of its distinguished management of its holdings from all over the world which exceed 150 million items, including publications, manuscripts, digital material, artwork, various multimedia, periodicals and audio recordings. Some of these holdings date back two thousand years BC. The British Library annually attracts over a million visitors. All the above-mentioned impressive characteristics earned both the British Library along with the American Library of Congress the distinguished status of being the world’s two largest libraries.

With the aim of reviewing the latest experiences of and mechanisms adopted at major libraries worldwide,
The National Library and Archives reviews the recent mechanisms and practices adopted by the Library of Birmingham
A delegation of the National Library and Archives chaired by H.E. Abdulla Majed Al Ali, Acting Director General of the NLA, visited the Library of Birmingham to review its best practices, policies and strategies, and digital infrastructure due to its special status among major libraries worldwide. The visit made to the UK is aimed to benefit from the advanced experiences and the developed and distinctive mechanisms adopted by the world largest libraries in the UK and to and emulate them at the Emirati national library to be established by the NLA.
During its official visit, the NLA’s delegation met Dawn Beaumont, Head of Library Services and a member at Birmingham City Council. They discussed the characteristics of the largest libraries’ ideal architectural design, best practices and applications and methods to promote library solutions as well as recent digital services.
With regard to this visit to the UK, H.E. Abdulla Majed Al Ali said: “The NLA looks forward to establishing an Emirati national library to be a national reference and a cultural and informational center that preserves the UAE’s heritage and highlights its scientific and cultural development on the lines of the world largest libraries that incubate human heritage. That is why we visited the world’s major libraries to learn about their latest standards and best practices. Among our priorities was the visit to the UK’s largest libraries due to their global prominence since the national library of the UK, British Library, is one of the largest, richest and most modern libraries in the world.”
“If you look at the largest libraries in London, you will find them a beacon of culture that attracts readership and spreads knowledge because of their green and smart premises and prestigious design as well as high quality services”, he added.
His Excellency said: “As we, in the UAE, recognize the importance of reading in spreading knowledge, developing societies and building the civilization, we intend to establish a national library that emulates the major libraries worldwide in terms of provision of information, design and wide comfortable spaces for reading, which would meet visitors’ requirements.”
He pointed out that being proud of its various historical documents and records that document the Nation’s memory, its collections of paper and electronic books and its special libraries of valuable content, the NLA aims to establish a national green library in an advanced building of a smart infrastructure that would meet patrons’ requirements and provide them with comfortable reading spaces, in line with the latest practices adopted by the largest libraries worldwide.
At the end of the visit, His Excellences highly appreciated the efforts of the Library of Birmingham for its good reception, cooperation and provision of valuable information to the NLA’s delegation, and both parties exchanged souvenirs and shields.
It is worth mentioning that the NLA’s visit to the UK included a visit to the British Museum Library, British Library and Oxford Library.

