DUBAI // Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, chaired the first board meeting of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Library Foundation on Monday.
During the meeting, he said he wanted the library to be “the largest knowledge project in the Arab World”, reported state news agency Wam.
He directed the board members to work on collecting the best books and attracting the best intellects and linguists to the library.
“We want the library to be a house of wisdom where researchers gather, youth innovate and knowledge gets drafted,” said Sheikh Mohammed. “We don’t want the library to be a place for books. We want it to be a place to attract youth and enhance their cultural and knowledge soul.
“The library is part of our continuous effort to cement reading in the society and making books part of life.”
The library project, which will hold 1.5 million volumes, 1 million audio books and 2 million e-books, was launched as part of the 2016 Year of Reading.
Overlooking Dubai Creek in the Al Jaddaf area, the book-shaped library will cover more than 92,000 square metres, will be seven storeys tall, and will have sections devoted to children’s, international and Arabic literature.
It will include a centre for conservation and restoration of historical manuscripts, and a museum displaying rare artefacts from the Maktoum family collection.
The library will be able to accommodate more than 42 million visitors a year.
The meeting was also attended by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council, Mohammed Ahmed Al Murr, Chairman of MBR Library Foundation, and Mohammed Abdullah Al Gergawi, Secretary-General of The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives.
