Dubai: A mini library made out of recycled vehicle parts is the latest innovation from Dubai Municipality’s Transportation Department.
Made using parts from different types of vehicles and various types of equipment used by the municipality, the library will be opened in October, the national month of reading, the civic body said on Wednesday.
Humaid Al Merri, director of the Transportation Department, said that the library design was based on the concept of innovation, creativity and recycling in accordance with government guidelines.
He said the library has been designed as a rotating shelf system and managed electronically.
“It has been built in a purely local style in the model of a Barjeel [traditional wind tower] to preserve the local heritage of the country. A model of the Quran with a verse that urges people to read is placed on top of the rotating library,” he said.
He said all library components were made by cutting broken-down vehicle parts and machinery, which were used in the framework of the concept of recycling rather than sending to a landfill.
Apart from the shelf, a mini hall with a table and two chairs made from recycled vehicle parts is also part of the library. The hall’s floor is also made of recycled pieces in an aesthetic way. The design of chairs is unique as the legs are made in the shape of Arabic letters. The table also features an Arabic sentence encouraging people to read.
The library has a stock of books on engineering and mechanical maintenance, innovation and management sciences, and books on diverse topics in several languages. Arabic and international magazines and periodicals as well as books on creativity and innovation that encourage employee excellence in work are also available.
The library also includes four valuable books, My Vision by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and two books on the Father of the Nation, Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan and a book by His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah.
As part of the library management, a wireless device will be used to rotate the library so that people can see the contents of the library from all sides, in addition to providing good lighting.
The move is in line with the directives of President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan to make 2016 the year of reading, and the subsequent issuance of guidelines by the Council of Ministers to start preparing a comprehensive national framework to produce a generation of readers and establishing the country as the cultural and knowledge capital.
Incentives will be given to employees to make use of the facility during the rest period at a fixed time daily or to borrow a book for three weeks.