The National Library and Archives held its fifth symposium of its cultural season 2022
And discussed the role of literature and folk arts in documenting the history of the nation.
The National Library and Archives organized its fifth symposium entitled, “Literary Publications Documenting The History of the Nation” as part of its cultural season 2022, in which a number of leading Writers, Researchers and Authors participated, discussing the close relationship between literature, history and documentation, since literature plays an important role in history, and historians rely on it as a primary source to learn details of a particular historical period. Some participants discussed their research and writing experience in documenting the history of the nation.
The symposium was held at Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Hall at the National Library and Archives headquarters in the presence of H.E. Abdulla Majid Al Ali, Acting Director General of the National Library and Archives, and with the participation of H.E. Dr. Abdul Aziz Al Musallam, President of the Sharjah Heritage Institute, Researcher and Writer Ali Ahmed Al Kindi, Researcher and Writer Abdullah Al Muhairi, Ms. Sheikha Al-Jabri, Media Advisor at the Family Development Foundation in Abu Dhabi, and the symposium was moderated by Dr. Hazaa Al Naqbi, Head of the Government Archives Section at the National Library and Archives.
At the beginning of the symposium, H.E. Dr. Abdul Aziz Al Musallam stressed the importance of the historical narratives and their great role in documenting the history of the nation, besides the role of some historians, oral narratives, and poetry, with their wide presence in the various councils (Majalis), in recording the different aspects of the history of the nation.
H.E. Dr. Al Musallam discussed the experience of the Sharjah Heritage Institute in publishing books specialized in local, Gulf, Arab and international cultural heritage, and how it takes great interest in the books form and content’s quality to attract readers and book buyers, pointing out the importance of many of the institute's publications as they uncover important pages of the UAE history and heritage.
Dr. Al Musallam stressed the importance of writers and researchers’ full engagement in and dedication to scientific achievement, to continue their vital work on documenting the memory of the nation, as, with time and increased research they shall develop their skills and potential, and enrich the cultural arena and national libraries with their valuable national achievements.
The Researcher and Author, Ali Ahmed Al-Kindi Al Marar spoke about his being honored by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, for his research and studies on the history and heritage of Al Dhafra region issued by the National Library and Archives and launched at the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair 2022, and expressed his great happiness and pride for meeting His Highness the UAE President and for presenting his Highness with his book:  "Al-Dhafra region’s Historical water resources", noting the great interest invested by the UAE wise leadership in research and studies on the history and heritage of the nation.
Al-Kindi stressed the importance of literary works in documenting the memory of the nation, and presented many living examples of Nabataean poetry and folk arts that played a significant role in the documentation of various places and times in the memory of the UAE, explaining that he himself highly benefited in his works from the various literary genres and folk arts, as stated in the poetry of Abdullah bin Slayim Al-Falasi, Rashid Al Khalawi in 1590, Saeed bin Atij Al-Hamli, and Ahmed Bin Balid Al Marar. The Researcher also tackled the most important events and place indications in these poems.
The Researcher and Writer Abdullah Al Muhairi presented his experience in accomplishing his book "Immigrants from Al-Dhafra: The Migration of bin Zarraf As a Model", and pointed out that he was so interested in and impressed by the local writings and oral narratives’ scattered texts on tribal migrations, that he decided to register all excerpts and poems on ancient tribal migrations he came across, and has eventually gathered a selection of rare texts which he thoroughly researched and studied from various historic, genealogic and genetic aspects to understand their demographic nature, and causes, as well as define their trends, and migrators’ origins. He pointed out that he benefited from the UAE Human Genome Project, as he adopted in his study two research approaches: the theoretical and applied scientific approaches based on DNA tests and applications.
Ms. Sheikha Al Jabri presented her personal experience in her literary works on heritage, most notably the books titled "Women's Jewelry and apparel in the United Arab Emirates", and "yaqoul Al Mutawasef”, and depicted many examples that illustrate the role of poetry and literature in documenting Emirati places and regions as known by the UAE people.
Ms. Al Jabri praised the book titled: “Wayn Al-Troush” or “Where are the Messengers” and its documented information that chronicles UAE desert places and travels’ memories. She requested the National Library and Archives to allocate a special place or section for researchers working on heritage and history documentation, and to speed up its collection of oral narratives for its project for the collection and preservation of oral history to avoid wasting or losing any part of the UAE history or heritage, and to utilize and employ such information as possible into academic curricula to pass it on to future generations to take pride in.
The symposium was concluded with a speech by His Excellency the Acting Director General of the National Library and Archives, in which he thanked all participants and praised their valuable ideas and input. H.E. stressed that after the National Library and Archives Headquarters’ renovation and development it shall be fully equipped with a dedicated place for Emirati researchers on history and heritage, and that the National Library and Archives shall always consistently support researchers and all interested in history and heritage, and will take care of the naval history of the UAE, and shall work on reviving Emirati folk arts because of their historical documentation importance, and because they cheer and amuse people. The NLA shall take equal interest, similar to its interest in Al-Dhafra, in other regions of the different emirates, as each region has its history and heritage which constitutes an integral part of the history of the nation that should be preserved in the National Library and Archives for future generations.
At the end of the symposium the National Library and Archives held an honoring ceremony for the participants and presented them with certificates of appreciation and shields.

The National Library and Archives launches its strategic plan 2022-2025
And Reviews the performance of the previous strategic plan and the future plan’s aspired goals

His Excellency Abdulla Majid Al Ali, Acting Director General of the National Library and Archives, stressed the importance of this rich ambitious, and challanging strategic plan 2022-2025 which comes in line with the UAE’s wise leadership’s aspirations for the UAE to assume its deserved leading rank and distinguished status among the world’s advanced and developed countries.
In the meeting attended by all National Library and Archives staff, the strategic plan 2022-2025 was launched, and the performance of the previous strategic plan was reviewed.
His Excellency the Director General started the meeting with a speech where he quoted the words of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE: "Preparedness for the future through owning its necessary tools ... is a UAE strategic dimension" and pointed out the importance of this meeting which sketches, at this important stage, the future map for the National Library and Archives, which was established in 1968 under directives of the Late UAE builder and Founding Father, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.
His Excellency said: The first thing in the next stage shall be the completion and establishment of the National Library, which His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs wanted as a national reference and a cultural and information center that preserves the heritage of the United Arab Emirates and highlights its academic and scientific progress as well as its civilizational development which led it to match the world's greatest libraries that preserve human heritage
H.E. Abdalla Majid Al Ali expressed great optimism regarding the construction of an advanced National Library worthy of and matching the United Arab Emirates leading status. His Excellency thanked all employees of both the National Library and Archive and its Center for Preservation and Restoration, for their constructive efforts, proposals, and brilliant achievements that contribute to archival and library work advancement and development. These efforts reflected the great interest invested in the National Library and Archives at the local, Arab and international levels. The NLA is now a vital institution for all the UAE people of various segments and nationalities. strategic cooperation is also highly important for work achievement and integration.
That ceremony witnessed His Excellency, the Acting Director General’s honouring of the National Library and Archives’ distinguished Departments, including: the Corporate and Community Outreach and Archives Departments, following which H.E. honoured the distinguished Sections for their outstanding performance during the previous strategic plan.
During the meeting, the National Library and Archives’ different departments presented a brief presentation of their respective achievements during the previous strategic plan, as well as their future projects and aspirations in the next strategic plan 2022-2025.
In conclusion, A presented video elaborated the National Library and Archives’ study of the best adopted practices that lead to achieving high performance and outstanding results.