JEDDAH, 31 March 2007 — The Um Al-Qura University in Makkah has set up a digital library with 6,000 scientific papers and nearly 3.5 million pages, according to Adnan Al-Harithy, dean for library affairs. Efforts are under way to add 700,000 pages of manuscripts to the library, which is named after Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah.

The university recently hosted a workshop on “Development of Saudi University Libraries,” which was opened by Adnan Wazzan, its newly appointed president. A number of papers were presented such on topics as Information Service: Concept and Application, the Role of Libraries in Electronic Education and the Digital Reference Service at University Libraries.