The National Library of the Republic of the

Maldives Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...

(Q''aumee Kuthubuhaanaa'') was established in 1945. It serves as the Public and National Library of the country, maintaining modern

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

. It provides a diverse collection of all published reading materials and documents within the country. The National Library is financed by the government and functions under the Ministry of Arts Culture and Heritage.

History

The National Library of the Republic of Maldives was founded on 12 July 1945 as the "State Library" (''Dhaulathuge Kuthubukhaanaa)'' of the Maldives by Ameer Mohamed Amin Didi, then the Head of the Department of Education. In 1948, The Library was renamed to Majeedhee Library (''Majeedhee Kuthubukhaanaa)'' named after one of the most popular statesmen of the Maldives, Ameer Abdul Majeed Didi ('Abdul Majeed ''Rannabandeyri Kilegefaanu)''. The library was functioning under the

Ministry of Home Affairs An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

(''Vuzaarathudhdhaakhiliyyaa).'' During this time, it received a revolving book collection from the Colombo based British Council, it was to be rotated every three months. The library also received a book collection left by the British in the

Gan Island Gan (Div: ގަން) is the southernmost island of Addu Atoll (also known as Seenu Atoll), as well as the southernmost island of the Maldives. It is relatively large by Maldive standards. The origin of the word "Gan" is in the Sanskrit word "Gram ...

Seenu Atoll Addu Atoll, also known as Seenu Atoll, is the southernmost atoll of the Maldives. Addu Atoll, together with Fuvahmulah, located 40 km north of Addu Atoll, extend the Maldives into the Southern Hemisphere. Addu Atoll is located 540 k ...

. The library service duties were carried out by Sayyid 'Abdul Latheef. In 1978, the government created a librarian post and appointed Habeeba Hussayn Habeeb as the librarian. The Library was now under supervision of th
President's Office
The government decided to bring a delegate from

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

in 1980. The role of the delegate was to consult the government's development plan of the library and school libraries in Maldives, thus resulted in the first librarianship courses conducted at the library. The library was renamed a second time on 1 June 1982 by the former President of the Maldives,

Maumoon Abdul Gayoom Maumoon Abdul Gayoom (; dv, މައުމޫން ޢަބްދުލް ޤައްޔޫމް; born 29 December 1937) is a Maldivian politician and an Islamic scholar who served as the President of Maldives from 1978 to 2008. After serving as Minister of Trans ...

as the National Library (Q''aumee Kuthubuhaanaa).'' In 1993, the library began operating under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, later on changing between 2009-2013 to the

Ministry of Tourism The Minister of Tourism is the head of the governmental department that specializes in tourism, recreation and/or culture. The position exists in many different countries under several names: *Ministry of Tourism and Environment (Albania) *Ministry ...

, which changed again after 2013 from working as a department under th
Ministry of Youth and Sports
In 13 July 2018 onwards it's been operating under th
Ministry of Arts Culture and Heritage
The Library has a fairly good number of Arabic, Urdu, Dhivehi, and English books. The English section holds more than 37,970 books including both Reference Fiction and Non-Fiction. Dhivehi section, Arabic section and Urdu section holds 10212, 1570 and 950 books respectively. In addition, the Library holds special collections in its American Corner; UN collection; Women and Gender collection. Serial collection holds periodical volumes, reports, manuscripts, journals and other serials, newspapers and press cutting files, and pamphlets. The Library's collection includes books relating to different subjects such as: Generalities; Philosophy & Psychology; Religion; Social Sciences; Environment; Language; Natural Sciences & Mathematics; Technology (Applied Science); The Arts - Fine and Decorative arts; Literature & Rhetoric; Geography & History.

External links and references

Official Website of the National Library

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:National Library Of Maldives Libraries in the Maldives

1945 establishments in the Maldives Libraries established in 1945