From 1 November to 2 November, Huo Ruijuan, Deputy Director of the National Library of China (NLC), led a 5-person delegation to Qatar to attend the 29th Conference of Directors of National Libraries in Asia and Oceania.

Members of the delegation at the conference 

This conference was sponsored by the Qatar National Library (QNL), and 55 representatives from 27 countries attended the conference. The conference set three themes, i.e. "Collection of representative resources (physical and digital collections)", "Preservation and utilization of library collections", and "Measures to motivate or attract participation in library collections construction". Huo Ruijuan gave a report titled "Representative Resources of the National Library of China", introducing the acquisitions, collections and services of representative featured resources, such as ancient book resources, self-built digital resources, China Memory Project, and so on. She also said that the NLC was willing to work together with libraries around the world to preserve and inherit the historical civilization of various countries and ethnic groups, and take on the responsibility of serving as a social and cultural memory institution.

Huo Ruijuan Delivering a report at the conference

During the conference, Huo Ruijuan had a formal interview with Tan Huism, Executive Director of the QNL, and reached a consensus on further cooperation between the two libraries. Huo Ruijuan also closely communicated with representatives from Lebanon, Malaysia, Myanmar, Vanuatu, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Indonesia, Jordan, and other countries, laying a solid foundation for further establishing literature exchange relationships between libraries in China and these countries.

Group photo of delegation members, Dr. Hamad Bin Abdulaziz Al-Kawari, President of the QNL, and Tan Huism, Executive Director of the QNL

Before attending the Conference of Directors of National Libraries in Asia and Oceania, the delegation went to Dubai and Abu Dhabi to have formal interviews with Director of Mohammed Bin Rashid Library and Director of the National Library of the United Arab Emirates, and reached a preliminary intention on establishing book exchange relationship, establishing exchange and cooperation mechanisms, carrying out cooperation in the field of digital libraries, and so on. The delegation sincerely invited the National Library of the United Arab Emirates to join the Silk Road International Library Alliance, laying the foundation for further cooperation between the two sides. Liu Yang, Director of the Chinese Cultural Center in the United Arab Emirates, was also present. 

The delegation visiting the National Library of the United Arab Emirates

Huo Ruijuan exchanging gifts with Director of the National Library of the United Arab Emirates

Director of Mohammed Bin Rashid Library explaining in the exhibition hall

The delegation members also included Wang Yang, Director of the NLC Chinese Acquisitions & Cataloguing Department and the NLC Foreign Language Publications Acquisitions & Cataloguing Department, Li Xiaoming, Director of the NLC Stack Management & Reading Services Department, Zhang Yang, Director of the NLC Microforms Department, and Yang Enyi, librarian of the NLC Foreign Language Publications Acquisitions & Cataloguing Department.