RIYADH: Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University has signed an agreement to join the Saudi Unified Catalog of the King Fahad National Library, a development that contributes to a national project that will ensure all intellectual resources can be easily accessed from one database, and which will ultimately benefit the nation’s researchers.
The pact was inked by PSAU’s Dr. Issa bin Khalaf Al-Dosari, and KFNL’s unified catalog project director Othman Mohammed Al-Asmari. Also present was acting secretary-general of King Fahad National Library, Dr. Mansour bin Abdullah Al-Zamil.
Al-Zamil said that the Saudi unified catalog was an expansive project undertaken by KFNL to build a unified information base for all Saudi content including academic research across all subjects.
He said the project aims to improve the manner in which Saudi libraries operate and keep pace with modern technological developments. This would benefit the country’s researchers seeking to contribute to the nation’s intellectual output, he said.
The KFNL is looking forward to building a national reference that would standardize technical practices, with the proper tools and mechanisms, and rationalize financial spending with regard to the acquisition and processing of multiple information bases in different languages.
It further seeks to achieve smooth coordination and cooperation between various information institutions in Saudi Arabia, and rehabilitate various libraries and information institutions within the Kingdom. The project further includes human resources development through training and supervised programs; and to ensure the Kingdom’s effective contribution to international bibliographic projects.