About the National Library of Kuwait

The National Library of Kuwait was established by virtue of the Amiri Decree No. (52) of 1994 AD. A few minutes walking distance from the first 18th century settlement in Kuwait, with several preserved mosques in the vicinity and the Sief Palace complex up front, Kuwait’s National Library situated in the Jibla district counts as the nation’s most important informational, cultural and educational resource, and also a link between Kuwait’s past and its future.

The building’s area is about 22,000 m2, spread over on six floors, two underground and four above. The atrium, a mezzanine level and interior bridges in combination with a coffered ceiling design that features an eight-sided star clerestory, give the library a light and open character. The National Library serves four main functions: The library, a 275 seats auditorium, training center and festival corridor. The library consists of 5 sections: depository library, lending library, youth library, kids library and donated personal library.

As the main architectural feature, the entrance corridor represents the transition from the past to the present as it starts in the formal width main entrance that gradually ends in a narrow corridor, door exit, that leads you to an alleyway between the old Mosque and Al-Khalid Diwaniyah connecting you with Kuwait old city fabric.

The library’s objectives are as follows:

• Collecting, organizing, documenting and preserving the national heritage and intellectual production.
• Forming and developing Arab and foreign groups concerned with the history of Kuwait, the Gulf and the Arabian Peninsula.
• Preserving the rights of authors, inventors, innovators and owners of artistic works, and protecting intellectual property.
• Acting as the national center for making lists, within an integrated project for the unified national index.
• Raising the level of performance of national personnel working in the libraries and information centers sector, on the latest technical systems in the field of library work.
• Cooperation and coordination with national libraries, research and study centers, specialized and public libraries, and relevant unions to enhance joint relations in the areas of developing the activity of the National Library, enriching its holdings, and the technical systems in force.

Historical overview

From the prosperous Seif Palace, Kuwait was known during the reign of its late Emir, Sheikh Mubarak bin Sabah Al-Sabah, nicknamed Mubarak the Great, for his keenness to acquire and preserve valuable books and encourage science and scholars. His son, the writer Sheikh Nasser bin Mubarak Al-Sabah, followed in his footsteps and was the first to acquire a private library, which contained three thousand valuable and rare volumes and books, which today, with what remains of them, are considered a great national treasure. The early beginnings in the modern history of Kuwait witnessed the encouragement of the pursuit of knowledge and the enlightenment of the nation when Al-Mubarakiya School was established in 1912 AD to set off with the torch of education in Kuwait, followed by Al-Ahmadiyya School, which was established in 1921 AD.

The leadership of education and its inculcation and dissemination in the souls of the youth contributed to the revival of the efforts of the enlightened and loyal sons of Kuwait when they called for the establishment of public and private libraries. During the reign of the late Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, may God have mercy on him, a group of distinguished men resolved to establish the first Kuwaiti library at that time, namely Mr. Abdul Hamid Al-Sanea and Mr. Sultan Ibrahim Al-Kulaib. They invited prominent dignitaries and scholars to participate in the founding meeting, in the presence of the late, may God have mercy on them: Suleiman Khalid Al-Adasani, Zaid Muhammad Al-Rifai, Marzouq Al-Dawoud Al-Badr, Rajab bin Sayed Abdullah Al-Rifai, Abdul Rahman Khalaf Al-Naqeeb, Mishari Al-Hassan Al-Badr, Ali Al-Fahd Al-Khaled, and Sheikh Youssef bin Issa Al-Qanaei. They rushed to establish the private library in 1923 AD and it took its headquarters in the house of Ali Al-Amer and appointed Mr. Abdullah Al-Omran as its secretary. Donations and gifts of books poured in, and its fame spread. It was then transferred to the public in a large shop in the middle of Amir Street, donated by the late Emir of Kuwait, may God have mercy on him, Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah. The library flourished with valuable books of religious and heritage books, novels, collections of poetry, and rare dictionaries. The library then moved to several places, and was accompanied by a period of economic depression, a decline in demand for it, and a stumbling block in the progress of its performance and services.

In 1935 AD, a group of prominent Kuwaitis called for activating the role of the National Library and developing it to make it a haven for students of knowledge and a forum for knowledge seekers. A good committee was formed, consisting of: Sheikh Youssef bin Issa Al-Qana’i and Messrs. Ali bin Sayyid Ali Al-Rifai, Abdullah Al-Hamad Al-Saqr, Mishari Khadir Al-Mishaan, Suleiman Al-Khalid Al-Adasani, Khaled Al-Abdullatif Al-Hamad, Abdullatif bin Muhammad Al-Thunayan, and Sayyid Zaid Muhammad Al-Rifai.

When the generous benefactor Shahah Hamad Al Saqr learned of these noble intentions, she made her generous donation to the library, a shop she owned in the Qaisariyat Al Tujjar, to be the new headquarters of the library, followed by the founding committee renting several shops next to it to expand the library.

Sheikh Muhammad Salih Al-Turkait was appointed as its secretary, and the number of books in it did not exceed three hundred books. With the growth of the passion for reading and the love of acquiring knowledge, a group of Kuwaiti men were encouraged to open commercial libraries such as Al-Ruwaih Library (owner of the first commercial library in the history of Kuwait), Abdul Mohsen Al-Dara Library, Abdullah Al-Hatim Library, and others.

In 1937 AD, the government embraced the National Library to support its historical journey. It was incorporated into the Department of Education and named the Public Education Library, headed by the late Sheikh Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, who was the head of the Department of Education.

The success continued, so on July 1, 1979, the Council of Ministers decided to annex the library, after naming it the Central Library, to the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters. Since 1982, it has been located in the Mubarakiya School building as a suitable headquarters for it.

In 1994 AD, the Amiri Decree No. (52) was issued to establish the National Library of Kuwait, which was approved by the late Emir of Kuwait, may God have mercy on him, Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah.