Thursday, 02 November, 2017

The Library at the University of Wollongong in Dubai (UOWD) recently celebrated a week of activities to introduce students to the vast holding and also to instil a love of reading in them. Library manager Saba Gaffar and her team organised a series of meticulous events that were patronised by hundreds of students and academic and administrative staff. Both staff and students participated whole-heartedly in the games and activities even taking up roles of guest librarian. A number of games including identifying the book from a random line; dumb charades, book relay race and Book mark making competition saw the participation of hordes of students. The guest of honour on the closing day was Master of Media and Communication graduate and RJ of local radio station, Radio Mango - Adarsh Anoop. Dr Swapna Koshy, Associate Professor and Chair of the Library Committee, introduced Adarsh through an interactive quiz. Adarsh who had always distinguished himself as an exceptional student, was one of four students chosen to study in Japan on a full scholarship. His myriad talents including dancing, singing and beatboxing were recognised by Adidas and he was brand ambassador for the international brand. He spoke to a captive audience of students and staff on the importance of books and reading random tomes from a library. He stressed how internet searches throw up what you want and most of the time the net is searching you while a library opens a world that is varied and with many surprises. “The aim of celebrating our annual library week is to create awareness amongst our students of the role and function of our librarians, the resources which are available at our library and the workshops we host to help them achieve success in their academic careers”, commented Saba Gaffar, Library Manager. “Having a library is a privilege, being able to read is a privilege. Thousands of people around the world are illiterate and have no access to library services or even just a book. We encourage students, staff and the community to visit a library at least once in a while as it is full of hidden treasures”, she added. The world is home to thousands of libraries including academic libraries, reference libraries, research libraries, national libraries, public libraries and more. The first true national library was founded in 1753 as part of the British Museum. UOWD proudly has its own academic library, providing its students with a comprehensive range of print and electronic information, individual study carrels, group study rooms and many more whilst offering. The winners of the 2017 UOWD Library Week are: Best Guest Librarian Mohamed Nazer China Nicolas Best Library User (Student) Jyothi Pishu Ganglani Bookmark Making Marian Hemashi Fernando Rack your Brain Karima Issovani Book Relay Race (LSC) Group 2 Book Relay Race Hina Quraishi Stancia Mathias Ayesha Riyaz Dumb Charade Edris Shabbir Alifiya Chandra Fatema Dawood Pick up lines Irene Anna Alex