The Qatar National Library has officially been open to the public for a few months now, and is located in Education City. If offers over one million books and rare scripts to nationals and residents, with free memberships for anyone with a valid Qatar ID.
One of the biggest 21st century libraries in the world, it was designed by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas, and covers an area of 45,000 square meters with a collection of books in around 20 languages, including French, German, Italian and Portuguese, as well as Russian, Korean and Chinese, which is a reflection of Qatar’s diverse society.
The National Library is sectioned off into specific areas; The Heritage Library, The Teen Library, and the Children’s Library.
The heritage library is home to numerous rare and unique texts and manuscripts, including maps, globes, instruments and photography. Works by Ibn Sinā and Al Rāzī are also available, as well as other archival material. Resources and information on Qatar’s history is also available.
The Teen Library offers over 30,000 resources for readers aged between 13 to 18 years, and ranges from books, magazines, graphic novels, and computer spaces. To encourage reading form a young age, the Children’s Library has over 100,000 books in different languages, as we e-books, picture books and more.
Creating a space for more than just reading, the library is also home to an exhibition area and a 450-seat auditorium! The National Library is a state-of-the-art facility, with an automatic book sorting system, media walls, and self-check-in and check-out machines!
