HE Sheikha Hind bint Hamad Al Thani, Vice Chairperson and CEO of Qatar Foundation, and Roly Keating, Chief Executive of the British Library, signed an agreement that will see Qatar National Library (QNL) begin Phase 3 of its partnership with the British Library. The next phase, which will begin in January 2019, will allow QNL to continue digitising the historical collections of the British Library on the Arabian Gulf region.

The ongoing digitalisation project, one of the largest of its kind, started in 2012. The first two phases digitised more than 1.5 million pages, which are now accessible on Qatar Digital Library (see link below). QDL is a free online digital archive with more than 1 million users and 8.8 million page views since its launch in October 2014.

Phase 3 of the project will involve the digitalisation of 900,000 pages of new material on the Arabian Gulf as well as Arabic manuscripts on science. The Arabian Gulf-related material includes music, maps, ships’ logs, reports, letters, private papers (including the Curzon Papers), and historical publications. QNL Deputy Executive Director for International Relations and Communications, Dr Stuart Hamilton, said that most of the reports and letters selected for Phase 3 are uncatalogued and were therefore previously inaccessible.

They will be new to researchers. Since they form the bulk of Phase 3, these documents will shed new light on the history of Qatar and the Arabian Gulf. We think that the public will be especially captivated by the East India Company ships’ logs from the 1600s–1850s. We will digitally map them so that viewers can follow each ship’s journey and see how shipping between the Arabian Gulf, India, and Britain increased in frequency during the Arabian Gulf’s early incorporation into the global economy.’

Roly Keating, Chief Executive of the British Library, said that one of the British Library’s core purpose is to work with partners around the world to advance knowledge and mutual understanding.

Collaborating with Qatar National Library and Qatar Foundation has enabled the British Library to make our collections relating to Arabian Gulf history and Arabic science accessible to hundreds of thousands of users across the world, fostering new areas of research and creativity, and transforming access to these important collections.’

Dr Sohair Wastawy, QNL Executive Director remarked that their partnership with the British Library has resulted in one of the largest collections of historical records on the Middle East being placed online. He said that the digital library has been of huge benefit to researchers working on the history of the Arabian Gulf and the history of Arab science. The third phase of the ongoing digitalisation efforts, according to him, will allow scholars worldwide access to even more historical material from the British Library, which is sure to foster new and exciting scholarship on the subjects.

Check out the following pages for more information about QNL and QDL: qnl.qa and qdl.qa.