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Libraries in Ajman From the Beginning of

the Twentieth Century Until the Formation

of the Union

Ali Mohamed Al Matroshi

Introduction:

The history of books and libraries has been an integral part of the cultural history
of the Emirate of Ajman, and the rest of the Emirates as well. It is the history of
the knowledge stores that were few and difficult to obtain, and the drive by the
intelligentsia to acquire and draw on them and make them available to the local
community. Moreover, it involves the examination of the circumstances surrounding
books and libraries that were conducive to the survival of some of them until today.
Other books and libraries perished or disappeared over time. Since this subject has not
been previously researched by anyone nor has any historical material been compiled,
oral history interviews have been my primary source of information. I embarked on
the task of collecting material in 1997. Then, I stopped for a while. Recently, I had
the chance to review and expand the subject matter I have complied so far. Over
twenty years, a number of oral history narrators passed away. I have decided to apply
myself diligently to this task and now I am in a position to put the compiled subject
matter at the disposal of researchers. I do not claim that my paper is an exhaustive
review of the subject; it is rather a synopsis of the history of books and libraries in the
Emirate of Ajman before the formation of the Union.

• Cultural Life in the Emirates during the Pearl Diving Era

The coastal Emirates share broad characteristics in their cultural history, due to the
great similarities in their natural environment. They share a common coast, except
the Emirate of Fujairah and some towns on Sharjah eastern coast. Such Emirates
form one physical region, have similar political systems and lead almost identical
social and economic lifestyles.

If we examine the sources of general culture in the Emirates during such a period,
when the mainstay of the local economy of the coastal towns was pearl diving, which
began to show signs of decline in the 1920s, was oscillating between revival and
decline in the 1930s and 1940s, and eventually was literally wiped out in the 1950s,
we will find that the main sources are:

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