The National Library and Archives enriching the Cairo International Book Fair 2024 with a symposium on the role of national libraries in preserving nations’ heritage
The National Library and Archives enriched the Cairo International Book Fair 2024 with a symposium on the role of national libraries in preserving nations’ heritage. It highlighted the NLA’s efforts to preserve the UAE’s ancient history and heritage. It also stressed that our interest in heritage is genuine, and it stems from the visions of the Founding Father of the UAE Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan who placed great attention to heritage given the significance of our origins, which reaffirm the authenticity of peoples, shape their characters, protect their present and secure their future.
H.E. Abdulla Majed Al Ali, the NLA’s Director General, emphasized in his paper that history and heritage are two fundamental pillars of the nation’s identity. Peoples take pride in their history and heritage, which form their culture and from which they draw lessons for their present and future.
Moreover, His Excellency said “Since heritage is a chain that links ancestors with descendants and through which ancestors’ virtues continue to pass to their children and grandchildren, it affects our present and future. That is why we are keen on preserving our Emirati heritage, which we are proud of and which we faithfully transfer to the generations to come. The national library assumes the ultimate responsibility for this. Furthermore, it devotes attention to collect, safeguard, organize and make cultural heritage accessible. It also preserves history, which constitutes a part of the UAE’s identity. The national library is fit to take part in all types of collaboration, exchange of information items with other international libraries and sponsorship of national documentary programs, noting that national libraries include peoples’ national intellectual and cultural production, which is displayed in an organized way and made accessible to visitors including researchers, academics and others. It is worth mentioning that national libraries contain the history and heritage of peoples and nations, which we keep at the forefront of our interests and work on preserving and providing among our library collections.”
His Excellency added: “By focusing on the national library, we look forward to an advanced national library that is parallel to major libraries worldwide and capable to preserve the cultural heritage of the UAE based on the latest standards.
The national library being in the process of establishment does not mean that the National Library and Archives is starting from scratch. It already had a library since its establishment in 1968 as Center for Documentation and Research at Qasr Al Hosn’s historical building in downtown Abu Dhabi. This is pursuant to our belief that the UAE’s history and heritage will be preserved through books that are kept with due diligence at the library. As the National Library and Archives progresses, the library also develop, so it has largely become a specialized library and since then it has been accessible to the public.
In addition to the national library’s role in preserving nations’ history and heritage, His Excellency the Director General has also discussed its role in compiling the national bibliography, preventing the nation’s heritage and creative thinking from destruction and loss, encouraging reading among generations and employing modern technologies in preserving history and heritage.
Dr. Zain Abdul Hady, Director of Library of the New Administrative Capital and former Board of Directors Chairman of the National Library and Archives of Egypt, participated in the symposium. He tackled the history of national libraries worldwide and their special position among the soft powers and cultural figures in every country as well as their roles in preserving heritage and reading and educational initiatives. He took the Library of Congress as an example; it launches initiatives in the field of books, series and journals and adopts scientific, historical and cultural centers.
He added: national libraries have multiple roles in developing reading habits and building digital libraries. These roles are not limited to services only, but they also supervise academic programs of universities’ libraries or coordinate with libraries sections. Some countries tend to establish vocational schools for librarianship. National libraries contribute to the preparation of national strategies for culture, serve as depository center for books issued by the respective country or authored by its nationals. According to Carnegie, libraries bring peoples together while Ranganathan indicated that libraries are the memory of the world, and a world without libraries is a world that has neither memory nor civilization.