Librarians explore ways to promote reading culture

Qatar National Library (QNL), a member of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, recently organised an event entitled, ‘Qatar Library Camp 2016’, in collaboration with University College London Qatar (UCL Qatar).
Bringing together practitioners within the industry to encourage the exchange of new ideas, knowledge and experiences, the Qatar Library Camp brought together 40 librarians from schools, universities and other institutions across Qatar.
Hosted at UCL Qatar, participants examined topics of relevance to Qatar’s growing knowledge-based economy. These included ways to promote a reading culture using QNL’s vast resources, introducing research skills to primary and secondary school students, and stimulating collaboration of knowledge between Arabic and English speaking librarians.
Saadi al-Said, director of administration and planning at QNL, said: “The Qatar Library Camp provides an ideal platform for library practitioners to exchange ideas and network, allowing them to gain new insights that will prove beneficial to both the industry and the wider community. We are looking into organising similar events in the future to ensure librarians in Qatar are connected with one another and are made aware of the latest industry developments.”
QNL’s Music Information Services librarian, Sebastian Wilke, said: “This event gives librarians from various institutions the opportunity to exchange ideas and address certain challenges facing the industry. The format of the event is unique and allows participants to express themselves freely and discuss topics of interest with their peers.”
QNL will host MetLib 2016 Qatar later this month under the theme ‘Pearls in the Desert: Unleashing Potential’. This is the first time this conference is held in the Mena region.