All about Juma Al Majid Centre for Culture and Heritage Dubai
Whether you want to acquire an old manuscript or need a rare book, Juma Al Majid Center for Culture and Heritage (also known as Al Majid Center for Culture & Heritage) can facilitate you to find the right materials in Dubai. Offering you a treasure trove of literary materials, the place is a haven for passionate history buffs in the city. Read on to find out more about the Juma Al Majid Center for Culture and Heritage in Dubai.
About Juma Al Majid Center for Culture and Heritage
The Juma Al Majid Center for Culture and Heritage (also spelt as Juma AI-Majid Center for Culture and Heritage) was established by Juma Al-Majid in 1989 with a mission to put literary materials within easy reach of academicians and scholars. This is a key landmark in Dubai that attracts budding researchers and enthusiastic learners from all walks of life.
What to expect from the Juma Al Majid Center for Culture and Heritage
The Juma Al Majid Center for Culture and Heritage is divided into various departments and units based on their roles and responsibilities.
National Heritage Section
The National Heritage section at the centre offers you an unprecedented glimpse of the history of the UAE and the wider GCC region. You can find various cultural items including Arabic and English books, documents, maps and photographs in this section. The department fetches documents in various languages from historic archives to preserve it for future generations.
Preservation, Processing & Restoration Department
Established in 1992, this department revamps the quality of damaged manuscripts, documents, newspapers, maps and magazines. It also organises special courses and exhibitions to provide guidance about restoration and maintenance at various regional and international levels.
The department feature four sections:
- Manuscripts Resortation Section – To restore old, worn-out manuscripts by binding them
- Prints Repairing Section – To fix the condition of print documents and books
- Modern Binding Section – To bind old books and documents using leather, synthetic cover and cardboard
- Extracting Pure Cellulose Fibers Section – To extract cellulose fibres from raw materials to use them for repair operations.
Libraries
Juma Al Majid Center has the main library that consists of about 350000 books on culture, Arab heritage, Islam, Arabic language and Arab Islamic history. You can find books in different languages such as Arabic, English, Persian and French at the centre. The centre has also facilitated the virtual needs of its patrons by adding a digital section to the library.
In addition to the main library, the centre has also acquired materials from more than 80 private libraries from different countries. While in some cases, the centre has purchased materials from other libraries, there are also some libraries and resource centres that have gifted books to the facility.
The libraries at the centre also have a large repository of periodical literature. There are around 7000 titles of more than 66,0000 issues available in different languages such as Arabic, English, French and Persian.
Manuscripts Department
The Manuscripts Department is a cornerstone of Juma Al Majid Center. Divided into three sections, the place contains over 3000 original and photocopied manuscripts.
Acquisition & Researchers Guidance Section
This section of the department is responsible for key services that include:
- Acquiring original and photocopied manuscripts and documents from all over the world.
- Verifying all the manuscripts received by the department
- Preparing comprehensive reports about the manuscripts offered to the department to check the accuracy and evaluate the scientific value
- Reaching out to the libraries on behalf of the researchers in order to provide them with manuscripts that could help them with historic research.
Cataloguing & Classifying Section
This section of the department ensures:
- Cataloguing manuscripts using a card that contains specific information about them
- Archiving the information from biographies and the manuscripts’ catalogues to help researchers find the relevant material
- Verifying the information mentioned in the card to ensure its correctness and accuracy
So far, the department has been able to add three catalogues of the photocopied manuscripts on microfilm. These include:
- Selected manuscripts from St. Petersburg University, College of Eastern Studies.
- Selected manuscripts from Al Bairooni Institute for Eastern Studies in Toshkent-Uzbekistan
- Selected manuscripts from the acquisitions of Manuscripts Institute, Baku-Azerbaijan.
Preservation, Storing & Photocopying Section
This is one of the main sections at the centre as it stores a wide collection of manuscripts, microfilms, CDs and more.
