Malaysia IALL 2011

I was surprised to see Qatari flags in Kuala Lumpur! The Governments of Qatar and Malaysia signed a joint venture agreement while I was at the International Association of Law Libraries annual meeting in December. The Conference and tours gave me much insight into the law libraries in a country that has many similarities to Qatar, including English language law instruction and Islamic Law. Next year the meeting is in Toronto, Canada!

College of Law Updates

This week Qatar Univeristy will have a graduation over two days. The University stadium will be the location and the HS Emir will attend. I look forward to watching the ceremony and will wear a black Bisht with the faculty.

Also the College of Law made the local news this week with the opening of the first environmental and energy law center. Headed by Dr. Rudi this will be an important source of policy for the country that is the biggest producer of liquified natural gas in the world.

Souk Walking

Qatar's souks are great places to take family. Souks are markets and may specialize in many different things. These pictures of Souk Waqif are in picturesque areas filled with good food and family fun.

Iranian food feast

IALL Conference

Next month is the annual meeting of the IALL. This is the International Association of Law Libraries and this year the conference is being organized at the University of Malaya. The meeting is located at a very good place for me as the Law School and Library at the University of Malaya can serve as a model for Qatar University College of Law and Library. The Faculty of Law at UM was the first college of law in the country of Malaysia, supports multi-lingual collections and patrons in English, Arabic, Bahasa Malaysia. The library has a large collection of Islamic Law. International law collections with focus on oil and gas, arbitration, and ADR are also applicable as models to Qatar University College of Law and library. The University of Malaya Tan Sri Professor Ahmad Ibrahim Law Library developed a functional/multilingual website and blog. Like the QU law library, it is also a part of the Main Library of the University. 

I look forward to the IALL meeting and will apply what I learn to the development of library services in Qatar.

Grandparent visit

Irma's mom arrived at Doha airport on Friday. She was warmly welcomed and my children are thrilled to have her here until January 5th. She brought many of the things we still had in storage from Miami as well as foods we cannot get here in Qatar. Goya comes to mind! Her first day we took her to the International Holiday Bazaar and the pool. Her jet lag is remarkably almost non-existent. My kids call her Abba, which is short for abuela. Welcome Abba!

Celebrating Eid

Last week was a national holiday for Eid Al-Adha. Qatar University was closed for a week. Most people travelled to Dubai or Europe for Eid. My family and I moved into a new apartment on the Gulf and took the week to shop at the furniture souk and set up the new place. The best part of the flat is the balcony view to the marina at Porto Arabia.

We are located in the new development called 'the Pearl' on reclaimed land from the sea and it is a mega-development with lots of family friendly amenites. The commute to my library at QU is now only ten minutes!

Here is the link to the Pearl: click

Eid Mubarak

QU Campus - old and new

It is much cooler in Qatar now and easy to walk around campus. I took these three shots today, Nov 2nd, 2011. It shows the contrast between the older campus and new College of Law building.

University Mosque near the Men's library.

College of Law facility

Arts Building