In line with the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to transform Dubai into a smart city, and in implementation of the directives of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council of Dubai, to make a qualitative leap in the level of government services in the emirate at all levels, Dubai Culture and Arts Authority (Dubai Culture) announced the expansion of the framework for borrowing books through its digital library, in cooperation with ‘OverDrive,’ one of the world’s largest companies in the field of digital books, to provide a valuable collection of e-books, audiobooks, and video clips.

This initiative aligns with Dubai Model Centre’s pillars to raise the efficiency of services and increase focus on customers. The Dubai Public Library network seeks to have its digital library collection compatible with smart devices and computers, covering recreational, professional, and academic fields, and continuing-education books, in addition to various linguistic and scientific journals. The content will be continuously updated with new material.

Dr Saeed Mubarak bin Kharbash, CEO of the Arts and Literature Sector at Dubai Culture, commented: “This initiative comes as part of the Authority’s commitment to the continuous improvement of services provided across all Dubai Public Library branches, which contributes to achieving customer satisfaction and enhancing the welfare of society as a top priority in Dubai and the UAE. It also aligns with Dubai Culture’s strategic institutional priority to achieve institutional excellence and improve the happiness of customers.”

Bin Kharbash added:“We seek to facilitate access to knowledge and allow beneficiaries of library services, whether students, researchers or readers, to access global academic sources and enable them to view wider collections of books in various fields of interest. This new initiative with will provide a valuable collection of e-books, audiobooks, and video clips.”

Bin Kharbashaffirmed that the Authority made improvements to the customer journey to help them benefit from the services of the digital library, turning it into an easy-to-access and quick-completion experience.In line with customer needs, the service can be accessed entirely digitally through the website and the Dubai Public Library app by following a few simple steps under the ‘book borrowing’ service. Members can reserve up to five materials for seven days (e-books and audiobooks) and five days (videos).

To benefit from the digital library, users must be valid members of Dubai Public Library. The digital library is characterized by the availability of data on the customer’s account, including maximum number of borrowed materials, booking limits, and wish-listed items. Currently, the digital library provides 3,788 books, distributed among e-books, audiobooks and video clips.

Dubai Culture manages the network of Dubai Public Library branches, which includes eight libraries for adults and seven for children, in addition to multi-purpose halls and study halls, providing community members with sources of knowledge in the light of efficient services and advanced technologies. All the library’s branches are connected to each other and other modern libraries through the latest connectivity and networking technologies, allowing for easy access to a wide range of books across a multitude of topics in both Arabic and English, in addition to other languages for children’s stories.