About the Commission:
The Libraries Commission was established in February 2020 as one of 11 cultural commissions affiliated with the Ministry of Culture.
The Commission takes the responsibility of developing the library sector through the regulations and specializations issued by the Council of Minister's decree No. 398 dated 06/10/1441 AH, and it includes:
Proposing a strategy for the library sector within the framework of the National Strategy for Culture and following up on its implementation after approval by the Ministry. This is by proposing draft laws and regulations required by the nature of the Commission’s work, amending the applicable regulations, and submitting them to the Ministry to complete the statutory procedures
Mission:
Empowering the community of the library sector in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to contribute to economic, educational, social and cultural growth.
Vision:
An information society involved in building the knowledge economy and achieving the sustainable development goals.
CEO
Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Asem holds a Ph.D. degree in Information and library studies from the University of Strathclyde in Scotland. He has worked on several research projects in the field of libraries and information in cooperation with several governmental, private, and non-profit institutions. He has many scientific research papers published in the field of Information and libraries, information engineering, usability, and information seeking behaviors. He also participated in various local and international conferences and seminars and attended many courses and training programs locally and abroad.
Al-Asem has vast experience in the cultural sector, as he worked as a supervisor of the Ministry of Culture and Information Agency for Cultural Affairs. He also participated as a member in several higher supervisory committees for major cultural projects such as Souq Okaz and King Abdulaziz Camel Festival and served as supervisor of the Riyadh and Jeddah International Book Fairs. Additionally, he has academic accreditation expertise as an associate professor at the College of Computer and Information Sciences at Imam Mohammad bin Saud Islamic University (IMSIU). He also served as the department president and the deputy of the deanship of graduates for development and quality. Besides, he oversaw the establishment of the Center for Documentation and Archives at the university. He also worked as a consultant to many governmental and non-profit institutions.
Message from the CEO
Since the issuance of the decree to establish the libraries Commission in February 2020, the Commission has been working to be the main supporter of the library sector of all types, including university, school, private libraries.
From this standpoint, the Commission looks forward to empowering and develop the sector and its various services in a way that ensures efficiency, public engagement and institutional work that advance the library sector and achieve the vision and directions of the Ministry of Culture with its three objectives: Promoting culture as a way of life. Enabling culture to contribute to economic growth. Creating opportunities for international cultural exchange.
This comes in line with the strategic themes of the Kingdom's Vision 2030, to build a vibrant society, a thriving economy, and an ambitious nation. In this context, the Libraries Commission seeks to develop the sector and enhance opportunities and capabilities through three main pillars, which include empowering the community of the library sector, improving public engagement, in addition to building the Commission’s financial and operational capacities. The Commission’s website was launched to enhance communication with various segments of society, and to provide all services to ensure the achievement of strategic objectives, and more effective cooperation. Together, we will achieve an information society and establish a house of expertise to serve the sector and all groups of society.
2021-2023
2024-2027
2028-2030