|
|
Bahrain
|
Directory Information
|
Bahrain, an independent country in the Middle East, it lies between Saudi Arabia and the Qatar Peninsula. It occupies 36 islands; Manama, the capital, is on the largest, Bahrain Island. Population (1990 est.) 503,000, including 325,000 Bahrainis and 164,000 expatriates; area 678 sq. km. The official language is Arabic, though English is widely used.
Bahrain does not have national library. There were almost 250 libraries in 1990, of which 14 were public, 4 academic, 170 school, and 60 special libraries. A total of 421 personnel were employed in the libraries, of whom only 76 held diplomas or degrees in library science. Almost all libraries are working to increase their professional staffing and to improve their collections. As in western countries, the use of microcomputers and information technologies is high on the agenda for most libraries.
Academic Libraries
There are four academic libraries:
The University of Bahrain (UB)
Arabian Gulf University (AGU)
College of Medicine and Medical Sciences (CMMS) of AGU
College of Health Sciences (CHS)
The University of Bahrain Library, the largest academic library, was established in 1987 when the two largest academic institutions were merged. They were the University College of Arts, Science, and Education and the Gulf. UB has more than 5,000 students, with 1,000 faculty and staff. It offers undergraduate and postgraduate programs in five colleges: arts, business, education, engineering, and science. The UB library has more than 110,000 volumes of Arabic and non-Arabic material. It has about 18,000 periodical titles, both Arabic and non- Arabic. It is a depository library for United Nations and World Bank publications. The UB library makes extensive use of CD-ROM technology, subscribing to more than 50 frequently used bibliographic databases in CD format.
The Arabian Gulf University is sponsored by the Arab Bureau of Education in Riyadh, a regional body representing Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. AGU's main campus, in newly constructed buildings in Saquer, has faculties in special education and applied technology, offering postgraduate degree and diploma programs. Its library has 10,000 volumes in Arabic and non-Arabic languages.
The College of Medicine and Medical Sciences is AGU's oldest college, founded in 1983 and situated at the Salmanya Medical Center in Manama. Its library has a total of 15,000 volumes and its periodical holdings include more than 700 titles. It offers online
database searching services through DIALOG.
The College of Health Sciences was founded in 1976 as the School of Nursing. It trains students to work in hospitals and health centers as paramedical professionals, primarily nurses and lab technicians. Its library is a depository for World Health Organization publications. It has 26,000 catalogued volumes and 535 periodical subscriptions. Two main CD-ROM data- base systems have been installed: BiblioFile for cataloguing and MEDLINE for reference.
Although cooperation among academic libraries exists, insufficient backruns of periodicals require most libraries to rely on the British Library Document Supply Centre for interlibrary loan. Librarians at UB began work in the early 1990s on a new edition of the Bahrain Union List of Serials and Standing Orders. Prepared by UB staff, it includes academic, special, and school libraries. Academic libraries also handle and distribute textbook orders.
Public Libraries
The first public library was established in 1946. Today Bahrain has a Manama Public Library with 11 branch libraries. It is a depository for Unesco and government publications. Public libraries are part of the Ministry of Education, which has a Directorate of Libraries for overall public library operations. The system has almost 125,000 volumes, more than 600 periodical subscriptions, and almost 2,000 audiovisual items. In the early 1990s, the library circulated more than 330,000 volumes annually to about the same number of patrons.
The Manama Public Library (MPL) has assumed responsibility for acquiring five deposit copies of each book published in Bahrain. The MPL is the headquarters for the public library system, providing centralized purchasing, cataloguing, and processing for all public libraries. MPL has a music library and a mobile library. MPL and other branch libraries have children's sections equipped with AV equipment and materials.
The director is the chief executive officer of the public library system, with two key assistants, the Chief of the Central Library (MPL) and Chief of Branch Libraries. A total of 90 staff work in the system, of whom 21 have the title of librarian. Of these, 10 hold Bachelor's degrees in library science and 11 hold Bachelor's degrees in other disciplines.
School Libraries
The Ministry of Education operates 147 elementary, intermediate, and secondary schools, 69 for females and 78 for males. By the end of the 1980s, total student enrollment was almost 91,000.
Bahrain also has nearly 30 private schools supported by various organizations and embassies. Each school must have a library in order to be accredited. Among government schools, the best libraries are found in secondary schools. Of the 100 persons staffing the government school libraries, 40 have Bachelor's degrees, some in library science. A few elementary school libraries are staffed with voluntary part-time staff, all secondary school libraries have qualified librarians. The Ministry of Education has a centralized acquisition and processing department that distributes books to schools. Individual schools can also purchase materials through their own administration using private funds.
