Doha, Qatar: Qatar University (QU) Library is working to organize, preserve, and collect historical documents and make them accessible to beneficiaries while respecting intellectual copyrights. In this context, the library is currently undertaking the “Qatar through the Eyes of Her Majesty” project, which aims to preserve culture and historical events and pass them across generations.
This project is is based on the compilation of volumes consisting of a collection of sources and newspapers, which have been gathered into twenty-seven volumes. Fatima Al Naemi, Head of User Services said: “The project enriches the library’s holdings and facilitates researchers’ access to historical information through the library’s index.”
Assistant Information Services Specialist, Asmaa Nasir said: “The project is based on revealing important article titles found in newspaper volumes and old sources such as: A letter written by Saleh Suliman Al Mana, Secretary of Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim Al Thani’s office, addressed to the editor-in-chief of the Egyptian newspaper Al Imran, Abd al Masih Antaki, in 1909. Also, an article in the Egyptian magazine Al Musaawar by the famous Kuwaiti historian Saif Marzooq Al Shamlan, as well as articles by the Lebanese historian Ameen Rihani and an article about Sheikh Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani. These documents, along with others, are significant historical records related to Qatar’s social, economic, cultural, and industrial conditions.”
Meanwhile, Assistant Acquisition Specialist, Aljaohara Al Hajri pointed out that “the project highlights Qatar’s development through the Eyes of Her Majesty, particularly in the Egyptian press, during an important period in Qatar’s modern history, spanning from the 1950s to the early 1980s.
"The project also includes a collection of articles and investigative journalism pieces that cover Qatar’s educational, healthcare, urban, and sports advancements, as well as the initiation of modern projects following the discovery of oil, which has led to an ongoing economic development.”
In her turn, Assistant Information Services Specialist, Iglal Abdullah, emphasised the importance of the project for researchers, as it assists them in accessing information that forms a wealth of knowledge, continuously growing and inspiring generations to come.
