At the opening day of the 23rd Sharjah Prize for Library Literature Forum. At center are Bodour Al Qasimi and Ahmed Al Ameri, respectively the chair and CEO of Sharjah Book Authority. To the left of Al Qasimi is Eman Bushulaibi, the central library director. Image: SBA, Nabs Ahmedi
By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson
Library Sciences and Potentials
In the United Arab Emirates’ Sharjah, an award program called the Sharjah Prize for Library Literature has honored four recognized figures in the field, the intention of the overall program being to “raise awareness of the importance of libraries and their role in advancing cultural and research activities.”
The day on which the new honors were conferred on this year’s winners, September 14, marked the opening of the 23rd edition of the Sharjah Prize for Library Literature Forum. Set in Cultural Square’s central facility of the Sharjah Public Library system, the program was led by Bodour Al Qasimi, president of the American University of Sharjah and chair of the Sharjah Book Authority.
The theme of the program was Teaching, Learning, and Libraries: Strategies for Integration, Empowerment, and Exemplary Practice. In this year’s award cycle, the program received 30 submissions from eight nations.
A keynote address was made by Eman Bushulaibi, the central library’s director, who spoke to the intention of this award sequence in promoting research and study in libraries, archival sciences, and information.
Bushulaibi announced that two new categories will be opened in next year’s award cycle, one for an outstanding Arab Library and Information Institution and a standout Project and Practice in a Specialized Field. The 2024 theme, Bushulaibi said, is to focus on a Transition Toward a Green Knowledge Environment.
Sharjah Prize for Library Literature 2023 Winners
Nahla Mohamed Moussa, left, is a 2023 winner in the Sharjah Library Literature Prizes for her research titled ‘Learning Resources in the Academic Library: Roles and Challenges of Artificial Intelligence Components in the UAE’s Higher Education Institutions.’ Here, she receives her award from Bodour Al Qasimi, with Eman Bushulaibi, Sharjah Public Library’s director, right. Image: SBA, Nabs Ahmedi
The award recipients named in the program are:
- First place: Mahmoud Sharif Ahmed Zakaria for his research titled Learning Resources in the Academic Library: Roles and Challenges of Artificial Intelligence Components in the UAE’s Higher Education Institutions
- Second place: Nahla Mohamed Moussa for her research titled Learning Resources in the Academic Library: Roles and Challenges of Artificial Intelligence Components in the UAE’s Higher Education Institutions
- Third place: This award was shared by Emad Issa Saleh and Amani Mohamed El-Sayed for their research titled Maker Spaces in Arabic School Libraries and Their Role in Supporting the Educational Process: An Exploratory Study
Programming During the Library Literature Forum
Bushulaibi opened the forum’s first day by moderating a discussion, Institutional Publishing: Challenges and Solutions, which brought together distinguished speakers, including Rashid Mohammed Al Kous, executive director of the Emirates Publishers Association; Hamad Al Hamiri, director research and knowledge services at the UAE National Library and Archives; and Mini Bounama, director of content and publishing at the Sharjah Institute for Heritage.
At issue here were institutional efforts in specialized publishing processes and the library sector, with special emphasis on publishing in government institutions and the role of libraries in enhancing publishing processes.
The safeguarding of rights was a key element of that debate.
A second session, Teaching, Learning, and the Educational Role of Libraries was moderated by Walaa Fouda with speakers including Mohamed Alzyoodi, a professor at Mohamed Bin Zayed University for the Humanities, and Ayman Othman Al Barout, secretary-general of the Arab Parliament for the Child.
Here, the focus was on how best to use libraries and other learning-resource centers to advance education and learning, with an emphasis on cooperative education–a topic easily related to the inspiration of the overall Library Literature Prize program.
A programming note: At Frankfurter Buchmesse (October 18 to 22) on Frankfurt Friday, October 20, our Publishing Perspectives Forum will welcome guests to a two-hour academic publishing program developed by Charleston Conference.
Discussions include Research Integrity: Technology, Trust, and Transparency and Sustainability, a panel/fireside chat with moderated questions to a panel of experts on topics such as the recent Wiley/Hindawi and MDPI/Clarivate retractions, paper mills, AI-generated content, AI-manipulated images, and how can libraries become involved?
Also featured: The Future of Scholarly Communication: Looking Forward at Business Models, SDGs, and Beyond, a session looking at the many types of sustainability, from sustainable business models to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, and more. This hour-long session will include a series of short presentations followed by panel discussion and audience Q&A.
The program that morning starts at 9:30 a.m. with a networking breakfast and runs to 12 p.m. Speakers include Peter Brantley, Rachel Martin, Vivian Berghahn, Stuart Whayman, Sven Fund, Heather Staines, Rafael Ball, Richard Gallagher, and Leah Hinds, the Charleston Hub executive director.
All Publishing Perspectives Forum events are set again this year in Room Spektrum on the second level of the Congress Center, and are free of charge for all registered Frankfurt Book Fair attendees.
More from Publishing Perspectives on libraries is here, more on international book and publishing awards stories is here, and more on Sharjah and its programming is here, and more on the United Arab Emirates is here.