Support Services Department
This Department provides support to the National Library and Archives with regard to financial and administrative affairs, human resources, IT and computer services as well as the National Library and Archives Central Archive. The Department manages all personnel affairs, prepares the National Library and Archives budget in coordination with other departments and monitors the implementation of the approved budgets. Moreover, it exercises financial control over the various National Library and Archives activities and manages all the general services and maintenance works of all departments. The Department also sets the National Library and Archives Human Resources (HR) policies and procedures as well as other requirements in collaboration with other departments. It sets technical and progress reports, statistics and operational schedules and submits these to the Director General. It also recommends policies and procedures for the development of the National Library and Archives overall performance. The Support Services Department consists of five sections:
1. Information Technology Section
Information Technology (IT) Section provides technical support, follows up network affairs, IT services and applications. It is responsible for the development of National Library and Archives technological systems and operations. It has been supervising the National Library and Archives IT infrastructure; and within a decade, it managed to take strategic steps to develop the infrastructure with several advanced servers that operate independently to ensure control, supervision and protection of both hardware and software. Under the supervision of the IT section, the National Library and Archives has been granted ISO 27001 certificate for information security.
The IT Section supports and develops various systems within the National Library and Archives including employee attendance and self-service systems, library, electronic archiving, communication system, Human resources, finance and purchasing, Information security, electronic network support and National Library and Archives website.
2. Human Resources and Career Development Section
This Section is concerned with human resources and career development. It is responsible for the recruitment and employment of highly qualified and skilled UAE Nationals who would achieve National Library and Archives vision and goals. It manages staff affairs from the time of their appointment to end of service. It acquaints the staff with the National Library and Archives human resources policies that contribute to maximizing job satisfaction. This Section also helps staff realize their goals through the observation of general policies, work ethics and code of conduct at NA.
The National Library and Archives staff training and development, as well as motivation, is one of the priorities of this section, in order to increase their productivity and efficiency in the best interest of both the National Library and Archives and its staff.
3. Finance and Purchasing Section
The Finance Section manages the National Library and Archives staff salaries, budget estimates, bank accounts, invoices and verifies integrity of all financial procedures in compliance with regulations. It also manages revenue-expenditure records and periodic departmental reports and prepares annual balance sheets.
The Purchasing Section is the main channel for securing the needs and requirements of all National Library and Archives departments and acts as a link between National Library and Archives on one hand and suppliers and service providers on the other. It also conducts National Library and Archives bids.
4. Logistic Support Section
This Section manages and preserves National Library and Archives assets with a view to providing the best possible services for National Library and Archives and external users. It also ensures the provision and maintenance of an appropriate and safe work environment and the ongoing operation of health and safety tools and systems in the National Library and Archives.
5. National Library and Archives Central Archives Section
This Section links all National Library and Archives departments, as it is mainly responsible for the establishment and management of a central archive using a unified electronic record management system, in accordance with international standards in encoding of incoming and outgoing internal and external correspondence. This section receives, sends, codifies and archives National Library and Archives correspondence electronically on a daily basis into a temporary archive and on a weekly/monthly basis into the permanent archive, thus facilitating retention and retrieval as per work requirements.
One of the main duties of this section is to preserve official National Library and Archives documents and safeguard them against damage or loss. Lists of all files are periodically prepared and referred to the Disposal Committee and disposal is eventually carried out as per the established procedures and regulations.
