Qatar Digital Library (QDL) is a bilingual online library which was launched as a joint venture by a partnership consisting of

Qatar Foundation Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development ( ar, مؤسسة قطر) is a state-led non-profit organization in Qatar, founded in 1995 by then-emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and his second wife Moza bint Nasser. Qatar Founda ...

Qatar National Library Qatar National Library (QNL) is a non-profit organization under the umbrella of the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development.Qatar National Library.About the library." Retrieved 2014-12-14. The plans for the new national ...

and the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

in October 2014. QDL comprises one of the largest online collections of historic records on the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Persis, Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a Mediterranean sea (oceanography), me ...

countries.

History

Qatar Digital Library was first announced in 2012. The starting budget was reported as £8.7 million. The partnership sought to digitize a rich trove of heritage material documenting Arab and Islamic history and to make it freely accessible to the public through the QDL, which was launched online in October 2014. The launch of the QDL's website marked the first phase of its launch. On 19 January 2015, the second phase of the QDL was commenced and is expected to last until December 2018. The second phase will witness the digitization of 1,125,000 pages of historical documents. The website was designed and built b
Cogapp
It has won multiple awards.

Content

The digital library, with an English and Arabic bilingual interface, encompasses a total of 500,000 pages of items held by the British Library pertaining to the history of the

region. Some 475,000 pages, dating from the mid 18th century to 1951, are from the India Office Records and Private Papers (including the archives of the East India Company and its successor institutions); and 25,000 pages are of

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

and modern

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

manuscripts. Among the pages are numerous photographs, maps, and drawings. The British Library and QNL will both hold copies of the digital collection; however, after the completion of the digitization (originally estimated as the end of 2014), the QNL will assume responsibility for the hosting and further development of the QDL portal.

Similar projects

Unlocking Our Sound Heritage 'Unlocking Our Sound Heritage' (UOSH) is a UK-wide project that aims to preserve, digitise and provide public access to a large part of the nation's sound heritage. The UOSH project forms part of the core programme 'Save Our Sounds' led by the Br ...

– UK project for digitising project for audio archival material *

Unlocking Film Heritage ''Unlocking Film Heritage'' (UFH) was one of the biggest film digitisation projects ever undertaken and it encompassed the BFI National Archive together with national and regional audiovisual archival institutions in United Kingdom. Between 2013� ...

– UK project for digitising audiovisual archival material *

Endangered Archives Programme The Endangered Archives Programme (EAP) is a funding programme and digital archive run by the British Library in London. It has the purpose of preserving cultural heritage where resources may be limited. Each year EAP awards grants to researchers ...

- British Library programme for preserving cultural heritage *

Theatre Archive Project The Theatre Archive Project is an ongoing project to reinvestigate British theatre history from 1945 to 1968, from the perspectives of both the theatregoer and the practitioner. The project is a collaboration between the British Library and the De ...

– for British theatre history

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Qatari digital libraries 2014 establishments in Qatar Libraries established in 2014