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Libraries in Saudi Arabia have always been a critical component ofSaudi culture and society. They have been prevalent in various forms inpalaces,mosques, andschools for over a century and a half. Although older libraries differ from their modern counterparts, they played a pivotal role in facilitating cultural and intellectual movements and benefitting scholarships and scholars more broadly.[1]
Endowed libraries, especially those in the TwoHoly Mosques in Makkah andAl-Madinah, are among the oldest and the most important in theKingdom. The provenance of the Great Mosque of Makkah library for example, dates back to 161 AH. It acquired the name "Library of Al Masjid Al Haram" during the reign ofKing Abdulaziz.[2]
Libraries spread throughout theNajd region due in part to the sizable number ofIslamic and otherbooks imported fromIraq,the Levant,Morocco andYemen. As many historians have noted, many of those books were moved toRiyadh after the death ofKing Abdulaziz. This transfer not only benefitted the large number of students there, but also directly contributed to the growth ofprivate libraries in Riyadh. These included the SheikhAbdullah bin Abdul Latif Al Sheikh Library, which housed an impressive collection ofmanuscripts, and the Sheikh Hamad bin Faris Library,[3] among others.[4]
In the decades ensuingthe Kingdom's establishment, its libraries sought to bring themselves into line with modern notions of how such institutions work with respect to organization, equipment, and specialized services. These efforts not only preserved and developed existing collections but led to the opening of various newlibraries, especially public libraries, throughoutthe Kingdom.
The most prominent public libraries during the reign of King Abdulaziz (1932–1953) were:[5]
During the reign ofKing Saud, the General Administration for Libraries at theMinistry of Education was established after Cabinet Resolution No. 30 was issued in 1959, which mandated that the Ministry of Education establishlibraries acrossthe Kingdom. The Public Library ofMadinah was established in 1960 on the southern side of theProphet's Mosque. Libraries were established not only in large cities but also inVillages, such as Rawdat Sudair (est. 1958),Ushaqir (est. 1955), andHotat Bani Tamim (est. 1957).
Between 1400 AH and 1405AH, increasing the number of public libraries was a key development goal. Ninepublic libraries were established, adding a collection of 82,844 total documents. TheSchool Libraries Administration became affiliated with the General Administration of Libraries, which reports to the Assistant Undersecretary of the Ministry of Education for Cultural and External Relations.[7] Between 1405 AH and 1410 AH, the number of public libraries grew to 59, adding a total collection of 1,121,979documents, and the labor force grew to 262.[8] Between 1415AH to 1420 AH, the number of public libraries grew to 71. In 1417 AH, theMinistry of Education, which oversaw this sector at the time, approved the "Public Libraries: Rules for Internal Organization” regulation, which provides for the development of libraries and the strengthening of their social andcultural position.[9]
A number of quality libraries were established acrossthe Kingdom in the 1980s. The most prominent example is the King Abdulaziz Public Library inAl-Madinah (est. 1983), one of the largest affiliated with theMinistry of Islamic Affairs, Dawah and Guidance. This library is unique due to its hybrid form: it is part public library, part manuscript centre, and partscholarly research centre. It also houses one of the endowed collections of Al-Madinah. In the same year, the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies Library was established inRiyadh.
Perhaps the most important development in the library sector in the Kingdom was the founding of theKing Fahad National Library in the city ofRiyadh, which began as a grassroots initiative and was later adopted by the government. The project began under the supervision of theRiyadh Municipality and was completed after three years, opening its doors to the public in 1988. The founding of theKing Abdulaziz Public Library in Riyadh in 1987 was equally important.
Today, 35% of Saudi families have a private library in their homes.[10] The leading categories of books found in these home libraries are religious andacademic books, followed by poetry and literature. This data does not specify the gender or age group of the individuals who own the library and thus does not necessarily shed light on the interests of particular groups or the types ofbooks they own. Consequently, the data does not highlight related trends that may differ over time or by generation, particularly given the transformative role of technology over the last two decades.
The endowed libraries inSaudi Arabia, are overseen by theMinistry of Islamic Affairs, Dawah, and Guidance. The most prominent is the King Abdulaziz Public Library inAl-Madinah, which holds more than 14,000original manuscripts, 1,878Qur’anic manuscripts, 25,000rare books, and approximately 9,000 databases.[11] The King Abdulaziz Public Library in Al-Madinah consists of 35 endowed collections. Some, including the Library of the Noble Qur’an, were established after the creation of the Saudi state, while others date back to older historical periods. These include the Sheikh Aref Hekmat, Mahmoudi, Shifa, Bashir Agha, and Kelly Nazari libraries, as well as legal-school andSufi-lodge libraries such as the Ihsaniyyah, Irfaniyya, Kazaniyah, Ribat Sayyidna Othman, Qarabash Ribat, and Rabat al-Jabr libraries. It also includes the collections of some scholars of Al-Madinah, such as those belonging to Sheikh Hassan Kutbi and Sheikh Muhammad Al-Khader Al-Shanqeeti.
It is difficult to determine the precise beginning of the emergence of school libraries in the Kingdom due to the lack of accurate documentation, but it is agreed that this type of library existed in the early stages ofthe Kingdom's history. For example, in 1324, the Al-Sawlatiyyah School inMakkah opened a public library, the oldest in the Kingdom, frequented by studentsreading and borrowing books outside of class time. The Student Library was opened in the Saudi Scientific Institute in 1358 AH. Thereafter more school libraries were opened to support education and servestudents andteachers. The year 1379AH is of particular importance in the history ofschool libraries, as it was the year that theMinistry of Education established the General Administration of Libraries as an independent organizational entity to oversee public school libraries.[12]
In 1997, the Ministry of Education transformed school libraries into learning resource centres (LRCs) that accommodate technological changes and provide access toknowledge and knowledge production beyond the normal scope of traditional library services.
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