Looking ahead at the smart libraries’ future, their spaces and their significance in the digital citizenship era
The National Library and Archives, in collaboration with TRENDS Research and Advisory, organized a seminar on smart libraries and digital citizenship

The National Library and Archives (NLA), in collaboration with TRENDS Research and Advisory, organized a seminar entitled "Smart Libraries and Digital Citizenship: Challenges of Foreseeing the Future of Smart Libraries" at the NLA booth at the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair 2023.
The interest in smart libraries arises from being the main gateway to knowledge and culture. Libraries have started to go hi-tech to stay relevant in the digital age and to cope with rapid technological transformations.
Smart libraries that nurture creativity and collaboration are an integral part of sustainable green cities which meet the increasingly relying on advanced technologies needs of people. With the emergence of the concept of digital citizenship, libraries have become a highly important upgrading means to a conscious and educated society.
Mr. Hamad Slayem Al-Hamiri, Director of Research and Knowledge Services Department was the first speaker in the seminar. He explored the future of smart libraries and stated that the United Arab Emirates, under the directives of its wise leadership, ranks the first in the Arab world and the eighth in the world in government smart services.
He shed light on the three most important reasons behind public libraries transformation into smart libraries, namely government trends, the digital transformation of the city, and the needs of beneficiaries. He gave a profile of a smart library in a smart building, with a smart librarian. Such library also employs smart technology, provides smart services, and is visited by smart people.
The Director of Research and Knowledge Services Department concluded by pointing to the future aspirations of the National Library of the United Arab Emirates. He underscored the importance of fully equipping and supplying its building with technical solutions, such as the integrated automated system, the knowledge exploration system, and an integrated information portal.
Other aspirations include the launch of the Emirates Digital Library, the Digital Repository Project, and the UAE Bibliographic Agency.
Then, Mr. Hamad Al-Kaabi, Editor-in-Chief of Al-Ittihad newspaper, identified digital citizenship as a set of guidelines that nurture responsibility, awareness and wisdom when using technology. Afterwards, he pointed to smart libraries which, according to him, are a technological breakthrough promoting libraries to be more computer reliant. He indicated that this is a growing trend in the era of Artificial Intelligence with its various applications and added that such libraries meet users’ needs in the digital age. Using the model of Mohammed bin Rashid Library, Mr. Al-Kaabi provided accurate information about its form and content, which made it a remarkable contemporary library.
The editor-in-chief of Al-Ittihad newspaper talked about the launch of smart books globally in 2012, indicating that such books are now used worldwide serving knowledge and culture.
Finally, researcher and Professor Reem Al-Kindi, from TRENDS Research and Advisory spoke about smart libraries in the era of digital citizenship. She identified the conditions that led to the emergence of the digital citizenship concept in light of rapid technological developments. She noted that the digital age has a highly important impact on citizenship, as it pushes individuals closer to computers, the Internet, and smart devices.
She stressed the importance of digital literacy, digital decency, and digital legal responsibility, and then turned to the role of smart libraries in promoting digital citizenship.
After identifying smart libraries, she shed light on their components such as smart services, smart people, and smart governance which includes all compatible features. She emphasized the importance of the smart library building as well as the systems that make it among sustainable buildings, and the innovations that improve the quality of life.
She concluded by emphasizing the smart library role, which is to enhance the actual reality of virtual communities and contribute to creating a digital citizen who belongs more to his homeland.
It is noteworthy that Mohammed Khalfan Al-Sawafi, a writer and researcher, was the moderator of the seminar.