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Department Architectural Engineering

University of Prince Mugrin

College of Engineering

Fall 2020

Assignment 2

2. Background

2.1 Reading

Reading is defined as a process of cognition involving the decoding of symbols to obtain

meaning (Merriam-Webster, 1828). Although the reasons for reading might be varied but,

understanding the text is the primary purpose of reading. It is important because it expands our

thoughts, activates our minds and provides us an endless knowledge as Dr. Seuss who is a

famous writer and cartoonist once wrote, “The more that you read, the more things you will

know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”. Also, Reading can help to relive

stress. In a study conducted by University of Sussex showed that reading for only 6 minutes

can reduce levels of stress up to 68%, Dr Lewis, Cognitive Neuropsychologist says: "Losing

yourself in a book is the ultimate relaxation. This is particularly poignant in uncertain economic

times when we are all craving a certain amount of escapism. It really doesn't matter what book

you read, by losing yourself in a thoroughly engrossing book you can escape from the worries

and stresses of the everyday world and spend a while exploring the domain of the author's

imagination." (The Telegraph, March 2009).

Furthermore, reading expands our vocabularies and language as number of researchers are

assured that reading volume, rather than oral language considered as primer contributor to

individual differences in children’s vocabularies. Also, avid readers are different from

nonreaders on a wide range of cognitive skills, behavioral habits, and background variables

(Cunningham, Stanovich, 1998). Emory University (2013) found that when someone read a

novel that can affect his brain for days later. In this study, they looked at the neural effects of

reading on 21 students for 19 days, during a restful state, they underwent periodic MRI scans.

The findings of the study showed that students have a heightened connectivity in their left

temporal cortex which is linked to how we receptive to language. Moreover, reading can affect

us on social aspect by make us more empathetic. Research published in Science found that

reading literary fiction enhances mind theory and those who read literary fiction the impact on

them is much more than those who read nonfiction, they wrote of their findings “Understanding

others’ mental states is a crucial skill that enables the complex social relationships that

characterize human societies,” (Kidd, Castano, Science 18 Oct 2013).

From a health aspect, people who read less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease. According

to a research conducted in the field of Alzheimer’s disease found that those who activate their

brains by activities such as reading, chess, and puzzles might become 2.5 times less likely than

others who spend their free time on less stimulating activities to develop Alzheimer's disease.

The paper suggests that activating the brain can help since inactivity increases the risk of

Alzheimer 's development, because inactivity is an early indicator of the disease (Friedland,

2000). Reading has a wide influence on various aspects of our lives such as psychological,

social or even health.

Department Architectural Engineering

University of Prince Mugrin

College of Engineering

Fall 2020

Assignment 2

industrial revaluation & libraries th4 22.

The fourth industrial revolution defined as a "new level of organization and control over the

entire value chain of products. It is aimed at the increasingly requirements of individual

customers" (Hussain, 2019). In a study related to the fourth industrial revolution conducted in

the field of literature and information science, Hussain (2019) discussed that the fourth

industrial revolution is causing major changes in human life, occupation, and communication,

as well as libraries and librarians which are highly been affected in term of services and

marketing values by this 4IR and will face numerous problems if not updated itself. Klaus

Schwab, a founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum illustrated that by

entering the 4th Industrial Revolution (4th IR) era, there are mega trend drivers in the physical,

digital and biological environment which make the traditional ways of human lifestyle,

industrial production and government policies to be disrupted (Ahmat, 2018). Libraries went

through several changes through the last half-century. According to Ahmat (2018) libraries

developed through three phases, which are:

First phase: In late 1960s, automation system began to be used in the libraries which led to

less use of paper by using Machine-Readable Cataloging (MARC) development process. It was

argued discussed between professional librarians widely until 1990s when Online Public

Access Catalog (OPAC), audio-visual media system and web-based indexes in libraries

replacing the printed predecessors.

Second phase: In early 1990s the electronic libraries began to dominate along with the

development of CD-ROMs, full-text databases, the Internet as well as the Web. Number of the

established technology disrupted which used since 1960s during this era. For example,

analogue audio-visual record which were contained in cassette tapes have begun to be replaced.

Also, the media information became more readily accessible and cheaper on the Internet.

