Sharjah Public Libraries Introduce 24-Hour Access With Smart Locker Service

Sharjah just gave people who love books a reason to smile at midnight. With its Smart Locker service, Sharjah Public Libraries (SPL) now lets members pick up books at any time of day or night (24 hours). No lines. No, come back tomorrow. 

How Sharjah Public Libraries Made It Possible To Borrow Books 24 Hrs

This is how it works. People look through the online catalogue, reserve a book, and then go to the lockers at the back entrance of the library. You can get the book right away by scanning your Emirates ID or membership card. Easy, fast, and surprisingly satisfying.

This change makes libraries less strict about their opening hours and more convenient. Late shift? Not a problem. Are you an early riser? You can use this service as well.

The System That Keeps The Shelves Up

This kind of convenience doesn’t happen by chance. SPL has strong cataloguing systems that make it easy to find any book.

The network uses global standards such as the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules and the Dewey Decimal Classification. That engine, which is quick, powers everything, from getting search results to picking up lockers.

It’s also huge. SPL takes care of more than 791,000 physical resources and lets people access well over 15 million digital items. The organisation, cleanliness, and ease of sharing the data enable the scale to function effectively.

From Paper Cards To Digital Speed

Library systems didn’t always work at this speed. In 1791, during the French Revolution, libraries organised handwritten cards by author or title. It worked, but not rapidly.

By 1901, the Library of Congress printed catalogue cards for books, building a system that eventually held over 22 million entries. Then came the digital shift.

The MARC system changed everything in 1968. It lets computers read catalogues and libraries share them. The last card in the printed catalogue? In 1997. That chapter is officially over.

The Digital Leap In Sharjah

In 2011, SPL made a big leap forward with its new central library, which pushed for automation and bilingual catalogues. People could borrow e-books and audiobooks online by 2019.

Then came the year 2020. Demand went up. Membership grew by 70% as users gained access to millions of digital resources.

SPL started the Smart Knowledge Library for online learning in 2021. It added short courses, instant certificates, and tools that work well on mobile devices by 2025. These are excellent for learning on the go.

Also Read: Sharjah Public Library Turns 100! Top 10 Facts Every Visitor Should Know About Its Legacy

What’s Next For Libraries

Libraries all over the world are now moving away from older systems like MARC. The focus is changing to smarter, connected data that links information from different platforms. SPL is already looking ahead. Its most recent theme, “Artificial Intelligence in Libraries: Innovation and Impact”, gives us a hint of what’s to come: faster searches, better recommendations, and easier access to information.

From a single library in 1925 to a modern network, the journey is clear: make knowledge easier to reach. Now, that includes picking up a book at 2 am.

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