The King Abdul Aziz Public Library in Riyadh is to launch soon its “Reading at Airports” initiative as part of nationwide moves to encourage greater reading among the public. The scheme, according to the library's chief supervisor Faisal Bin Muammar, will make available to travelers a wide range of reading materials at domestic and international lounges at the Kingdom's various airports free of charge, with initial runs focusing on internal flights. “We hope it will give people the chance to read more and make use of waiting time at airports by reading some of the library's publications and other selected books,” Bin Muammar said. According to its website, the King Abdul Aziz Public Library “strives to disseminate knowledge and culture in Saudi society, concentrating on Arabic and Islamic heritage and the history of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its founder King Abdul Aziz”. The library is a philanthropic institution founded in 1985 which serves the needs of scholars, researchers, students, women and children. Apart from general reading material, it contains a large collection of rare books, documents and manuscripts along with a number of maps, coins and photographs of historical interest.
