A recent letter in the Gulf News
claimed that there was no
library in Abu Dhabi that was
open to the public apart from that at
the Cultural Foundation. But there
is – and it is surprising that the Daly
Community Library has escaped notice
for so long.
The library opened in 1978 in the
Community Centre in the St. Andrew's
Church compound, then on the
Corniche. It opened with a stock of
500 books, donated by the Ranfurly
Library, which had been formed in the
Second World War to provide books
to troops serving overseas, these
books, in turn, having been donated
by public libraries in Britain when
they were 'weeding' their stocks.
By 1978, the Ranfurly Library was
closing down, the original need for it
having ended. As there were no proper
bookshops in Abu Dhabi, we knew that
a library would fill a need.
We had no money, and Mike Daly
Senior kindly offered to provide us
with shelves with lockable doors
which could be fixed to the walls of
the Community Centre. Sadly, Mike's
wife had recently died, so we decided
to call it the Daly Community Library
in her memory.
The original plans for the new
St. Andrew's Centre to be built on
the current site did not include any
provision for the library. We were told that a room could be built, but that we
would need to raise the funds for that,
and also to pay a small annual rent,
as well as the insurance. This we have
done, and in 1997, we were also able
to pay for a small extension, to be
able to shelve the increasing number
of books, now over 7,000.
The library is open to all residents of
Abu Dhabi, whatever their nationality or
religion, on payment of a small annual
subscription. The books are in English,
and include both fiction and non-fiction,
with a small section for children. The
only books on religious topics are a few
on Islam, these being selected carefully
so as not to offend any susceptibilities.
The library is at St. Andrew's
Centre, Mushrif Area, between The
British School – Al Khubeirat and
the Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed
Mosque. Staffed by volunteers, it is
open on Saturdays (11.00 am – 1.00
pm), Sundays (3.30 – 7.30 pm),
Wednesdays (11.00 am to 1.00 pm),
Thursdays (5.00 – 6.30 pm) and
Saturdays (11.00 am to 1.00 pm). The
telephone number is (02) 4478386.
|
|  |
|
Join Us!
If you would like to apply for
BBG membership, please click here |
|
|
|
