DOHA: Qatar National Library (QNL), a member of the Qatar Foundation, has teamed up with American Society for Testing and Materials—ASTM International in a unique agreement to provide online access to ASTM standards and technical information across the whole State of Qatar.
Available online and updated weekly, the ASTM Standards and Engineering Digital Library (SEDL) contains all 13,000+ ASTM standards, 114,000 pages of peer-reviewed journal papers, over 1,500 ebooks (STP’s) and other technical information such as manuals and videos. More than 160 companies in Qatar have registered so far to gain access to the technical information.
Running since May 2013, this is the first countrywide licence agreement between QNL and ASTM International, the globally recognised leader in the development and delivery of international voluntary consensus standards.
Now that QNL has integrated and migrated previous ASTM paying subscribers into the new Qatar National Library’s national licence, access is freely provided to the ASTM Standards & Engineering Digital Library (SEDL) for employees of all government departments, to the students and teaching staff of all academic institutions, and to the staff of all State-owned and private corporations working in Qatar.
There is no limit to the number of simultaneous users or to the number of documents that can be downloaded. Anyone who lives in Qatar and has a valid Qatari ID/Residence Permit is eligible for a free library registration and can then access the ASTM standards.
Dr Claudia Lux, Project Director of Qatar National Library, said: “QNL is supporting Qatar on its journey from a carbon-based economy to a knowledge-based economy by providing diversified resources and online databases free of charge to students, researchers, and the entire community in Qatar. We are glad to expand our service offerings by partnering with ASTM to offer everyone in Qatar full access to their digital library. This partnership comes as part of the Qatar National Library’s efforts to reinforce and facilitate the development of skills that will enable residents to participate in the global knowledge economy.”
James A Thomas, President of ASTM International, said: “ASTM International is pleased to embark on this relationship with the State of Qatar. ASTM standards, and other technical information available from ASTM International, represent a collective, global bank of knowledge. This agreement facilitates the transfer of that knowledge to government departments, corporations of all sizes, and to universities throughout Qatar in a convenient and efficient way.”
The Peninsula
