Doha, Qatar: Qatar National Library (QNL) has launched the Qatar Research Collection, a comprehensive national database designed to document and preserve research and knowledge production related to the State of Qatar for future generations.
The launch coincides with the Manara platform for Qatari research surpassing 10,000 published research items, a qualitative milestone that underscores QNL’s commitment to strengthening Qatar’s scientific research ecosystem and supporting Open Access to knowledge both locally and globally.
This new record level also reflects the high degree of trust placed by researchers and local institutions in the platform, as well as Qatar National Library’s dedication to safeguarding and disseminating Qatar’s research achievements in accordance with the highest standards of quality and transparency.
Qatar National Library explained to Qatar News Agency (QNA) that the key distinction between the Qatar Research Collection and the Manara platform lies in their respective roles. Manara serves as a national open repository for preserving and publishing academic and scientific research produced by researchers in Qatar. It hosts traditional research outputs such as journal articles, conference papers, and studies, alongside non-traditional outputs including datasets, software, multimedia content, research posters, and presentations, in both Arabic and English.
QNL noted that the primary objective of Manara is to enhance the presence of Qatari research across disciplines, expand its impact and reach, and facilitate global access and visibility. In contrast, the Qatar Research Collection is a unified and comprehensive container for all research content related to Qatar that has already been published worldwide and assigned a unique international digital identifier (DOI), whether traditional or non-traditional, Open Access or subscription-based.
In this context, the Library highlighted that the Collection is distinguished by its scale and breadth, comprising nearly 70,000 records, more than 25,000 of which are available through Open Access, making it the largest and most comprehensive database dedicated exclusively to research related to Qatar.
QNL added that the Collection links descriptive metadata to full texts or files hosted on publishers’ platforms and provides users with an intelligent mechanism to identify and discover free and Open Access versions of research outputs. It also offers advanced filtering tools that allow researchers to sort content by type, publisher, academic discipline, or keywords. Research items are added automatically via the ScienceOpen platform based on precise, predefined criteria.
Regarding the practical benefits for researchers and institutions, QNL explained that both platforms open broader horizons for disseminating Qatari research by improving access, searchability, and visibility. Researchers can now access full texts of Open Access publications, benefit from advanced filtering by content type, publisher, and discipline, and enjoy streamlined institutional deposit processes.