Third phase: The development of new technologies which have been rapidly used to execute

more complex tasks. The new tools were established to provide powerful data, text, audio and

image processing features and can be sent easily to distant collaborators. The new technology

can also analyze large sets of statistical information on the computer screen.

Furthermore, Hussain (2019) suggested some helpful tips to survive in fourth industrial

revolutions if implemented by the library practitioners in their libraries such as mind-set shift

of librarians by stepping down in the industrial revolution that will improve and strengthen the

role of librarians and connect librarians with machines. He stressed that technology we have in

present and the technology which would be come will enhance our duty by making it easier

and more durable.

Department Architectural Engineering

University of Prince Mugrin

College of Engineering

Fall 2020

Assignment 2

2.3 Printed books vs. e-books

In the age of technology, reading is not all in the same way and books became in multi-forms

printed, electronic and audio books. Through years, many studies have been conducted to study

these forms and how we interacted with them and some of the studies predicted that e-books

will replace the traditional print format of books only a few years ago so confidently. However,

the failure of this assumption highlights reasons of why e-books have not taken over from

printed books. None can say that such growth in digital medium with flexibility and endless

possibilities would not popularized reading through internet. E-books can offer many

advantages such general access to a wide variety of books easily and cheaper too with options

like sharing in social media directly or print outs some selected portions (Roy, 2019).

Despite the generous featured offered by e-books, reading activity is more than merely see the

content of the text in the book. In recent research by Spence (2020) on the multisensory

experience of handling and reading books revealed that experience of interacting with a book

gives the reader the possibility for a multi-sensory interaction. Firstly, the smell of physical

books plays a role in the experience of reading where e-books missed this feature. It would

seem likely that if people were asked to list the different senses in terms of their enjoyment of

books according to their importance, smell would probably come low down the list.

Nevertheless, it turned out that olfactory cues can play an important role in the emotional (often

nostalgic) reaction that many of us have when we handle a real book even if it is

unacknowledged. As Bilton (2012) says: “The scent of physical books — the paper, the ink,

the glue — can conjure up memories of a summer day spent reading on a beach, a fall afternoon

in a coffee shop, or an overstuffed chair by a fireplace as rain patters on a windowsill. iPads

and Kindles, in comparison, don’t necessarily smell like anything”. Secondly, the handling of

books experience can be emotional/nostalgic connection as much as on a rational level.

According to Meryl Halls who are a managing director of the Booksellers’ Association in the

UK, it is “harder to have an emotional relationship with what you’re reading if it’s on an e-

reader”. While e-books do not offer the same multisensory emotional response as their

counterparts in physical print. For instance, “Smell and sight are relevant senses when it comes

to reading but touch may well be the most important” according to Baron (2015, p. 142).

Thirdly, the feel of book’s wight Science published the results of a study in 2010 in which the applicants of job were shown to be have a more high rate when their curriculum vitae has a

heavy rather than those who used light cover even if the CV itself remained without changes.

Even though, indirectly relevant to a given judgement certain tactile attributes of objects still

affect people’s perception and behaviors. For example, in a questionnaire study reported by

Ruecker (2002, 2006) many of the respondents pay attention to how much they liked the weight

and feel of real books, and how changed the quality of the haptic interaction when a book was

read or browsed through repeatedly. Further, Hernandez in a recent article stressed on the

importance of the physical books feel of their weight. Moreover, the sense of involvement, or

involvement, of the reader can also vary between physical and digital formats (Mangen and

Kuiken, 2014). One has greater sense of how far progressed through a physical book. “When

you read on paper you can sense with your fingers a pile of pages on the left growing and

shrinking on the right. You have the tactile sense of progress’’ as Anne Mangen puts it. Also,

a claim was tested that printed books really can convey information better than the digital

version of books in a study by Mangen (2019) and they found that those readers who used a

