An edifice that enhances kids’ knowledge

They say the only habit that someone should wish their kids to foster from childhood should be ‘reading’ because reading is a very important activity in a child’s life.

It is not only an activity that develops skills but also enhances the way the brain functions. Studies have proven that a child who reads books can develop a better understanding of abstract concepts, skills in comprehending things, improve their writing skills, and build up an outstanding vocabulary.

In addition, if there is one behaviour that specialists strongly recommend instilling in youngsters, it is the habit of reading because it has so many advantages. These advantages include how reading can help kids develop their verbal, social, and emotional skills as well as their memory and cognitive function, which results in increased brain capacity.

The place where children in Oman can freely visit to nurture their reading skills is the Children’s Public Library. Located in Qurum next to the Children’s Museum, the library is the first of its kind in the Sultanate of Oman, and as many as 30,000 to 35,000 young readers make use of the more than 25,000 titles inside the mammoth edifice every year.

Opened in 2017 with the slogan ‘Knowledge is Our Right, the library works with the world of knowledge and its makers to present it to children in Oman.

The Children’s Public Library aspires to be the first place where kids from 3 to 17 from all lands and cultures can go to learn. In order to provide students with a unique learning environment, it also encourages school visits, and students can schedule a visit to the library via the website of the institution.

The library interests its visitors and beneficiaries through floors and spaces where knowledge meets play, and research by raising questions and scientific curiosity.

Library Sections

The library spaces are divided into zones, for example, reading areas, a colouring and drawing area, a play area room, a programme room, an Oman collections corner, a studio, and a Braille corner. Additionally, an Innovation corner that inspires young minds and helps them think further is where all the technology-related activities and workshops such as virtual reality, 3D printing, and Arduino programming happen.

Story-telling Zones

In this space, storytellers read stories to youngsters of different ages and languages in rings. After that, the tales go to the minds and mouths of the young, who tell them themselves; accordingly, the storyline does not break.

Drawing and Colouring Area

Children in this space move to their imaginations with their own hands, by drawing all their imaginations that translate their own art.



Children’s Play Area

The children’s play area is designed to meet the child’s motor needs everywhere and to provide a space of movement that inspires him to search and learn in his own way, besides the sounds of knowledge spreading in the library.

Within this zone, young children are offered supportive activities that help them develop their motor skills through puzzles, building construction, building games, and the like.

Programme Room

Within this room, the library celebrates the establishment of various workshops and programmes, as it allows the workshop members freedom of movement and learning, not to mention the light space that motivates open-mindedness and overlooks the Qurum Nature Reserve.

This space accommodates 30 seats, with an area of 60 square meters. The shape and arrangement of the furniture can be controlled in proportion to the content of the workshop .

Computer Lab

The Children’s Public Library works to provide knowledge in all possible ways. The library has a computer lab that allows young children and their parents to research and uses electronic resources.



The innovation corner

The innovation corner complements the Library’s role in spreading the joy of learning through the knowledge that it instils in children through smart technologies that enable young people to experience and discover the worlds of modern technology.

Braille Corner

The Children’s Public Library is committed to providing sources of knowledge for all groups, including blind children, through books translated into Braille and the latest devices for Braille sensors.

Library activities and Workshop

The library conducts a number of workshops every year, on average 50 per year. The main programme of the workshops is the “Marifah” programme sponsored by BP Oman. It is conducted online and in face-to-face workshops, as well as at events.

The library participates in many cultural forums every year, such as the Muscat International Book Fair.

The Children’s Public Library has won several accolades for acting as a reservoir of knowledge. Most important of them include the 1st place titled ‘Prize of Excellence for Libraries and Community Cultural Centers’, in 2021, and the 2nd place in the same category, ‘Prize of Excellence for Libraries and Community Cultural Centers’, in 2022.