QU Library Completes Transition to New State-of-the-art Facility

Doha, March 25 (QNA) - Qatar University's Library made the transition from its former locations in the women's and men's campuses to a new state-of-the art building situated near the QU branch of Qatar National Bank. The facility is an addition to the upgraded infrastructure at QU which saw the launch last year of the new Women's College of Business and Economics (CBE), and the 2009 unveiling of the new women s College of Engineering and the Food Court. Library Director Dr Tajalsir Kardaman noted that, "Like those buildings, the new library was designed to the highest modern standards of function, design and eco-sustainability, and enhance the traditional aesthetics of the campus architecture". The building boasts five floors which accommodate the reception ground floor and first floor for female students, second floor for male students, and third floor for administrative offices and various library resources and equipment. The third floor also houses the offices of QU's Social and Economic Survey Research Institute (SESRI) which re-located from its space in the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS). Occupying an area of 51,000 sq meters, the new library also has expanded seating and study capacities, well-equipped amphitheater, meeting rooms, multi-media and information literacy labs, two photography centers, exhibition hall, two cafeterias, and other interactive areas. QU Library is considered the hub of interaction for students and faculty in its provision of a rich and diverse collection of books, periodicals, journals, e-resources, and reference materials. "It is also an important resource for the Qatari community for reference on a wide range of topics that address all sectors", Dr Kardaman said, adding, "we strive to engage high school students, teachers, government, business, industry, civil society in providing resources and services that will be beneficial to them". QU students, faculty, staff and external users are provided with resources and services under three sections: public services including circulation, reference, instructional and collection management services, technical services which deal with indexing, cataloging acquisition, collection development gifts and exchanges and library information management system. "This structure is effectively implemented by our library staff, who are highly-trained in wide-ranging skills to provide the most efficient services, and coupled with the most advanced technological facilities, we aim to make the library experience quick and easy for all our users", Dr Kardaman said. Based on its collection development policy, and on accreditation priorities for different academic colleges and departments within QU, the library continues to enhance its print and electronic resources, currently offering over 100,000 book titles in both Arabic and English languages in different fields and specializations offered at Qatar University. It also houses around 100,000 electronic books, 76 databases consisting of many academic articles and scientific information material, and subscribes to over 50,000 magazines, journals and newspapers. Since its establishment in 1973, QU library has undergone a number of significant developmental changes, the earliest of which was the establishment of the automated Main Injector Non Standard Interactions Search (MINSIS) integrated library system in 1987. This was followed in 2008 by the Millennium System which the library envisions as a powerful means for improving its resources and services alike for the benefit of the QU community. This is especially true in view of the its current strategic plan and accreditation effort. The Library also provides training services in the use of its Millennium system and databases. Another important system implemented at the Library was AskZad, a new electronic database in Arabic, featuring more than 24,000 e-books, covering a wide range of topics; more than 7,000 dissertations from elite universities across the Middle East; over 9,000 peer-reviewed articles; 191 academic journals and periodicals, archived and updated, covering issues from the 1970s; academic journals index of more than 650 journals; news index of more than 1200 newspapers, magazines and news websites. This resource will provide reams of work in Arabic for the benefit of students, faculty, and researchers in and outside QU from all areas of the Qatari community. The Library is currently transferring to the Library of Congress classification system; accordingly, book titles in both Arabic and English can be accessed on the same shelves. Notably, the Library also hosts three designated cultural sections the Qatari Corner, American Corner, and Japanese Corner. "These are three special collections that stand out prominently in our facility and which will be of immense interest to our students, and external users", Dr. Kardaman said. The Library also receives a donation of books from the Japanese Embassy as part of the continuing cultural and academic exchanges between the two organizations. This event began in 1989 and continued in 2006, 2008, 2010, and 2010. The books, in English and Japanese, include novels, children's books and comics, Japanese history, cuisine, horticulture, origami art, style and design, architecture, and martial arts. (QNA)