Libraries in Qatar need to focus more on continuous training and development due to the ongoing “technological revolution” and the presence of the Internet, a senior official at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies has said.
“Libraries should have more tools to empower the society,” stressed Dr Hend al-Muftah, vice president, Doha Institute for Graduate Studies. She is also the chairperson of the Establishment Committee for the Library and Information Association of Qatar.
She was speaking at a panel discussion titled “The Role of Libraries in Unleashing Potential” at the 48th Metropolitan Libraries (MetLib) Conference, which opened yesterday at the Qatar National Convention Centre.
While many libraries provide almost an unlimited access for free digital and physical information and resources, Dr al-Muftah noted that librarians in Qatar also need to work beyond what she described as “very traditional and stereotype image located in a very safe and closed environment.”
“We have to go beyond such traditional role to target the society itself including the children, the women at homes, the elderly people, and so on,” she added.
Such undertaking would include updating their knowledge and skills as professionals, specifically in line with the recent national and international trends.
Dr Lux echoed this statement saying the library and information services industry is undergoing tremendous change.
She noted that libraries should start giving their staff with the needed trainings to continuously enhance their professional development.
Such move, Dr Lux added, will fully unlock their potential towards better serving and
developing their communities.
Di Tillio also shared the same observation saying public libraries are going through a real renaissance not only because of their digital services but for their spaces.
“Public library spaces are changing whether it looks like a teenage room, a home kitchen or a living room or a garage,” he said. “Be it without staff or without print books, the public library is a space for people where the community is revitalised and sustained in its identity, creativity, and literacy.”
