Zayed Central Library (ZCL) () is a

national library A national library is a library established by a government as a country's preeminent repository of information. Unlike public libraries, these rarely allow citizens to borrow books. Often, they include numerous rare, valuable, or significant w ...

in Al Ain,

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at ...

. Established in 1977 as one of the

academic libraries An academic library is a library that is attached to a higher education institution and serves two complementary purposes: to support the curriculum and the research of the university faculty and students. It is unknown how many academic librar ...

of the

United Arab Emirates University United Arab Emirates University (UAEU; ar, جامعة الإمارات العربية المتحدة) is a public research university located in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates. It is the oldest university in the United Arab Emirates. It was est ...

(UAEU), it was opened to the general public in 2016 and hosts a collection of more than 100,000 books for readers of all age groups, making it the largest

public library A public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil service, civil servants. There are ...

in the city. It is overseen by the

Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism The Department of Culture and Tourism was established in February 2012 by Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates, to replace Abu Dhabi's two main tourism and culture agencies, the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority and ...

Overview

Zayed Central Library was established in 1977 during the reign of

Sheikh Zayed Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan ( ar, زَايِد بِن سُلْطَان آل نَهْيَان, Zāyed bin Sulṭān Āl Nahyān; 6 May 1918 – 2 November 2004) was an Emirati politician, statesman, and philanthropist who served as ...

as an

academic library An academic library is a library that is attached to a higher education institution and serves two complementary purposes: to support the curriculum and the research of the university faculty and students. It is unknown how many academic librar ...

of the

in Al Ain following the latter's inauguration in 1976. Just like other academic libraries, Zayed Central Library adopted the

Dewey Decimal Classification The Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC), colloquially known as the Dewey Decimal System, is a proprietary library classification system which allows new books to be added to a library in their appropriate location based on subject. Section 4.1 ...

system whereas the cataloging work and the public service was done manually. The university moved to modernize the library in the 1990s by making it University Libraries Deanship and introducing automated integrated systems to fulfill research requirements and converting its holdings into a bilingual database, both in

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walte ...

and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

. By 2002, the library completed the re-classification of all of its material and resources in accordance with the American Library of Congress. In 2015, the

announced the transformation of the library into a public one by 2016 when President Sheikh Khalifa's declared 2016 as the Year of Reading. Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country, the

closed down all public libraries in March 2020, including Zayed Central Library and was only reopened at thirty-percent capacity in November 2020. In 2021, following the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions in the city, the university hosted the Al Ain Book Fare for nine days between September 21 and 30.

References

{{reflist Buildings and structures in Al Ain Education in Al Ain Libraries established in 1977 Libraries in the United Arab Emirates