His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister of UAE and The Ruler of Dubai, inaugurated the Mohammed bin Rashid Library, a new cultural beacon in the region on 14th June 2022.
At the Launch, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said, “Today we launch a cultural and intellectual edifice for our new generations, through which we aim to promote reading, spread knowledge, and support researchers and scientists. Our goal is to illuminate the human mind.”
His Highness further added, “The economy needs knowledge, politics needs wisdom, nations need to learn, and all of that can be found in books. Through this library, we have brought together millions of books to develop our path, consolidate our identity, culture and roots, and create our future.”
The Mohammed Bin Rashid (MBR) Library is built with an investment of AED 1 billion and is a part of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives (MBRGI). It is designed in the form of a wooden stand known as a ‘Rahl’, with a total area of 581,903 square feet (54,000 square metres), creating a stimulating environment that advances the cultural and creative landscape in the country, and providing access for all social segments, including youth, children, government and private institutions, writers, researchers, thinkers and artists. It also welcomes readers and literary and intellectual personalities from the region and the world. It contains more than 1.1 million printed and digital books in Arabic and foreign languages, over six million dissertations, around 73,000 music scores, 75,000 videos, approximately 13,000 articles, and more than 5,000 historical print and digital journals within an archive covering 325 years, along with about 35,000 print and digital newspapers from around the world, and nearly 500 rare collectibles and a capacity to facilitate 10 million visitors annually. The library will officially open its doors to the public on Thursday, 16th June, 2022.
Situated in the Al Jaddaf locality of Dubai, UAE, on Dubai Creek, the library, which is in the shape of an open book on a lectern, will be host to over 100 cultural and cognitive events annually.
The Mohammed bin Rashid Library has nine specialized libraries including The General Library, The Emirates Library, The Young Adults Library, The Children’s Library, The Special Collection Library, The Maps and Atlases Library, The Media and Arts Library, The Business Library and The Periodical Library. In addition to paperback books, the library provides access to a wide range of e-books and other digital media, and access to millions of books, information sources and pieces of content from around the world.
The library’s facilities, which use the latest technology and artificial intelligence (AI), include an automated storage and electronic book retrieval system, self-service kiosks, a book digitization laboratory, and smart robots to respond to visitors’ inquiries, in addition to augmented and virtual reality technologies among other high tech features.
It is also an environment friendly library that has adopted the highest standards of sustainability, as it gets 10 percent of its energy from solar panels installed on the roof of the building. The external structure is designed to insulate the building’s interior, reduce heat gain, and help regulate the building’s internal environment. It has natural lighting thanks to the ceiling windows in the building, and is designed to reduce water consumption by 50 percent. Water is recycled from air conditioners to irrigate green spaces.
The main features of this library are a conference centre, exhibition spaces, children’s library, bookshop, reading halls, service areas, a business library, and training halls. The basement of the library will be able to accommodate around a thousand cars.
The library is a cultural beacon in the region… truly, this knowledge centre is a must visit!
Source: WAM
Image Credits: WAM