Top Research Archive in Oman

Omani Studies Centre

 

Established in 1998 by a decree of the Sultan Qaboos University President, the Omani Studies Centre (OSC) serves as the nation’s premier archive of records about the Sultanate of Oman.  Whether historic, scientific, literary, economic, theological, political, or social, the mission of the OSC is to collect, preserve, and make available records related to the sultanate, to facilitate and promote research about the country and its people.  The OSC functions also as the institutional archive for Sultan Qaboos University. Centre Director is Dr. Mohsin Al-Kindi, recently appointed to the post. 

Types of Records

Records in the collection may originate from sources within or outside the country of Oman, in the Arabic language including various local dialects, German, French, or English. Types of records in the collection are:

 a)      Published works of fiction, and non-fiction (approximately 3,000 titles),

b)      Masters’ theses and doctoral dissertations produced by students of the Sultan Qaboos University (approximately 200),

c)      Non-current historic records documenting the activities of students, faculty, and administrators of the university in its 21-year history,

d)      Audio recordings in MP3, or audio cassette format,

e)      Video recordings, and

f)        Digital images or photographs.

 

Physical Layout

The converted villa on the campus of Sultan Qaboos University in which the Centre  resides occupies ~ 4,000 square feet (~ 372 square meters). The facility provides four floors of space for the Centre’s library, research rooms, and personnel offices.   The library occupies approximately 1,000 square feet (~ 93 square meters) on the second floor. The Centre library is open for research during regular business hours, 8:00a.m. to 2:00p.m, Saturday through Wednesday (the regular business week in Oman).

 

 

Future Plans of the Omani Studies Centre

In mid- 2008, the OSC is scheduled to move into its new purpose-built facility on the east end of campus, to provide additional room to unite it with the Oman Collection of the Sultan Qaboos University Main Library.  The Oman Collection consists of:

a)      monographs about Oman, including rare historic manuscripts,

b)      serials published by one of eleven governmental ministries, or departments of the Omani government,

c)      periodical articles about Oman which appear in Arabic- or English-language journals, magazines, or newspapers,

d)      Master’s theses and doctoral dissertations about Oman produced by students of Sultan Qaboos University, or written by Omani nationals studying outside of the country,

e)      Geographical and city maps about Oman, produced by the National Survey Authority (http://www.omanet.om/english/government/Defence.asp), a department of the Ministry of Defense, as well as those acquired from other sources,

f)        Omani National Standards, as well as those from outside of the country, andg)      Microforms. 

 Contact Information

Omani Studies Centre (OSC), Sultan Qaboos University, P.O. Box 50 Al-Khoudh, Muscat, Oman  Postal Code 123.  osc@squ.edu.om.

 

 

What does the perfect library conference look like?

Information Literacy Network 2007

Zayed University, Dubai, United Arab Emirates 

December 8-9, 2007

What does the perfect library conference look like?  Form an all-star task force of enthusiastic and dedicated librarians to spearhead the conference, invite Librarian.net guru Jessamyn West as your keynote speaker, pick a hot topic, and invite an international cast of information professionals hungry for  further education in the field, and you’ve got the 1^st Annual Conference of the Information Literacy Network (ILN) 2007.  Held in state-of-the-art facilities at Zayed University, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, the two-day conference juiced working information professionals in the Arabian Gulf region for a “Library 2.0” future.

Jane Whiteside, Dubai Aerospace Enterprise University, kicked off the inaugural event as Master of Ceremonies, with a warm welcome.  Dean Pat Wand, Director of the Zayed University Library greeted attendees to the affair, as well, with a warm welcome and brought the conference immediately into focus, with her calm, measured tone.  For attendees reeling from the spin-cycle of international travel (like myself), her gentle introduction was most welcome.  She reminded us that “…life was easier when you just thumbed through a card catalog…”, but that the basic passion we all share for librarianship does not change with the rapid change in information technology facing the profession.

Isabelle Eula, Chairman of the ILN, and Director of the Carnegie-Mellon University-Qatar Library, delivered a helpful history of the group, formed just two years ago, recounting the, well, sacrifices the team has made to arrive at conference day, and introduced the keynote speaker. 

With the conviction of a televangelist, Jessamyn spoke about Library “2.0” with a great empathy for the information-have-nots.   Her  commitment to those on the far side of the information divide, helped information professionals in attendance understand that we must remember who our patrons are, go to them, and not wait for them to come to us (in brick-and-mortar buildings).    Sprinkled with some very amusing anecdotes, her lecture to an audience of ~ 200 reminded us that it can be a rather lonely place pioneering new technology in our home institutions, that we should demand more findability from our vendors, accept that some things don’t work, and consider open source (freeware) options in techno-solutions.   She has graciously decided to share her Power Point slides with ILN at their website (probably posted in the next week) at:  http://www.informationliteracynetwork.net/conference/about.html  Jessamyn’s ability to rally the troops, in kicking off a very important event, was both admirable and inspirational. 

