Past Events

The Library, in collaboration with the Kanasha initiative, is pleased to invite you to participate in the Art of Improvising Public Speech Competition, to be held in December 2019 to mark the celebration of International Arabic Language Day on 18 December.

Learn how to make your very first device using Arduino! This workshop for beginners will teach you the basics of Arduino, which opens a world of possibilities for you to tap into your innovative side.

Bookshare is an online database for people with print disabilities. It provides audiobooks, read-along books, DAISY talking books, and braille and large-font books. You can customize your reading experience with ebooks in formats that work according to your needs. This event will help you find resources on Bookshare; the latter part of the program will teach you how to register for membership. Bookshare account registration is every Monday from 5:00 – 7:00 PM.

Join us for Storytime every Monday at the Children's Library. In November, we will read stories about India and the Far East.

Sharon Parkinson, Senior Journals Publisher at EmeraldPublishing, will talk about what to consider when publishing in academic journals. She will cover information about the process, tips on what to consider, how to target journals, publishing etiquette and how to increase chances of getting accepted. This session will be of value to anyone who is looking to publish their research in a peer-reviewed journal.

Maps of the Earth, as well as of planets, help scientists understand the evolution of our Solar System. Join in the November event of the Science Book Forum (SBF) to understand how maps of unusual bodies such as comets, asteroids and Saturn's moons are made and the similarities and differences between them and maps of the Earth. Dr. Alessandro Frigeri from the National Institute of Astrophysics in Rome will explain how we map new worlds beyond our planet. The forum is moderated by Dr. Essam Heggy.

In collaboration with Doha Learning Days, Qatar National Library is proud to host the Young Writers Program Open Mic Night Competition. Speakers will perform a two-minute piece on one of the following themes: 

Summation and multiplication as we learn in school have never been as easy as they are now. Computer scientist Nahuel González will take the participants on a deep interactive exploration of the algorithms that allowed the users of the predecessors of our current numeral system to perform basic arithmetic. We will experiment with how basic arithmetic operations have very intuitive correlates when expressed in tally notation, and we will work in successively improved number systems to understand how much these can be sped up with algorithmic improvements only made possible by Hindu-Arabic numerals and their positional representation.

Number systems and their representations have evolved over millennia, from the simple tally notation of the ancient bones of Lebombo and Ishango, through the acrophonic glyphs of Brahmi numerals, into the modern Indo-Arabic numerals with their positional notation and special symbol for zero. We will trace these developments through time and place to find that the arithmetic techniques we take for granted now were developed with great effort and ingenuity.

Join us for a creative discussion session on the book Pistachio Theory, by Fahad Amer Al Ahmadi. This book argues that the secret to success lies in the clarity of purpose and flexibility of implementation, and big achievements do not require more than a small daily habit. This is a book that will change the way you think.