King Abdulaziz Public Library

King Abdulaziz Public Library (KAPL) (Arabic: مكتبة الملك عبد العزيز العامة) is a public library in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Established in 1985 by Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, it was inaugurated in February 1988 and assumed its current name in 1996.

History and profile

The library was founded in 1985 by Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz. The building was designed and constructed by Saudi Oger. The building cost $40,000,000.00 to construct and spans an area of 26,000 m². "The architectural character presents a unique formal statement, and it employs local themes and materials reinterpreted using modern technology."

Special collections include the private library of the American Orientalist George Rentz, the library of Hamza Bu Bakr (made up of 17,170 titles in 19,281 volumes) and a collection of over 7,000 rare Arab and Islamic coins.

The KAPL has 5,271 rare Arabic titles cataloged, classified and entered into the Arabic books database, as well as 3,000 rare Arabic books currently being cataloged.

The KAPL also has one of the rarest collections of photographs in the world. This collection shares a total of 5,564 single original photographs taken by the most famous photographers of the East and the Arab world since the beginning of photography in 1740. The photos in the collection have also been taken by travelers, sea captains, military personnel and more.

Library objectives

King Abdulaziz Library aims to achieve the following objectives:

Provide and organize all forms of intellectual output, including books, periodicals, audio-visual materials, and manuscripts in various fields of knowledge.

Focus on collecting, documenting, and preserving Arab and foreign intellectual output in all its forms, including periodicals and research related to the history of King Abdulaziz and the history of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in general.

Disseminate knowledge, culture, and sciences, particularly those related to Arab and Islamic heritage, and contribute to its revival and renewal.

Provide library services, translation, and scientific publishing in the fields of Arab and Islamic sciences to support the development of scientific research in the Kingdom.

Support the movement of authorship, translation, and scientific publishing in the fields of Arab and Islamic sciences to advance scientific research in the Kingdom.

Contribute to serving the community by organizing cultural and scientific lectures, seminars, exhibitions, festivals, and participating in them.

Build and document Arab and foreign intellectual output related to horses and equestrianism to support specialised research and studies in this field.