A lecture at the Qatar National Library on 30 October shed more light on how high-tech archives such as the Digital Library of the Middle East can make information more accessible.
The informative talk by Dr. Charles Henry, President of the Council on Library and Information Resources, highlighted how for centuries Qatar has been a significant crossroads between Africa, Europe, the Middle East and the Far East, and as such, its heritage items trace global social, economic, scientific and religious development. Digital libraries can make these items accessible to researchers and scholars around the world, increasing understanding of regional and global history.
Dr. Henry said: “National libraries can make valuable contributions to digital libraries around the world, and it has become more important for them to make their digitized records accessible online.”
“International cooperation is absolutely essential to preserving the heritage of a region, and our ongoing collaboration with Qatar National Library is an excellent example. The Library is a critical source of knowledge for the region, and we want to work within its framework to create more visibility around the heritage of Qatar and the region,” added Dr. Henry.
The Digital Library of the Middle East, of which Qatar National Library is a founding member, was created in response to threats to cultural heritage from political violence and unrest in the Middle East and North Africa.
Tatiana Usova, Associate Director of the Library at Georgetown University in Qatar, who attended the lecture, said: “I think the Digital Library of the Middle East is an absolutely fantastic project because it takes Qatar National Library to an international level. By contributing to this portal, Qatar National Library is in fact promoting the heritage of Qatar globally.”
