If it’s true that a library is the medicine chest of the soul, Abu Dhabi is in for some serious healing as ADACH gets set to open several new libraries around the capital in the coming months
There are different types of silence – the still silence of a household at rest, the ominous silence of a graveyard at night, the bitter silence of an argument abandoned – but perhaps the best sort of quiet is the electric silence of a well-stocked library.
Imagine spending a boiling hot summer day in Abu Dhabi – not wandering the mall or suffering a manic play centre but curled up on a cushion in a cool corner with a great book. There’s a hum of activity just beyond the grasp of your attention, the charged vibe of minds at work, imaginations at play.
Later today, a story teller will captivate a room full of children with an age-old story made new just for them. Upstairs, a gaggle of teenagers are huddled together, giggling quietly over a comedy video as a graduate student across the room listens to a symphony, gathering the marrow of an essay on music appreciation.
But none of them distracts you from the story that has gripped you, hunched in a corner of the majlis, turning pages without regard for time or company. No, you’ve given yourself over to the characters, the captivating plot and the hours stretch before you with every promise of that story fulfilled in comfort.
Where is this wonderful magical place? Come this summer, it will be a typical afternoon at what will be the newly opened branch of the National Library on the Abu Dhabi Corniche.
As the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH) gets set to saturate the capital with a love of literacy, the Abu Dhabi National Libraries Advisor David Hirsch explains how much the capital stands to gain from the coming institutions.
“We’ve already opened a branch in Al Nahyan Camp across from the bus station,” says the knowledgeable Hirsch. “The next one that will open is probably the Corniche branch which will be located near the Chamber of Commerce and the Central Market Souk.”
In addition to the massive four storey branch on the Corniche, other libraries are set to open in July including the flagship branch in Abu Dhabi Mall, followed by Mezyad Mall and Raha Mall. Plans are also in the works to open a branch dedicated to children in Al Bateen and a general public library at the Al Ain Mall.
“We’re also going to have five mobile libraries,” says Hirsch. “These buses will go to schools and parks around Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and the Western Region.”
Designed for the modern age, these libraries are about a lot more than just books. “We’ll have a lot of online resources, multimedia, DVDs and music,” says Hirsch.
The staff at the National Library know a fair bit about digitised content. “One of the projects the National Library is currently working on is the Arabic poetry encyclopaedia, an online encyclopaedia which includes 2.4 million verses of Arabic poetry from the pre-Islamic period to the current day,” explains Hirsch.
Though there will always been room in this world for printed books, the National Library is making the most of the internet.
“We’re making different tools available online at no cost,” Hirsch tells us. “If you go onto the library’s website http:/libraries.adach.ae our catalogue is available online, so you can see what the library has before you go. If we don’t have the book you want, you can request it and if we do have it, you can reserve it.”
Can’t wait? The library’s website already offers a number of audio books for children via the Kid Zone. Hirsch tells us that eventually the library website will provide other resources that would be of interest to students and researchers.
“We already have all kinds of online data bases for adults but there will be a lot more, all available to members free of charge.”
High school and university students have always been among the National Library’s major users, for good reason.
“Our Emirates collections are quite largely used by high school and university students but our international collections are also growing. We’re trying to expand to include a lot of fiction in both Arabic and English, a big cookbook collection and lots of books about modern art and modern art in this region plus architecture and design.”
But what about the rest of us who are just looking for a good read for ourselves or our kids? Placing the libraries in some of the most popular shopping malls in the capital was nothing short of a stroke of genius.
“Going to the mall is one of the most convenient things to do in the summer. During the hottest months – and throughout the year – the library plans to organise reading promotion programmes and contests for kids.”
Occupying an area of 5,527 square metres, the Abu Dhabi Mall Library will present a variety of services and programmes including a massive collection of print titles and audio-visual materials. Like other locations, there will be many self-service options such as self-checkout plus facilities for photocopying and printing.
Who can use the library? “Anyone is welcome to use the library. To check out books, residents of the UAE will have to make a refundable deposit of AED 400 and you’ll get a library card to borrow materials, but anyone is welcome to come into the library and read a book or use the internet.”
With everything that’s planned, we can hardly wait for the next library to open – until then, we’ll wait with book in hand, ready for that cool corner and a summer afternoon of soul-satisfying silence.
Laura Fulton
