History of The Old Library

The books were actually passed on to Margaret Bullard, and her husband who was the Political Agent at the British Embassy. From there the books found a home in one of the offices in the British Agency Commercial Department and so the Dubai Lending Library began. From that date on, the library continued to expand and improve its services to the community.

The library has had several homes since the early days, The Holy Trinity Church being one, where the library was known as the Community Library.

In 1985 the library moved into a portacabin, at the Dubai International Art Centre, in Jumeirah. The portacabin was erected with the help of John Darby and Arthur Jarman, both long term, well respected residents of Dubai.

The library has always been a non-profit organisation run entirely by volunteers. Library duty sessions, committee work, book processing and fund raising activities have attracted volunteers with a wealth of experience and talent to the library. Voluntary work in the library not only provides a lot of satisfaction to the volunteer librarians but also puts their skills to good use in serving the community.

In 2002 the library changed its name to The Old Library and it continues to provide a valuable service to the local community to this day.

In October 2006 we finally moved to a permanent home at the Mall of the Emirates and are under the umbrella of the Dubai Community Theatre and Art Centre (DUTAC) and have attracted lots of new members in the past six weeks.