Libraries of UoS play significant role

The University of Sharjah Libraries Department is one of the most prominent actors in its educational system and scientific communication, and one of its most important means of producing, preserving, and disseminating information. This in addition to its vital role in supporting the University learning process in general. It is also the backbone of the scientific research process, through what it provides of information sources and many services that support scientific research. This emerging digital environment has imposed itself on University Libraries, which made them offer new services such as electronic sources and resources that made it possible to facilitate the provision of their services remotely by relying on modern technology. This with the intentions to provide educational content for students and faculty in an effective way, and to reduce time, effort, and cost. This was stated by Prof. Hamid M.K. Al Naimiy, Chancellor of the University of Sharjah.

Al Naimiy added that the University of Sharjah Libraries were established along with the establishment of the University in 1997 to be the cornerstone of the educational process to support teaching, learning and scientific research and to encourage continuity in lifelong learning.

In light of the current exceptional circumstances through which the world is going, and in light of the challenges facing educational institutions worldwide where attendance in universities or educational institutions is no longer the only way that enables the student to obtain appropriate education, students and professors have converged in a virtual world that simulates classrooms, all of which increased the responsibility for libraries.

Dr. Hussein El Mahdi, Dean of Academic Support Services, stressed that the University of Sharjah’s Libraries include many resources, whether printed or electronic, covering many areas, including natural and applied sciences, human and social sciences, technology, health sciences and medicine, along with general and cultural knowledge. He added that the University Libraries contains more than 320 thousand printed books and the equivalent of 350 thousand electronic books. The number of electronic journals reaches 80 thousand magazines through the publishers’ sites and through 110 electronic databases with the participation of the University of Sharjah Libraries. The graduate studies research projects and doctoral theses reached 2.5 million theses in full text in both Arabic and English languages, in addition to more than 100 thousand educational videos from many databases.