- The section has over 8000 original manuscripts as well as 15000 titles of different subjects stored at a temperature between 15 to 20 degrees and humidity of 50 to 60 degrees.
- There are 2800 copies of more than 3500 manuscripts in this section
- Collected from different libraries of the world, there are around 9000 microfilms of more than 80,000 titles
- The section also features over 33000 digital manuscripts
- Nearly 80% of the international libraries catalogues are arranged based on the countries at the section to help you in your quest of the right material
Department of Studies, Publications and Foreign Affairs
With an aim to reinforce the educational and cultural importance of the centre, The Department of Studies, Publications and Foreign Affairs at the Al Majid Centre undertake some major operations.
Studies, Magazine & Publishing
This section is responsible for issuing the magazine “Afaaq Al – Thakafah wa Al Turath” (Horizons of Culture and Heritage), a scientific quarterly periodical containing cultural, philosophical and scientific articles.
The magazine offers readers an insight into the various heritage and cultural aspects. In addition to the publication, this section also translates multiple scientific texts from different languages.
Research and Information Development
This section is involved in procuring manuscripts from different libraries across the globe, evaluating them and publishing detailed reports on the manuscripts found in each country.
Data Bank & Archiving Section
The Data Bank & Archiving Section at Juma Al Majid Centre for Culture and Heritage documents data and information relating to the operations of the department.
Foreign Cultural Relations and Agreements Unit
This part of the department reaches out to the cultural establishments, libraries, academicians and centres in the field of art, culture and science, exchanges literary materials with them and signs agreements with them, where necessary.
Cultural Activity & Documentation Section (Information Bank)
This section oversees the publication of ‘Akhbar al Markaz’ (News of the Center), a pamphlet issued every two months to inform people about the centre, its goals and operations. This department also organises the participation of the centre in lectures, conferences and symposiums to strengthen the cultural role of the centre in the UAE.
Researchers Services Section
This section at the centre is primarily dedicated to providing accurate information to researchers and scholars. Researchers can look for relevant material, search for more information on the internet and get multiple copies of the document via using the centre’s in-house photocopy services.
Technical Processing Department
Also known as the Cataloguing and Classification Department, the technical processing department collects books and periodicals, categorises them according to the latest cataloguing standards, checks the quality of work by verifying it from other sources and exchanges dispensable literary materials with other libraries.
The key functions of the department include:
- Cataloguing materials based on the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules (AACR2) and the latest edition of Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC)
- Training the staff to understand the mechanics of the operations taking place at the centre
- Sharing the copies of Afaaq Al – Thakafah wa Al Turath” (Horizons of Culture and Heritage) and Akhbar al Markaz (News of the Center) with other libraries
- Co-operating with cultural institutions, libraries and research centres in the UAE and beyond
- Keeping a track of the latest publications and the best selling books in the world
Public Relations Unit
The department caters to the visitors, guides them and addresses their issues as they go about exploring the centre.
- Welcoming the guests and introducing them to the departments and activities
- Representing the centre in local and international exhibitions
- Building relations with all the public and all cultural institutions
- Spreading awareness about the centre’s mission, achievements and services.
Juma Al Majid Center At a Glance
- Juma Al Majid Center for Culture and Heritage Location: Salahuddin Road, Dubai
- Juma Al Majid Center for Culture and Heritage Timings: 08:00 am – 05:00 pm, Thu: 08:00 am – 01:00 pm, Fri-Sat: closed
- Juma Al Majid Center for Culture and Heritage Contact: +971-4-608-4220
And that brings an end to our review of Juma Al Majid Center for Culture and Heritage. If you want to get the essence of the nation’s history and heritage, take a look at Dubai Museum, a historical gem consisting of various artefacts in the city. Similarly, you can also explore many other historical places in Dubai.
Want to know more about the historical significance of Dubai? Check out our list of interesting facts about the history of Dubai.
