Sharjah ruler Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi has issued a directive to allocate AED4.5 million ($1.23 million) for the purchase of new books.
The books from publishing houses which participated at the 36th edition of the Sharjah International Book Fair will be distributed to libraries across Sharjah.
The Sharjah ruler said the initiative ensures that the emirate’s public libraries will be updated with new titles that will serve researchers, intellectuals, experts, school pupils, university students, and all those who are interested in literature and culture.
Separately, 1001 Titles – an initiative by the Sharjah-based Knowledge with Borders (KwB) – has announced the successful completion of the first phase.
Over two years since it was launched in 2016, the project has published 1,001 first-edition Arabic titles that represent a variety of subjects and genres.
Majd Al Shehhi, manager of the ‘1001 Titles’ initiative, said: “We are gearing up to launch the initiative’s second phase in the first quarter of 2018, where the next 1,001 titles will include 301 by local authors, and 700 by publishers that are members of the Emirates Publishers Association (EPA).”
With an estimated budget of AED5 million, the second phase will be implemented over 2018 and 2019.
The first 1,001 titles of the initiative included 775 children and young adult books, 165 on literature, 20 books on human development, nine titles on religion, six books on law, four books on poetry, three titles on administration, two on history and 17 others on miscellaneous topics.
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