Towards Establishing a National Information Network in the United Arab Emirates : Enabling Factors and Challenges

Abstract

This article presents a summary of a doctoral dissertation that explores the establishment of a national information network in the United Arab Emirates from both planning and applied perspectives. The study investigates the feasibility of building a cooperative national system that brings together libraries and information centers across the country, enabling researchers and users to identify information resources, locate them efficiently, and obtain access through mechanisms such as interlibrary loan and resource sharing. The study is grounded in the growing recognition of information as a strategic national resource for economic and social development and in the need to move beyond isolated institutional practices toward a coordinated national information framework.

Methodologically, the research adopts a descriptive field approach based on personal interviews, site visits, and two questionnaires directed to library and information center managers as well as professional staff. The findings indicate that the UAE succeeded in building, within a relatively short period, a promising foundation for library and information services, supported by modern communications infrastructure, rich information collections, and increasing awareness of the importance of information. At the same time, the study highlights substantial disparities among institutions in service quality, collection strength, professional staffing, and the effective use of available technologies.

The dissertation identifies several enabling factors for the success of a national information network, including growing information needs, institutional expansion, the availability of information resources, advances in communication technologies, and professional support for cooperation. It also points to major challenges, notably administrative fragmentation, weak coordination between federal and local bodies, the absence of unified technical standards, limited resource-sharing culture, shortages in technical expertise, and the lack of a comprehensive national information strategy. The study ultimately concludes that establishing a national information network in the UAE is both feasible and necessary, and recommends collective governance, national strategic planning, unified technical standards, and broader cooperation in cataloging, interlibrary loan, national bibliography, and professional training.