Doha: The re-opening of Qatar National Library’s Children’s Library has seen increased demand by visitors. However, only a limited number of children are allowed at the library due to COVID-19 precautionary measures, said Hind Al Khulaifi, Manager of the Children and Young Adults section at Qatar National Library (QNL).
The Children’s Library re-opened on July 25, during Eid Al Adha, ensuring all precautionary measures are in place to provide children with a safe and sanitised learning environment. “At Qatar National Library, we have always worked towards offering a welcoming, safe and motivating setting for children to pursue continuous learning outside the boundaries of the classroom. We help them discover new interests and talents at the Children’s Library through our services, programmes and online and print resources,” Al Khulaifi told The Peninsula.
“As the days go by, we are receiving increased requests from children to visit the Library. However, due to the precautionary measures, we are only allowing a limited number of children in the Library at any given point of time,” she said.
Children up to the age of 12 are accepted at the Children’s Library. They need to book an appointment to visit the Library from Saturdays to Thursdays, via the QNL website. At present, there are two time slots available for children to book and visit — 8am to 10am and 10.30am to 2.30pm.
Upon entering the Library, Children over 12 years are required to, and those under 12 are recommended to wear a mask. Parents and caregivers accompanying children must show the green status on their Ehteraz app to enter the building. “The Children’s Library has strict hand sanitisation protocols upon entry – without which nobody is allowed to enter and use the Library,” said Al Khulaifi.
“When children and parents choose a book to read, they are requested to not place it back on the shelves. Instead, they are asked to place the books in the book bins provided throughout the Library. The books are kept in these bins for a whole day and then sanitized, before being shelved again.”
At present, 50 children with parents (per slot) are allowed into the Children’s Library at a time. She said the library has planned a variety of educational and engaging online activities for children during August 2021.
“From the Summer Reading Challenge to online story time and creative work, Dot Dot Dot art craft, our August calendar is packed with exciting sessions for children.”
The Library will also host sessions for parents on the secrets of breastfeeding and exploring the causes and solutions to stutter in children.
“While currently we are hosting most sessions online, we do hope to engage children in physical activities in the Library once the government declares it is safe to do so. All activities can be accessed via Qatar National Library’s event page on the website,” she said.
The Children’s Library also posts updates on Instagram @QNL_CHILDREN.
