Qatar National Library

About Qatar National Library

National Library of Qatar

Qatar National Library, in Doha's Education City, is a non-profit institution of Qatar Foundation. Its plans were announced by Sheikha Moza bint Nasser on 19 November 2012, at the 50th anniversary of Dar Al Kutub, founded in 1962 as one of the first public libraries in the Gulf. The new building opened in April 2018. It was designed by the Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas as one vast open hall whose floor lifts at two corners like folded paper, so the bookshelves themselves become terraces you walk on, sit on and read from, under a high roof that lets in daylight; from almost anywhere you can see the whole library and its more than a million books. It serves three roles: a national library preserving and sharing the heritage of Qatar and the region, a research library for universities, and a modern public library for everyone. At its heart, sunk below the main floor like an excavation, is the Heritage Library, with rare manuscripts, maps and old travellers' books on Arabia and the Islamic world. There is also a children's library and space for study and work.

Where:

Doha, Qatar

Flights to Doha