  

Like other conferences (see my gushings over last summer’s SLA 2007 Denver conference at http://lsobibliotech.blogspot.com/2007/10/connecting-people-and-information.html), networking was the best part of the gig.  Not for personal gain, but for the pleasure of meeting others who share a common passion the conference was a win-win.  Arabian Advanced Systems, SWETS, EduTech, TechKnowledge, University of Wollongong in Dubai, Dubai Aerospace Enterprise University, and Zayed University invested well in sponsoring the event held at the Al Ruwayyah campus, in Academic City.  Want the perfect conference…why not consider Information Literacy Network 2008.  I can’t wait….

Let’s Read!

Dar Al-Atta (The House of Giving) charity, an NGO local to the greater Muscat, Oman area,  resembling the United Way as a leader in charitable giving, has announced  their “Let’s Read!” program, as part of an ongoing campaign to promote reading in the Sultanate.

The “Let’s Read!” program consists of a book drive until November 12^th and a November 15^th Fun Day to promote books and reading, 10am – 6pm, at the Jawharat Al-Shatti complex (located next to the Muscat Intercontinental Hotel). Targeted readers are aged 4-9 years.

Many thanks to Librarian extraordinaire Paige Spilles over at the American International School of Muscat (www.taism.com) for the heads-up….

A National Library Association is Born – 1st Inaugural Conference of the Omani Library Association (OLA)

It’s a new day in Oman!  Yesterday, the nation took a huge stride into the 21st century with the formation of the Omani Library Association (OLA), at its 1st annual conference held on the campus of Sultan Qaboos University (http://www.squ.edu.om/), the nation’s tops.    Already pretty tech-savvy, this nation of 3.2 million will finally have a single body, to promote information literacy nation-wide, and support those in, or heading toward the profession of library and information science.

Who’s Who?

Dignitaries from all realms of higher education were in attendance, including OLA lead patron Dr. Saud bin Nasser Al-Riyami, SQU’s Vice Chancellor.  An all-star line-up of who’s who in information science in Oman delivered compelling lectures, and a final panel discussion, including Dr. Saif Al-Jabri, Director of Information,  College of Commerce;  Dr. Omneya M. Sadek, SQU Professor of Library and Information Science, the esteemed Dr. Moosa bin Nasser Al-Mufaraji, Director of the SQU Main Library & Acting OLA President, Dr. Abdelmajid Bouazza,  SQU Department of Library & Information Science Head, and others (apologies, in advance, for not including other important notables by name unfamiliar to me due to language barrier). 

Approximately 400 in attendance came from academic libraries, like University of Nizwa (http://www.unizwa.edu.om/e-index.php) and Sohar University (http://www.soharuni.edu.om/), school libraries like Sultan School (http://www.sultansschool.org/), and medical libraries like that of the Royal Hospital of Oman. 

Talking Points

Elements of the vision of the organization discussed were:  

1.      prospective subdivisions of the organization,

2.      developing relationships with other national library organizations,

3.      prospective publications and proper format for initial publication,

4.      prospective to

pics for the next annual conference next October 2008,

5.      surveying the needs of information professionals in the field here in Oman,

6.      prospective workshops, seminars, lectures, or continuing education opportunities for working professionals in the field,

7.      the need for qualified trainers,

8.      prospective course fees,

9.      adopting existing literacy standards versus creating one’s own,

10. funding opportunities for future growth of the association, 

11.  cooperation with private and business entities,

12.  the important role of the Ministry of Heritage & Culture in promoting OLA (http://www.omanet.om/english/tourism/entert/museums.asp?cat=tour&subcat=entert1), and,

13.  promoting career development in LIS.

Dr. Al-Jabri was generous to translate into the English language highlights of the event, as it progressed for non-native Arabic speakers in attendance, of whom there were approximately 4. 

Future Prospects

Acting President Dr. Moosa, as he is affectionately known, will guide the organization with a temporary board until proper elections may be held. 

Address of the organization is Omani Library Association, P.O. Box 37, Al-Khoudh, Muscat, Oman 123;  telephone (country code 968) 24-14-1503, Fax (country code 968) 24-41-3413.    Membership is open to all, at cost of 10 Omani Riyals, about US$26 per annum.   An OLA website is forthcoming, and I will post that link as soon as it is made available.   

The inaugural conference of the Omani Library Association was a tremendous success in that it served to strengthen ties between those currently serving in the public and private sector, and showed a vision of good things to come for the information profession in the sultanate.