Dubai is an epitome of luxury with its ever-growing lineup of towering skyscrapers, plush hotels, and glitzy shopping malls. Within this milieu CNN Travel has described the Mohammed bin Rashid Library as “one of the most amazing libraries in the world.”
CNN Travel’s report describes the eye-catching, lectern-shaped library as “a beautiful oasis of calm contemplation, where visitors can curl up with a good book, plug in laptops for study or work, or marvel at the rare manuscripts and first-edition books displayed in the exhibition space on the seventh floor.”
The library, which was opened to the public in June, is considered to be one of the most exciting new landmarks in Dubai’s topography, and is put on par with other world-class libraries such as the British Library in London and the Library of Alexandria in Egypt with more than 1.1 million print and digital books housed in the 54,000 square-meter facility.
The report also provides a vivid description of the library’s sections including the nine separate libraries with its eclectic collection of books dedicated to everything from media and arts to business titles, international periodicals, atlases and maps, children’s books and books for young adults, award-winning titles and bestsellers, and a collection of precious archival treasures.
Expansion on the collection of works is still going on, with the library already housing some impressive numbers including multilingual print and digital books, 35,000 printed and digital international journals, over six million dissertations, 73,000 musical scores, 75,000 videos, and over 5,000 historical periodicals spanning 325 years.
With 200 annual events and exhibitions planned, the library aims to become a community in its own right.
