If you love travelling and reading in equal measures, you no doubr have troubles packing every time you want to take your favourites book and magazines on your trip.
Fortunately, there’s a solution now, if you’re a member of the Qatar National Library.
Tackle your summer reading lists at ease and save valuable luggage space because the library’s extensive digital resources ensure book lovers can gain access to all the entertainment at any time, free of cost.
QNL conveniently offers apps, ebooks, audiobooks, access to newspapers, magazines and music and video streaming.
These resources cover a wide range of subject areas including academic papers to satisfy the information needs and diverse interests of all age groups.
The only requirement is to be a registered member with an internet connection to remotely access QNL’s vast resources, especially mobile apps.
There is a sizable collection of e-books, and its ebook platforms have had almost one million downloads to date.
Popular ebook platforms include OverDrive, which allows members to borrow a range of popular ebooks and audiobooks. The format is supported by most devices including PCs, Mac, iPhone, iPad, Android and Nook.
Download the OverDrive Libby app to gain access when travelling.
SpringerLink is another useful one with the largest collections of ebooks worldwide, which gives access to electronic scientific content.
The award-winning Booki app offers a new experience when reading digital books such as comics, magazines and bedtime stories in English and Arabic.
The stories, selected from the world’s best publishers, are presented with interactive and entertaining read-along audio and music. Parents and teachers can put narration and sound effects to add a personal touch to the reading experience.
Parents can encourage kids to read more using RBDigital Comics, which gives access to more than 600 of Marvel and IDW digital graphics novels and comics.
There is also BookFlix, online video storybooks for preschoolers through grade three, as well as related games and activities.
If you’re traveling to a new country this summer or planning to learn a new language, Mango Languages is an online learning resource that you can use from your laptop or mobile device.
An interactive database provides step-by-step lesson plans for over 70 different languages including Arabic, Spanish, Turkish, Russian, French and others.
Speciality courses such as Medical Spanish or Arabic Etiquette and Business Chinese (Mandarin) give learners real-world, culturally-relevant lessons.
Interested in audio books? AudioBookCloud is an online audiobook library collection streaming both adult and children’s audiobooks for schools and public libraries. Fiction, non-fiction and classics are in English and in Spanish.
QNL also has a wide selection of streaming and downloadable content available to users. Music lovers can download and use the Naxos Music Library.
If you’re a graduate student, you can access several research tools over the summer including 200 databases that offer access to 60,000 electronic journals, covering specialised academic areas.
If you’re interested in current affairs and the happenings around the world, you can access over 7,000 publications from 120 countries in 60 languages through the PressReader app.
Many more titles are available through the online catalogue. Members can return or renew the ebooks or digital resources they borrow online with a click of a button. Or just go online to borrow more books and have them delivered instantly.
To access the QNL’s online resources, visit www.qnl.qa/en/explore/online-resources.
