Qatar’s Trailblazers |
QNL in numbers
• Over 800,000 books
• 300,000 eBooks
• 26,000 rare books
•
100,000 children’s books
people are going to react. So we’ve had to make some
adjustments in terms of space use, event offerings, and
so on. “All these events go to show that, deep down, we all want
to keep learning-sometimes, we just need the right place
to go.”
“But these are good problems to have, because they
show that our visitors really do care about making
QNL their own.” She adds: “QNL gives Qatar’s community something
it has lacked: a welcoming, inspirational place where
individuals and families can come to learn together and
have fun. Already, we’ve welcomed more than 150,000
visitors, and our members have checked out more than
300,000 books.
Since opening in November 2017, the QNL has hosted
more than 100 events.
Dr Wastawy finds it hard to pick a favourite. “The early
literacy programmes, of course, are wonderful, because
you can see a love of reading develop before your eyes
in children who are going to enjoy books for the rest of
their lives,” she says. “It has also been great to see adults
come back and rediscover their own love of learning,
whether through book discussions, computer classes, or
photography workshops.
“The overwhelmingly positive reception shows that
people in Qatar are eager to pursue their educational,
creative, and innovative goals, and we look forward
to nurturing that passion for generations to come.”
Certainly, it is hard to imagine a job more satisfying.
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