Passengers in Sharjah Airport will soon have access to e-book library

Starting this April, travellers using Sharjah Airport will be able to browse through a library of thousands of e-books while waiting to board their flights.

The initiative, which is the first of its kind at international airports in the region, gives passengers access to digital books which they can download on their devices.The downloads will be available for 21 days.

It comes as result of a partnership between the Sharjah Public Library (SPL), an affiliate of Sharjah Book Authority (SBA), and the Sharjah Airport Authority.

Travellers will have access to books in a number of languages on the first-of-its-kind e-book network within the Middle East. The books include fiction, poetry, history, science, and art, among others.

#SharjahAirport Authority and Sharjah Book Authority sign a cooperation agreement under which #Sharjah Public Libraries will provide a digital library for the Airport’s travelers to benefit from thousands of books and literature in multiple languages.@SharjahBookAuth pic.twitter.com/bW6W1FTeJq

— مطار الشارقة (@sharjahairport) March 21, 2021

According to the agreement, the e-book service would be available for adult travellers in April and children in the last quarter of 2021.

These passengers do not have to install apps or have a data plan to browse and download books. They can log on to the free Wi-Fi service available at the airport to receive notifications on their smart devices with instructions on how to connect to the e-book network. Further information about the service will also be displayed inside the airport.

SPL also plans to offer dedicated spaces equipped with tablets for passengers to select and read their favourite e-books.

Read: Sharjah Airport handled 4.2 million passengers in 2020, down 69%

The timing of the new agreement is significant as every year, March is observed as the month of reading within the UAE, according to the Ministry of Culture and Youth.

Every year the month is dedicated to a different theme, and this year’s theme is ‘My Family Reads’.

March was first observed as the month of reading back in 2016, after which Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, declared that every March would celebrated as the month of reading.