Arabic Library Standards

Bibliotheca Alexandrina launches the Arabic Library Standards website

The Bibliotheca Alexandrina launched the Arabic Library Standards (ALS) website www.bibalex.org/ALS on 3 May 2016.

The website is addressing a specialized Arab library community, focusing on standards and standardization in bibliographic and authority control. It includes extensive information about the library standards and tools being developed by Bibliotheca Alexandrina. In addition, it is intended to be a hub for sharing relevant authoritative information and a forum of discussion of the latest developments and best practices in the domain of bibliographic and authority control worldwide.

The ALS website is in both Arabic and English. It has been designed to provide an ultimate user-friendly experience with uncluttered design and simplified navigation, allowing visitors to quickly spot and access their needs. It has been created with the latest technology and the user experience in mind to be compatible with today's browsers, smart phones and mobile devices.

By launching the ALS website, an online version of MARC 21 Format for Bibliographic Data in Arabic will be made available in early May 2016. The online version is a free tailored edition of the full MARC 21 bibliographic format that will be shortly made available for acquisition by library institutions and professionals.

It is worth mentioning that Bibliotheca Alexandrina has announced the launch of the MARC 21 format for Bibliographic Data in a press conference on 6 November 2015 on the occasion of The 4th International Summit of the Book, in which it presented the complete physical and content features of this product.