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Libraries in Ajman from the beginning of the Twentieth Century until the Formation of the Union

the period during which the results of the intermediate and secondary schools exams
were published in Kuwaiti local newspapers. 10

B. Al Shu’la Sports & Cultural Club Library:
In 1968, a dispute arose among the board members of Al-Nasser Club, when the house
of the late Ismail Salim Zaabi served as its headquarters. Consequently, some of those
members left and founded a new club, which they called Al Shu’la Club. Those who broke
away remained in the same headquarters until they managed to put up a new building for
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their new club in Al Bateen area in North East Ajman. The other group moved to the
home of Ashour bin Sa’ad, where the club kept its original name, Al-Nasser Club.
On the cultural level, the founders of Al-Shula Club approached government authorities
in Qatar and Saudi Arabia to supply their club with publications. This approach was
instrumental in creating a proper library that was attached to the club following
the construction of its building. I was informed that this took place around 1970.
The club management subscribed to Kuwaiti and Saudi newspapers and magazines
that promoted sports activities. As an auxiliary cultural activity, the library members
published a weekly wall magazine that contained an assortment of topics ranging
from competitions and anecdotes to advice and tips.

Educated individuals and avid readers, especially those who lived in the eastern
neighborhood near the club, visited the library quite often in order to read books
and browse through newspapers. The club library had no full-time librarian. Instead,
the club secretary was entrusted with the task of supervising it. In 1974, the three
Ajman clubs, Al-Nasser, Al-Shula and Al-Hilal merged to become one club called
Ajman Sports and Cultural Club. Thus, the holdings of all three libraries were housed
together in one main library building.

2. Independent Public Libraries:
• Ibn Taymiyah Islamic Awareness Library:

A number of distinguished citizens established this library in 1968:

− Sheikh Ali bin Humaid bin Saeed Al Shamsi.
− Sheikh Hamad bin Yusuf bin ‘Assi Al Shamsi.

− Mr. Majed bin Ghanem bin Zayed Al Nu’aimi (2014).
− Mr. Khalaf Sultan Ghadeer Al Mazrouei.

These men donated the few book collections in their possession to the library
for altruistic reasons and for disseminating Islamic culture. They put their efforts

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