Qatar National Library

QATAR NATIONAL LIBRARY

P.C: QNL website

Qatar National Library (QNL) in Education city opened to one and all in 2018. It is one of best libraries I have seen. It is overwhelming to see such a huge collection under one roof. QNL is one of the places I love to go and I can spend my entire day there. It offers more then one million books; one million, that's right. It has special collections , QNL Heritage library, teen library, children's library periodicals and plenty of online resources available to its members.

Getting membership is quite easy, all you need is Qatar Id. One can either log on to www.qnl.qa and sign up or go to library and sign up. The staff is very friendly and helpful, this makes the whole experience wonderful. And once you are a member you can  borrow books from the vast collection. We can borrow upto four books at a time and children can borrow upto ten books at a time for twenty one days which can be renewed online twice if the book is not on hold.
The self borrowing station and  book returns station makes borrowing and returning books quite easy. All you need to do is swipe library card or enter bar code of your library card then enter password and scan the books, and your are good to go. In case you forgot to bring your library card, no problem, you can also log in with Qatar ID.

Self Borrowing Station

Book Return Station

            

Books of all types are available. It's like an endless resource of books that will last our life time. And I couldn't be more delighted. So, apart from borrowing books, you can access the online resources, book study rooms, innovation stations, writing centers, reserve meeting and event spaces  and lot more.  There are large screens installed  in the library that have some games, so the kids can also enjoy while your browse. Plenty of computers are installed to access the online resources.There is a small cafe in the library so you can grab a coffee or snack and enjoy a book.

Since the library is so big and it has so many books, one must think that it's impossible to locate a certain book. But on the contrary, its quite easy. All you need to do is access one of the computers and go to www.qnl.qa, and in the search engine type the name of the author or the book you want. It will show all the books and tell you if its available or due. If its available, click on the book it will show  which section , which row and which shelf the book is,and you can also take a picture of the map, it helps. Yes, it sends you right where the book is.

The children's library have more than  one hundred thousand books mostly in Arabic and English, but books in some other selective language is also available. Children's library collection includes picture books, story books, chapter books, informative books, magazines, early readers, databases, DVD's, audio books and much more. Your child can sit and read or borrow or play in a small play area when mom and dad are busy finding the next book to read.

Teen library focuses on the age group of 13 to 18 and offers more then thirty thousand books. It offers graphic novels, magazines, computer labs and study area, interactive learning tool and plenty of online data. Apart from this it also offers school curriculum and college books.

                                                                                                           
QNL has also dedicated space to preserve and display its heritage, The Heritage library. It is situated in the heart of the QNL building and its one floor below . We can see the library from up and it's beautiful. The Heritage library consists of some the valuable and rare manuscripts and texts from Arabic and Islamic Civilization. It also displays globes, maps, early photography and scientific instruments. One must go to Heritage library when they are in QNL.

Overall my experience with QNL was fantastic. I found all the books I want and my kids could not be happier as they got more exciting books to read. So, all those who haven't been to Qatar national library till date, I say it's high time. Guys, you really are missing something fantastic here. All I can say is go ASAP.



Photo Credit : Tauseef Ali