Among the 30 private schools, the largest is the Indian School, with an enrollment of more than 5,000 students. It has two qualified librarians and a collection of 12,000 volumes and 120 periodical titles. Bahrain School, an American school, received the U.S. Presidential award in 1985 as one of the outstanding overseas American educational institutions. Its library contains 27,000 volumes and 160 periodicals and has a fully equipped media center. The Saint Christopher's School, a British school, has a library of 11,000 volumes. Ibn Khuldun School and Al-Bayan School have good library facilities with qualified librarians. Other private schools with libraries include the Sacred Heart School, Pakistani School, Urdu School, Asian School, and Habara School.
The Educational Technology Center (formerly Audiovisual Aid Center) was established in 1984 under the Ministry of Education to provide AV equipment for government school libraries. It has nearly 1,000 films. With its help, the role of school libraries has expanded, and they are now being called Learning Resource Centers or School Media Centers.
Special Libraries
Bahrain has some new special libraries, but government libraries represent the largest category. The 16 government ministries and several government organizations have their own libraries. Bahrain Center for Studies and Research (BCSR), a government institute, supports research in social and applied sciences; it is the equivalent of the U.S. National Science Foundation. The BCSR library has 4,000 volumes and subscribes to 200 journals. It offers online search facilities through DIALOG and has direct links with the Kuwait Institute of Scientific Research (KISR) through DIAL-IN. This link pro- vides direct access to the KISR database, which consists of KISR Library holdings. Bahrain Document Center was established under the Crown Prince's Office. It has a collection of 5,000 volumes and a large collection of manuscripts and documents related to Bahrain and other Gulf countries. It issues Al-Watheeqa, a scholarly journal of Bahrain. Bahrain Defense Forces (BDF) has a Central Library and three branch libraries, one of them a medical library attached to BDF hospital.
Other medical libraries include those attached to the American Mission Hospital and the International Hospital. The British Council Library (BCL) has more than 12, 000 volumes and several journals of wide interest. The U.S. Embassy has a commercial library and a student advisory service. Dawa and Irshad library, sponsored by the Saudi Arabian Educational Mission in Bahrain, has a good collection of books on Islam, Hadith, and related topics. In 1977 a regional United Nations Information Center (UNIC) was established in Bahrain. Its aim is to provide information on the UN and its agencies to Bahrain, Qatar, and United Arab Emirates, which all gained UN membership in 1971. UNIC is open to the general public as well. It has 10,000 items, including periodicals from all UN agencies and a large section of documentary films.
Bahrain is a center for off-shore banking and has libraries and information centers attached to many banks. The Bahrain Monetary Agency (BMA) library has a collection of 5,000 volumes and subscribes to 50 periodicals. The Arab Banking Corporation, Gulf International Bank, National Bank of Bahrain, Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait, and Arab Insurance Group have libraries or information centers. Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO) has two libraries: technical and recreational. The recreational library has 13,000 volumes and 75 periodical subscriptions. Bahrain Aluminium, Gulf Petrochemical Industries Corporation, Bahrain National Gas Company, and others also have technical libraries. A number of training centers, such as the Bahrain Bankers Training Center, Management Consulting Group, BATELCO Training Center, and Bahrain Institute of Finance, have their own libraries.
Such groups as the Bahrain Historical and Archaeological Society, Bahrain Medical Association, Bahrain Arts Society, and Bahrain Society for Engineers have libraries for their members. Beit Al-Qur'an (Koran) (Qur'an House) Library, housed in an attractive building in downtown Manama, has a collection on Holy Qur'an and its associated literature. Its materials include translations of the Qur'an from all parts of the world. The newly constructed headquarters of Bahrain National Museum has a library containing 8,000 volumes.
The Profession
The University of Bahrain has a postgraduate diploma program in Learning and Information Resources, the first library professional program in the country. It is jointly sponsored by the Department of Education and the University Library. The Ministry of Education sponsored 33 working librarians under this program in its first years of operation. Students must complete 30 credit hours. By the late 1980s, six Bahrainis had completed their studies abroad and returned with MLS degrees and postgraduate diplomas in library and information science from Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. They have assumed a leadership role in the profession. Most local library staff received their library qualifications in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, or the United Arab Emirates.
There is still no professional body or association of librarians or information specialists. Discussion on forming a Bahrain Library Association led to an outline of bylaws and activities in 1985, but little progress has been made since.
Manama Central Library: C/o Ministry of Education, POB 43, Manama; f. 1946; 152,000 vols, 150 periodicals, 1,475 cassettes; Dir Mansoor MOHAMMED SARHAN; publ. Bahrain National Bibliography.
University of Bahrain Libraries and Information Centre: POB 32038, Isa Town; tel. 449257; fax 449838; 150,000 vols, 2,245 periodicals; Dir Dr Harold C. YOUNG.
REFERENCES Central Statistical Organization, Statistical Abstract 1988. Directorate of Public Libraries, Facts and Figures about Public Libraries, 1989.
Sources:
|