Who's behind the news?
Who's behind the news?
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Newsjunkie.net is a resource guide for journalists. We show who's behind the news, and provide tools to help navigate the modern business of information.
Use of Data
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The National Library and Archives of the United Arab Emirates (NLA) is a leading research and archival institution based in Abu Dhabi. It was established in 1968, upon the directives of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, founder of the UAE, originally under the name of the Documents and Research Bureau and affiliated with Al Diwan Al Amiri (the Ruler's Court). Over subsequent decades the institution underwent several organizational changes, culminating in Federal Law No. 7 of 2008 designating it the National Center for Documentation and Research (NCDR), and Federal Law No. 1 of 2014 renaming it the National Library and Archives. The NLA operates under the directives of its Chairman, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and is directed by Dr. Abdullah Majid Al Ali.
The NLA holds extensive primary and secondary source materials documenting the history of the UAE and the broader Gulf region, including American, British, Portuguese, French, Dutch, German, Ottoman, and GCC documents, as well as an audio-visual collection. Among its notable holdings is the Portuguese Cantino map (1502), the earliest known map of the Gulf region. The Emirates Library provides specialized research resources covering UAE, Gulf, and Middle Eastern history, including rare documents, travel books in original editions, and atlases. The Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Hall houses a permanent exhibition of manuscripts, documents, photographs, and maps spanning over 500 years of Gulf history.
The NLA's state-of-the-art premises include a 600-seat auditorium with simultaneous translation capability, a three-dimensional Virtual Reality Hall, a Customer Happiness Hall with digital research facilities, and a printing press that publishes official NLA and ministerial publications. The institution has achieved pioneer status as the first national archival institution of its kind in the Middle East.
The NLA is open to researchers, decision-makers, and graduate students. Research services include reading facilities, reference desks, electronic resources, digital lockers, and WiFi. The NLA is a member of UNESCO, the International Council on Archives (ICA), and the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA).