Mohammed issues law to set up Dh1bn library

dubai — His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has issued Law No. 14 of 2016 for the establishment of the Mohammed bin Rashid Library and Decree No. 36 of 2016 on the formation of the board of directors for the MBR Library Foundation.

The board, to be chaired by Mohammed Ahmed Al Mur, is tasked with drawing up general policies and strategic plans to deliver the library’s objectives. The foundation will run the library and promote the organisation locally, regionally and globally. Board members will serve a threeyear term, subject to renewal.

The Dh1 billion library, launched by Shaikh Mohammed in February this year, will feature more than 1.5 million volumes, 1 million audio books and 2 million e-books, making it the world’s largest electronic collection and the biggest library in the Arab world. Spread over one million sq. ft., the facility will include eight specialised libraries, accommodate 42 million visitors annually and host over 100 annual cultural events.

“We want this library to serve as a cultural forum, an incubator for knowledge and a civilisational centre in the region,” said Shaikh Mohammed, adding that it would contribute towards promotion of reading and transformation of culture and turn it into a community product that would advance national development.

He directed the foundation to start setting up the cultural structure of the library so that it becomes the Arab World’s largest knowledge incubator. “The knowledge provided by the library will encourage the movement of authoring and translation, bring intellectuals and thinkers closer, and spread the culture of dialogue, tolerance and acceptance of others,” he added.