A huge world-class Dubai library will soon be a reality. Details here…

We have almost everything at our fingertips in Dubai – from world class beaches, to internationally-acclaimed food and now even plenty of cycle tracks.

But the one thing we still really miss from home are fantastic libraries. The kinds of places you can while away hours flipping through books, surfing on your laptop and enjoying the general peace and quiet.

Well, the great news is that it looks like such a place is coming to the city: Dubai Municipality has announced a project called Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Library, which is due to open in 2017. (There are already some libraries in Dubai – find the details of those here.)

The library will resemble a giant open book: dubai-library-4

The 66,000 square metre library will be in Al Jaddaf (across the Creek from Dubai Festival City, and near where the Versace hotel is now). It will feature “internet services, various areas for open reading, a stage, a cinema, a visual and auditory library and a borrowing book section.”

*READ MORE: 11 big names to see at Emirates Literature Festival*

dubai library

And while there’s sure to be a fantastic selection of Arabic books, it looks like there will be literature in other languages, including English. We say this because Dubai Municipality has announced that there will be “1 million international dedicated books” and that there will be a book section for “visitors and tourists”.

The municipality has said that there will also be presentations, documentaries and lectures “from around the world” at the library. We have no doubt that it will be world class.

*MORE: 50 reasons to love Dubai right now*

The library announcement is apt considering the UAE President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has marked 2016 the Year of Reading.

dubai-library-2

Also coming soon are Library kiosks on Dubai beaches, where you’ll be able to borrow books to read while sunbathing (you’ll just have to make sure you return the book before you leave the beach again). There will be eight kiosks across Kite Beach and Al Mamzar Beach.

HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, has also asked the public to share suggestions with him on how to make “reading a part of the culture, identity and life of our generations” in the UAE. Simply tweet using the hashtag #ReadingYear and the suggestion will get to his team.

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Photos: Supplied/Dubai Municipality