King Abdulaziz Public Library
King Abdulaziz Public Library is a public library in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Established in 1985 by Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, it was inaugurated in February 1988 and assumed its current name in 1996.
History and profile
The library was founded in 1985 by Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz. The building was designed and constructed by Saudi Oger. The building cost $40,000,000.00 to construct and spans an area of 26,000 m². "The architectural character presents a unique formal statement, and it employs local themes and materials reinterpreted using modern technology."Special collections include the private library of the American Orientalist George Rentz, the library of Hamza Bu Bakr and a collection of over 7,000 rare Arab and Islamic coins.
The KAPL has 5,271 rare Arabic titles cataloged, classified and entered into the Arabic books database, as well as 3,000 rare Arabic books currently being cataloged.
The KAPL also has one of the rarest collections of photographs in the world. This collection shares a total of 5,564 single original photographs taken by the most famous photographers of the East and the Arab world since the beginning of photography in 1740. The photos in the collection have also been taken by travelers, sea captains, military personnel and more.
Library Objectives
King Abdulaziz Library aims to achieve the following objectives:• Provide and organize all forms of intellectual output, including books, periodicals, audio-visual materials, and manuscripts in various fields of knowledge.
• Focus on collecting, documenting, and preserving Arab and foreign intellectual output in all its forms, including periodicals and research related to the history of King Abdulaziz and the history of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in general.
• Disseminate knowledge, culture, and sciences, particularly those related to Arab and Islamic heritage, and contribute to its revival and renewal.
• Provide library services, translation, and scientific publishing in the fields of Arab and Islamic sciences to support the development of scientific research in the Kingdom.
• Support the movement of authorship, translation, and scientific publishing in the fields of Arab and Islamic sciences to advance scientific research in the Kingdom.
• Contribute to serving the community by organizing cultural and scientific lectures, seminars, exhibitions, festivals, and participating in them.
• Build and document Arab and foreign intellectual output related to horses and equestrianism to support specialised research and studies in this field.
Map Collection
"One of the largest publicly available Arabian cartographic collections lies in Riyadh at the King ‘Abd al-‘Aziz Public Library. Established in 1985, the KAPL enjoys a growing reputation for the quality of its facilities and collections, the latter ranging from books and manuscripts to coins and photographs. Of particular interest, however, is the library's collection of several hundred maps of Arabia, centered on the 16th to 18th centuries. Since the library's foundation, says Supervisor-General Faisal al-Muaammar, "we were keen to build up a comprehensive collection of maps and charts of Arabia, so that this fascinating material could be made available to scholars and members of the public alike."The map collection has over 700 rare maps, mostly of the Arabian Peninsular, dating from 1482. These maps are written in English, French, Latin, Italian, German, Dutch, Portuguese, Spanish, Turkish and Arabic. They include examples of some of the greatest cartographers, including Ptolemy, Gastaldi, Ortelius, Munster, Bertius, Hondius, Mercator, Speed, Blaeu, Sanson, Regel, Bowen, Neighbour and Pinkerton.
Library Building and Its Sections
• Reading Halls• Arabic Books and References Hall
• Foreign Books and References Hall
• Current Newspapers and Periodicals Hall
• Audio-Visual Hall
• King Abdulaziz Hall
• Manuscripts and Rare Collections Hall
• Government Publications Hall
• Bound Periodicals Hall
• Children’s Books
Manuscripts Section
Since its establishment, the library has created a dedicated manuscripts section, housing over 4,500 original manuscripts, in addition to more than 800 paper and microfilm copies, with a total of approximately two million manuscript pages. The section holds numerous historically valuable manuscripts, such as the manuscript titled Taj al-Lugha wa Sahih al-Arabiyya by Abu Nasr Ismail ibn Hammad al-Jawhari, who died in 393 AH/1003 CE, and a manuscript titled Al-Muhadhdhab on Shafi’i jurisprudence by Ibrahim ibn Muhammad al-Shirazi al-Fayruzabadi, copied in 555 AH. In addition to many other important and rare manuscripts, due to the difficulty of providing original manuscripts to researchers, the library has completed a project to digitize all its manuscripts by electronically scanning all their pages onto magnetic disks, making them available to researchers and enthusiasts worldwide through the library’s website.King Abdulaziz Public Library Documents
The King Abdulaziz Public Library preserves documents in the King Abdulaziz Hall, divided into:Original Documents:
• The library holds over sixty documents, most of which revolve around King Abdulaziz, including letters, correspondence, and various documents.
Photographed Documents:
• Photographed on films
• Photographed on slides
The library also includes works such as From Our National Documents, which compiles images of documents held in the library, containing 103 documents, and another titled From King Abdulaziz’s Documents, containing 200 documents. These two books are publications of the National Guard, compiled and prepared by Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Sabit, Dr. Abdulaziz Al-Shuail, Ibrahim Al-Awad, and Saud Al-Roumi. The documents on slides have been published in these books, arranged historically, with the document’s text reproduced in printed form, accompanied by commentary explaining local dialect terms, linguistic terms mentioned in the documents, and some additional notes. At the end of each book, there is a general index and lists of names, places, and topics mentioned in the published documents. The types of documents preserved in the library include:
• Administrative Documents: These include a collection of administrative documents related to state management, such as a document for issuing a passport.
• Letters and Correspondence: The library holds King Abdulaziz’s correspondence sent to his employees concerning state affairs, photographed documents on slides, and those published in the books From Our National Documents and From King Abdulaziz’s Documents. It also includes letters and correspondence of King Abdulaziz.
• Political Documents: The library holds a microfilm copy related to the Kingdom and its foreign policy.
• Religious Documents: The library contains some religious documents related to guidance and advice for Muslims, including a document by Sheikh al-Islam Muhammad ibn Abdulwahhab explaining the essence of Islam and its foundation based on the worship of Allah, and a document by Sheikh Muhammad ibn Abdul Latif Al Al-Sheikh addressed to villagers and tribal leaders, calling them to enjoin good and forbid evil.
Restoration Centre
Restoration at the King Abdulaziz Public Library began in 2003, initially with a restoration lab dedicated to photographs only. Its primary tasks included restoring and treating old photographs from the era of King Abdulaziz Al Saud, may God rest his soul, as these photographs are considered rare acquisitions that must be restored and preserved.In 2021, the development of a comprehensive restoration centre for all forms of cultural heritage began, equipped with the latest tools. The centre was inaugurated on June 21, 2022.
The centre’s primary tasks include “sterilisation, restoration and treatment, sewing and binding, and preservation” of rare and valuable cultural heritage sources. Restoration is not limited to necessary repair and treatment work but also extends to creating suitable conditions for their safety and preservation to facilitate access and benefit from them in the future.
By the end of 2024, the lab had restored over 27,000 items, restored more than 350 leather items, and sterilised over 61,000 materials.