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| Titel / Title | Qatar National Library as part of a countrywide knowledge infrastructure. |
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| Author / Autor | Henkel, M., Barth, J., Gremm, J., & Stock, W. G.
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| Source / Quelle | LIS2018. International Conference on Library and Information Science. Bangkok, Thailand, August 8-10 Vol. 1, No. 1(pp. 163-190). Taipeh, Taiwan: International Business Academics Consortium. |
| Language / Sprache | English / Englisch |
Abstract
Qatar National Library (QNL) opened in autumn 2017; the official inauguration happened in April 2018. QNL combines a national library, a public library, and an academic library in one institution. The library aims at becoming the knowledge hub of Qatar, seeing itself as a “third place” and an important driving force of Qatar’s knowledge-based economy. For about ten years, Qatar has been heavily investing in the infrastructure of knowledge institutions. Besides the public Qatar University, the state attracted famous international universities to open branch campuses in a newly constructed knowledge cluster called “Education City.” QNL is located in Education City as well. Its development is part of the country-wide efforts to construct a competitive knowledge economy, which is supposed to guarantee the country’s wealth. We report on the library’s manifold offers and discuss critically the book culture and reading habits in Qatar, the level of information literacy of Qatari nationals and expats as well as the location of QNL on the outskirts of Doha.
Keywords: Qatar National Library (QNL), Qatar, Education City, Knowledge Infrastructure, Reading, Information Literacy, Knowledge Society, Third Place