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HE the Assistant Foreign Minister for Administrative Services and Follow-up Affairs Rashid bin Khalifa al-Khalifa yesterday launched the Foreign Ministry’s electronic library website.
HE al-Khalifa explained that the aim of the e-library is to provide the staff everywhere, (at the ministry’s headquarters or at missions abroad), with means of research, knowledge and self-learning.
He added that all employees of the Ministry can have access to the library’s content wherever they are, and at any time through Internet-connected devices, including smartphones.
Director of the Diplomatic Institute Dr Hassan bin Ibrahim al-Muhannadi said that the library is a real asset to the institute, the Foreign Ministry and the Qatari diplomats as it will greatly contribute to the development of human resources in the Ministry.
He stressed that the initiative will assist trainees at the Institute as the electronic library contains many databases directly or indirectly linked to the functions of the Foreign Ministry staff.
Giving a presentation, he said the website contains the following:
1. The Arabic Al-Manhal database for electronic periodicals and reports in Arabic and which are searchable by full text.
2. A database of over 1,500 periodicals, books and archive. The political science section includes titles focusing on international relations, economic policy, security, political economy, public affairs and management, etc.
3. The United Nations books which focus on the most important issues which the United Nations deals with politically, economically and socially.
4. A database of the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OCED), which provides a complete set of books, papers and statistics on topics of interest to the economic and social development in many countries, in addition to a wide range of information on states’ policies towards combating many existing problems such as poverty.
5. A database (global issues in their contexts) covers a wide range of global issues in various fields such as sociology, civics, politics, science, economy, cultural and religious studies, women’s rights and human rights ...etc.
6. Statistical database for trade in goods that contain detailed statistics for imports and exports reported by the statistical agencies of nearly 220 countries. They are annual trade data spanning from 1962 until the current year, and is considered the most comprehensive database with nearly 2bn records.
7. The World Bank database which includes cumulative information about economic and social development all over the world (more than 30,000 publication of the World Bank, and more than 30,600 research work papers on policies).
8. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) database, which includes booklets, directories and statistical yearbooks, reports of global financial stability, the independent evaluation office, the regional economic Outlook, the global economic Outlook.
9. A database including 17,000 periodicals covering various subjects.
He noted that the library also contains a number of links that provide access to other libraries (such as Qatar National Library, the Digital Library and the Library of Congress...), organisations and research and studies centres, and news sites.