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Adding another feather to its cap, the Deanship of Library affairs has gained membership of the World Digital Library (WDL), a non-profit project proposed by the Library of Congress and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
Confirmed in a letter by WDL Director, John Van Oudenaren, KAU's membership was also announced at WDL's page on twitter at http://www.wdl.org/ar/partners.
KAU President, HE Prof Osama S. Tayyeb, received Dr Abdulrashid A. Hafez, Dean of Library affairs, on the occasion in the presence of Dr Zohair A. Damanhori, Vice President for Development.
In statements following the meeting, Dr Hafez said the new membership would help KAU Library attract a wider readership and expand its reach and visibility.
"It will also give KAU researchers free open access to materials of libraries on a website translated into a number of languages at www.wdl.org", he added.
Prof Tayyeb praised the accomplishment, stressing that it was in line with KAU's policy of providing its researchers and academics with broader resources of information.
WDL's stated mission is to make available on the Internet, free of charge and in multilingual format, significant primary materials from countries and cultures around the world. Its principal objectives include, promoting international and intercultural understanding, expanding the volume and variety of cultural content on the Internet, providing resources for educators, scholars and general audiences, as well as building capacity in partner institutions to narrow the digital divide within and between countries.
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