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Qatar National Library (QNL) has participated in the 20th annual conference of Special Libraries Association (SLA), which was held yesterday in Doha.
QNL experts highlighted work currently underway to improve access to historical items following the library’s unique collaboration with the British Library.
Librarians, researchers and educators from around the world, who work in the fields of knowledge acquisition, organisation and dissemination, are participating in the three-day conference , sharing and exchanging ideas about the overall theme of “Enhancing Digital Knowledge Society’s Information Needs.”
A senior delegation from QNL has also attended the event to reveal the ground-breaking work being carried out by the library to widen access to archive material and promote greater understanding of Arab and Islamic cultural heritage and history of the Gulf region.
The partnership between QNL and the British Library involves digitising over 500,000 pages of archival items from the India Office Records, covering almost 200 years between 1763 – 1951. The project will also see 500 maps, charts and plans of the Gulf, in addition to 300 sound recordings highlighting the evolution of traditional Arab music made available in electronic form.