Hundreds get a glimpse of QNL’s historic items

Held to celebrate Unesco’s International Day for Monuments and Sites, hundreds of visitors flocked to its Heritage Collection building to view the library’s most prized and historic items, QNL has said in a statement.

QNL’s collection of globes, maps and documents relating to the archaeological site of Al Zubarah were especially popular among participants at the special event.

Speaking on the historic city in the north of the country, Saadi A al-Said, QNL’s associate director for Administration and Planning, said: “This year’s Heritage Collection Open Day specially recognised the archaeological site, which Unesco declared as Qatar’s first entry on the World Heritage list in June 2013. The array of QNL’s Arab and Islamic Heritage Collection maps and beautiful globes relating to Al Zubarah made a real impact on the public during the Open Day.”

Ambassadors from Argentina, Central African Republic, Costa Rica, Japan, Libya, Morocco, Peru, Switzerland and Turkey, as well as representatives from Greece and Yemen, enjoyed tours at the Open Day.

Ambassador Julio Florian of Peru applauded QNL and encouraged international communities to visit it, saying: “Peru and Qatar may be 20 hours by plane and geographically far apart, but through cultural events you can build bridges and that is why this place is so important for every society. It’s the way to get closer.”

Dr Abdulla Mohamed al-Sulaiti, member of QNL’s Board of Trustees and deputy director of Research and Collections at Qatar National Museum, said: “QNL’s Arab and Islamic Heritage Collection is one of the most important ones in the Gulf region because it presents so much information about the Arabian Peninsula and Arab world.”

Al-Said added: “QNL is delighted to have welcomed so many families, students, educators and VIPs to the second Heritage Collection Open Day.”

Before the new QNL building in Education City opens, the public can access the library’s online collections by registering their details with QNL. During the Open Day, visitors took the opportunity to do this using a special online booth, and are now eligible to use the wealth of information for study, research or relaxation.

QNL project director Dr Claudia Lux said: “We are delighted that so many visitors to the Open Day immediately registered to QNL’s online collections. Anyone with a valid Qatari ID or residence permit is eligible to sign up and access these free online resources.”

For visit details, log on to www.qnl.qa/visit-request-form