Dubai eGovernment conducts training programme for libraries and data centres in Dubai

The programme which was held under the auspices of the Public Libraries Association of Dubai Municipality, aimed to create a better understanding of how advances in information technology can aid smoother and more efficient functioning of libraries and data centres.

"The importance of libraries both as a major source of information and as intermediaries for knowledge and culture is well known. This initiative by the Dubai eGovernment is part of our continuous efforts to propagate a greater understanding of how technology can be optimised to enhance all services provided to the community. We are living in an age when the entire world is moving towards electronic services and it is important to understand its benefits and applications in various sectors of society," said Salem Al-Shair, Director of eServices, Dubai eGovernment.

"Libraries and data centres play a key role in building knowledge-based economies and disseminating information. This community outreach programme is the first of a two part event, which highlights how new technologies can help to provide cost-effective innovative services that will enable libraries and data centres to satisfy user needs more effectively and better utilize the ready available resources," said Rehab Mohammed Lootah, eServices Provisioning Officer, Dubai eGovernment.

The core concept of the community outreach programme was the introduction of the various rules and procedures that need to be adopted for manual and electronic classification and indexing.

Ayman Bastanji of Dubai Public Library who prepared the course material for the five-day session said, "It was a very informative session for participants who attended from various libraries and data centres in Dubai. The attendees were eager to understand and acquire the latest skills that were presented. The participants were well qualified and equipped to grasp the theoretical and practical aspects that were covered in each of the sessions and consequently this preliminary session achieved its goals by laying a foundation for implementing the right procedures in order to facilitate the smooth functioning of libraries and data centres."

One of the session participants, Wadad Khowias, Programme Coordinator, Dubai TV, Channel 33 said, "The sessions were extremely beneficial, with the presentations conducted in a way that helped us to clearly understand complicated concepts in an easy manner. It was a knowledgeable and informative experience that provided us with an insight into the technological advances that have taken place in the sphere of indexing and classification. I am very grateful to the Dubai Municipality and the Dubai eGovernment as well as Dubai TV for giving us this opportunity to enrich our skills and abilities."

The next five-day session will be held from June 14 to June 18, 2003 and will focus on electronic systems and database in libraries. It will also touch on the standards for scheduling and tabling information.