The library has also announced the ‘Reader to Reader’ initiative involving an exchange of books amongst SPL employees.

The two initiatives are aligned with the Reading Month’s 2021 theme ‘My Family Reads’, and aim to instil and support positive reading habits among children.

‘Everyone’s Library’ initiative will offer free basic membership for one year for those registering in March, either online or in person. Paid membership will resume in April 2022, SPL said, adding that the initiative targets all community members including children, youth, adults, and families.

Academic institutions, government entities and private companies are outside the purview of this initiative, it added.

Under the ‘Reader to Reader’ initiative, each employee of the SPL will offer a book that he/she previously read to their colleague. Employees who exchange books will be allowed to discuss what they have read in special weekly sessions titled, ‘30 Minutes for Reading’. Details of each session will be posted on SPL’s social media outlets.

Announcing the launch of the two initiatives, Eman Bushulaibi, Director of Sharjah Public Library, noted that the entity is committed to designing engaging and sustainable projects like these to motivate the community to continue reading.

She said, "The new initiatives stem from SPL’s mission to instil a love of reading among all age groups, stimulate their intellectual curiosity and their quest for knowledge with a variety of resources across genres. Ultimately, we aim to help our communities to transform reading into a daily habit.

"These initiatives align with the National Reading Strategy, which aims to cultivate a culture of reading in the UAE, build a knowledge-society, and empower successive generations of leaders with the right skills and experiences to drive UAE’s sustainable development," she added.