A session at the "Culture and Science Symposium" within the "Month of Reading"

«Libraries from the past to the future». Human memory and a receptacle of knowledge

Al Matrooshi mediates Sheikha Al-Mutairi and Jaballah during the session. From the source

Participants in a session entitled "The Role of Libraries from the Past to the Future", organized by the Culture and Science Symposium in Dubai, as part of the activities of the "Month of Reading", stressed that libraries are considered as a human memory and a container for knowledge, pointing out that they are responsible in their various categories for shaping the awareness of the educated reading community, which qualified them to occupy a prominent position among the top 10 internationally at the level of soft power.

The session was hosted by: Emirati researcher Ali Al Matrooshi, Assistant Professor of Information Sciences and Officer of Professional Programs and Awards at the Sharjah Public Libraries Department of the Sharjah Book Authority, Dr. Emad Jaballah, and its director, Head of the National Culture Department at Juma Al Majid Center for Culture and Heritage, Sheikha Al Mutairi.

Al Matrooshi reviewed the sources of local culture in the Gulf region before oil, which were represented in the Islamic religion, the natural environment, the heritage of the local social environment, cultural friction with other peoples, books, magazines, and radio, pointing to the keenness of the first generation of some merchants and clerics in the UAE to acquire books and magazines, despite the difficulty of obtaining them at that time in the life of the state, as they succeeded in acquiring dozens of books from Iraq, Egypt and Lebanon, and even contributed to the establishment of a nucleus for what we can launch. It has the word libraries in these years.

He pointed out that private libraries are ahead of the rest of the types of libraries, and among the most famous owners of private libraries before the union were the late Sheikh Rashid bin Maktoum the first, his son Sheikh Mana bin Rashid, Sheikh Sultan bin Saqr Al Qasimi, and Sheikh Sultan bin Salem Al Qasimi.

Al-Matrooshi explained that "the libraries of religious scholars have added momentum to the cultural movement, and the most famous of these scholars are: Hassan bin Muhammad Al-Khazraji, Abdul Rahman bin Hafez, and Muhammad Noor bin Saif Al-Muhairi. Writers, poets and intellectuals also played their role in the formation of libraries, including: Obaid bin Rahma Al-Budoor and Mubarak bin Hamad Al-Aqili.

For his part, Dr. Emad Jaballah said: "The UAE has been keen for decades to always celebrate reading, culture and creators," praising the choice of the topic of the session on libraries as institutions of human memory in the context of celebrating the "Month of Reading". He shed light on the Mohammed bin Rashid Library in Dubai and the House of Wisdom Library in Sharjah as shining examples of the reality of the state of libraries in the country, to complement the march of ancient libraries, such as the systems of libraries in Sharjah, Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

He pointed out that the features of modernity and the localization of technology in libraries and information institutions carry promise that attracting these tools will be an addition to the function, visions and objectives of libraries, and gave an example of CHAT GPT technology and the challenges it imposed that require information institutions to move to adapt and benefit from them, in order to achieve the satisfaction of the beneficiary, who is the main compass and the ultimate goal of all activities and work of library and information institutions.

Ali Al Matrooshi:

• "The first generation in the UAE succeeded in acquiring books, and contributed to the establishment of a nucleus, for what we can call libraries."

Imad Jaballah:

• "The Mohammed bin Rashid Library in Dubai and the House of Wisdom Library in Sharjah are shining examples of the reality of the state of libraries in the UAE."

The human element

Assistant Professor of Information Sciences and Officer of Professional Programs and Awards at the Sharjah Public Libraries Department, affiliated to the Sharjah Book Authority, Dr. Emad Jaballah, touched on the human element and the need to arm it with the science and skill necessary to perform the main roles assigned to it, and how rehabilitation and training institutions are required to design rehabilitation programs that empower and enhance the professionalism of this human element.