For 15 years we have been waiting for the official opening of the King Fahd Public Library in Jeddah. The king originally donated SR40 million for the library, including SR15 million for the land on Palestine Street close to the American Consulate. For various reasons, a decision was made that the library should not be built on Palestine Street but at King Abdul Aziz University (KAAU) — and that is where it is today.
The university already has the largest library in the city together with its different faculty and department libraries. The justification given for the move was that the land on Palestine Street should be used for investment, with the income being used to benefit the library.
What has happened, however, is that the library has not been officially opened nor has the land on Palestine Street been used for anything. I see no justification for delaying the opening of a library built in the wrong place or for failing to profit from a piece of a land that cost millions of riyals. The land could at least have been used to build a national museum, which Jeddah sadly lacks.
What should have happened was for the library to be built on the original site and for its present site to be donated to private investors to build a convention center complete with all necessary facilities.
The idea of a public library in Jeddah was first suggested in 1988 by writers and intellectuals who wanted to see such an institution in the city. Committees were appointed and meetings held over a long period and after six years, the foundation stone for the library was laid on the original site on Palestine Street. As we know, the site was then moved to KAAU.
Construction and all other work was completed in 2001 but the library has remained closed. It seems that the Ministry of Finance has refused to provide the required funds for salaries of the estimated 100 employees needed to run the library.
What we have at present is a closed building with its equipment and furnishings subject to wear and tear and eventual decay. Hopes are now pinned on the Ministry of Culture and Information to come to the rescue. The library should either be moved back to its original site or officially opened where it is — with the old site used as an investment to provide the funds required to run it.
