Knowledge Affairs – Special

The King Abdulaziz Public Library has highlighted the efforts of its National Cultural Project to Renew the Connection with Books, its role in cultural development in the Kingdom, and the impact of its numerous activities over 16 years, covering the period from 2010 to 2026. It has highlighted the programs and activities through which the project reached various regions of the Kingdom.

On the occasion of the Kingdom’s celebration of National Day, we present this scientific and cultural project, which focuses on promoting reading, strengthening religious and national values, and highlighting the development and nation-building that have accompanied the journey of this blessed state, while reinforcing national identity and cultural and national awareness.

The statistical report explained that the National Cultural Project to Renew the Connection with Books includes the Mobile Library Program, the Mobile Learning Resources Program, the “Their Experiences in Reading” Program, cultural programs and forums, and the Free Reading Festival Program.

Through these programs, the project achieved distinctive cultural accomplishments that contributed to bringing books to large numbers of people from different age groups and various segments of society.

Under the Mobile Library Program, the project organized 86 activities, visited 121 schools, held 248 reading workshops, and conducted 7 reading tours. It also carried out tours in 63 governorates and 172 schools, in addition to 157 activities.

The total number of beneficiaries of the Mobile Library reached 661,998. Meanwhile, approximately 1,097,637 people benefited from the Mobile Learning Resources Program, which held 39 activities, in addition to 4,963 weekly visits to public parks and 25 visits to associations and special-needs groups.

The project also presented a series of cultural meetings, hosting a number of Saudi writers, authors, and intellectuals through documented and recorded programs. These amounted to 26 meetings and resulted in the publication of two books. The project recorded approximately 104 hours with cultural figures, while 5,799 beneficiaries benefited from the program.

Regarding cultural programs and forums, the report indicated that the number of participating reading clubs reached 92 clubs. There were two meetings, benefiting 156 participants over 18 hours. The project also held 4 seminars and lectures, benefiting 725 participants.

As for the Free Reading Festival Program, it reached 26 festivals, with 1,405 schools participating. The program, which focuses on encouraging male and female students to engage in free reading across various fields of literature, arts, sciences, and general culture, benefited approximately 69,870 participants, with the total number of hours reaching 520 hours.

According to the overall statistics published in the report, the total number of beneficiaries of the National Project to Renew the Connection with Books reached 1,836,185, while the total number of hours reached 43,226. The number of governorates visited was 63, while the number of locations in which the Mobile Learning Resources operated reached 5,027, compared with 536 locations served by the Mobile Library.

The National Cultural Project to Renew the Connection with Books, launched by the King Abdulaziz Public Library on April 27, 2003, aims to connect various segments of society, particularly female and male students, in order to create a suitable environment and incubator for creativity. It encourages young people to read as a pathway to knowledge and strengthens the principles of interaction between readers and the book—the primary medium of knowledge—and future generations. This contributes to reinforcing identity and belonging and introducing readers to national achievements, both past and present. It also enables them to explore aspects of the sciences, literature, and arts through the diverse books provided by the mobile libraries. The project represents a continuation of a number of innovative ideas introduced by the library to reach different segments of society and encourage them to engage in continuous reading.