In response to the initiatives of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) to support the efforts underway to limit the repercussions of Coronavirus on the educational, scientific and cultural fields, Sharjah Library approved to open access to more than six million e-books and digital knowledge resources for free, in a bid to contribute to enrich the contents of “ICESCO Digital Home” and “Distance Culture” initiatives.

The access to the Library is open to the public free of charge to explore the collection of e-books and resources in more than ten languages during the entry into force of the lockdown to halt the spread of Coronavirus. The Library is accessible through ICESCO’s website at this link:
https://www.icesco.org/%d8%aa%d8%ab%d9%82%d9%81-%d8%b9%d9%86-%d8%a8%d8%b9%d8%af/

The accessible content covers more than 30,000 videos spanning all fields and disciplines, 160,000 e-books, 5 million global dissertations, 21,000 periodicals and scholarly journals alongside a large number of manuscripts, rare books, audiobooks, and e-books.

This unique collection of resources will enrich the content of “ICESCO Digital Home,” covering the Organization’s areas of engagement designed to cater to the interests of all age categories in these fields.

It is worth noting that Sharjah Library was established initially as the Qasimi Library in 1925 by Sheikh Sultan bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Ruler of Sharjah (1924-1951), at his palace. The headquarters of the Library had been moved on several occasions until May 2011 when His Highness Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, Member of the UAE Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, opened its new headquarters at the Cultural Square and under a new name “Sharjah Public Library”.