Sharjah Book Authority to host National Libraries Summit

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

Furthering its commitment to promoting books and literacy, Sharjah Book Authority (SBA) is organising the National Libraries Summit on November 8 – 9, 2021 at its headquarters in Sharjah. The two-day summit will be held in conjunction with the 40th Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF 2021) under the theme ‘Visibility, Engagement, Impact, and Collaboration’, and convene 50 national library directors and senior staff from 20 countries in Europe, North America, Africa and the MENA region.

The National Libraries Summit will be free-to-attend for all participants, creating a unique opportunity for the sharing of ideas and expertise, and will enable a collective exploration of challenges faced by national libraries. The summit’s participants will analyse the present state of national library curation, discuss complex challenges faced by library professionals as they build and interpret collections, and look into practical approaches to address them.

The summit also aims to be a platform for professionals in national libraries to share current practices and learn new approaches to curatorship. It will boost networking opportunities geared towards international collaboration. The two-day event will host four panel discussions on the key issues and challenges facing national libraries in the region and around the world.

The summit will take off with two panel discussions on Day 1. The first session titled ‘Visibility through Communications’ will focus on getting users back into national libraries post the COVID-19 pandemic. The second session is titled ‘Engaging Digital Users’.

The Day 2 programme also includes two sessions – ‘Impact on Society and National Strategies’, and ‘Cooperation and Partnerships among National Libraries’.

The summit will also feature four networking breakout sessions on both days for participants to explore collaborations and partnerships.

The National Libraries Summit is being co-organised by the American Library Association. The International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA)’s National Libraries Section and the Arab Federation of Libraries and Information (AFLI) are the event’s co-sponsors. Individuals and institutions who wish to attend the summit need to complete the registration process here: https://www.sibfala.com/nlsummit/registration

An earlier report said Sharjah Book Authority (SBA) has launched a global cultural campaign – the largest of its kind in the region and internationally - across several Arab and international cities - to bring people from all walks of life closer to books.

The campaign, launched in written, audio and visual formats and presented in the native languages of these countries, reinforces the life-affirming and life-changing relationship between an individual and the written word.

Launched with the slogan ‘If you’re into something, you’re into books’, the SBA campaign aims to bring about a paradigm shift in the popular perception that books are only for bookworms and intellectuals. The campaign, which embraces every individual worldwide regardless of their age, race, ethnicity, cultural or socioeconomic backgrounds, drives home an enduring universal message that whatever be it that triggers one’s interests or passions, there is a book out there to fuel their curiosity.

Whether you are a gamer, musician, athlete, biker, or fashion enthusiast, there is a book for that, emphasises the campaign, highlighting that apart from popular genres including books on research and academics, people can find books catering to all interests. No matter how simple, strange, or rare the topic, books are available on them and are waiting to be discovered.

The international campaign drives forward SBA’s key messaging through spectacular audiovisual formats and in the local languages of these nations to ensure the campaign has an appeal within the cultural contexts of diverse audiences worldwide.

‘Into Books’ is SBA’s impassioned call to assert that all 7.9 billion people in the world are in fact readers, and urges them to form lifelong friendships with books and reading. “‘If you’re into something, you’re into books’ campaign embodies Sharjah’s core belief in the inherent value and pivotal role of books in advancing humanity, and is founded upon the cultural vision of His Highness Dr. Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah,” explained Ahmed Bin Rakkad Al Ameri, Chairman of SBA.