Mohammed bin Rashid Library deploys AI and robots

The Mohammed bin Rashid Library will deploy artificial intelligence (AI) in its operations, including in choosing titles and borrowing and returning books.

The automated storage and electronic book retrieval system on the library’s first floor is one of its largest sections. It contains over one million titles and utilises a first-of-its-kind smart system in the Middle East region that uses AI to send commands to robots to locate books and deliver them to readers wherever they are in the different libraries spread across seven storeys.

The library, which was recently inaugurated by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, will open to the public on Thursday, June 16.

Read: In pics: Sheikh Mohammed inaugurates Dhs1bn ‘Mohammed bin Rashid Library’

Built with an investment of Dhs1bn, the library aims to cultivate a culture of reading, while supporting the development of creativity, knowledge and art at both at an individual and social level.

The library is also environmentally friendly, receiving 10 per cent of its energy from solar panels installed on the roof of the building. The external structure is designed to insulate the building’s interior, help regulate its international environment and reduce heat gain. The library also has access to natural lighting due to ceiling windows, and is designed to reduce water consumption by 50 per cent.

Dr. Mohammed Salem Al Mazrouei, executive director of the Mohammed bin Rashid Library, said that the space comprises nine specialised libraries, including The General Library, The Emirates Library, The Young Adults Library, The Children’s Library, The Special Collection Library, The Maps and Atlases Library, The Media and Arts Library, The Business Library and The Periodical Library.

The library houses paperback and digital books on a variety of topics, including languages, geography, philosophy, health, mathematics, self-development and literature, as well as fiction, available in both Arabic and English, he added.