Department Architectural Engineering

University of Prince Mugrin

College of Engineering

Fall 2020

Assignment 2

Kindle were less likely than those who read the same novel in print format to remember events

in a mystery novel, a 28-page short story of 10,800 words by Elizabeth George. Similarly, in

another study conducted by Delgado et al. (2018) to examine whether the reading medium

would affects the comprehension outcomes of reading and the result showed that paper-based

reading should be preferred over digital reading and that digital platforms which may not

always be better suited to promoting deep understanding and learning. It is worth to mention

that in the eBay survey explicitly 62% of the respondents reported that to help them to

disconnect from the digital world they used physical books (Bridge, 2017). Indeed, one of the

concerns that e-readers can all interfere with our sleep in a way that printed books simply do

not. In accordance with findings of a study conducted by Chang et al. (2015) in the hours before

bedtime, those reading an electronic book on a light-emitting system take longer to fall asleep,

feel less sleepy at night, secrete less melatonin, display a later timing of their circadian clock,

and show decreased alertness next morning in contrast for those who instead read a paper-

based books.

Furthermore, printed books still outsell e-books whether they are read on Kindle or iPad in

contrast to so many predictions in the popular press (Preston, 2017). For instance, in 2017sales

of e-books were predicted to fall by 1% while sales of physical books were set to rise by 6%

(Bridge, 2017). According to the Association of American Publishers’ annual report 2019

publishers of books in all forms made almost $26 billion in revenue last year in the U.S, with

printed books making up $22.6 billion and e-books taking $2.04 billion (Spence,2020).

2.4 Reading in Islam

Islam is a religion of knowledge and the significance of reading in Islam and in our community

is reflected in the Holy Quran by the word 'Iqra.' The first word revealed to the Prophet

Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) was 'Iqra', means 'Read'. The highly valued source of

knowledge of the Quran and the Holy Scripture directs mankind to search far and wide for

knowledge Allah Almighty says in Holy Quran: “And say: My Lord, increase me in

knowledge.” (Quran 20:114) and in Surah Al-Zumr, ayah 9 reveals: "Are those equal, those

who know and those who do not know?" (Quran 39:9). There are several situations that showed

the value of reading mentioned in the biography of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him)

whereas in the first battle Muslims fought which was the battle of Badr when the small number

of Muslim people triumphed against the men of Makkah (Quraysh) many of their friends and

relatives were captured as prisoners. During that time Islam comprised mainly of the poor and

illiterate when these Muslims captured the people who had once tortured them in their native

land Makkah, Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered for them to be

quartered amongst Muslims and to be treated with kindness. Some were given their freedom

through teaching 10 Muslims how to read and write and this clearly shows the importance of

reading in Islam (Hisham,1995, p. 645).

Reading is an essential part to build a civilization. The long history of Muslim world, once the

most advanced countries on world, were Muslim countries. In the Middle Ages, the Islamic

civilization was the greatest civilization in the entire world and is considered one of the core

foundations of modern civilization. Although the medieval years are well known as the Dark

Department Architectural Engineering

University of Prince Mugrin

College of Engineering

Fall 2020

Assignment 2

Ages in the Western world, in the Muslim world they were shining with knowledge and glory.

There were public libraries, public hospitals and universities in the various cities of the Muslim

world. Damascus, Baghdad, Cairo and Grenada were the centers of learning in the whole world.

There were many Muslim scientists in various fields of science who had significant

achievements. Ibn Sina (Avicenna) (980-1037), for instance, was a brilliant physician and

philosopher. The Book of Healing, a vast philosophical and scientific encyclopaedia, is among

his most famous works. His book, The Canon of Medicine, was used until the seventeenth

century at several universities in Europe as a basic medical text. In the history of Arab-Islamic

thought, Ibn Rushd (Averroes) (1126-1198) stands out as a towering figure. For decades, he

influenced scholarship in both the Islamic world and Europe and is best known in the West for

his commentaries on the philosophy of Aristotle (El-Morshidy, 2014).

Until the nineteenth century, many of his books were used in European universities. Al-

Khwārizmī (Algoritmi) (780-850) was a Muslim astronomer and mathematician. He wrote

mathematical books that collected and organized the discoveries of earlier mathematicians.

Some terms reflect the meaning of the contributions made to mathematics by Al-Khwarizmi.

"Algebra" is one of two operations he used to solve quadratic equations, taken from al-jabr.

Al-Farabi (Alpharabius) (870-950) is a Muslim scholar and one of the most influential Middle

Ages philosophers of Islam. After Aristotle, he was regarded as the greatest philosophical

authority. He acquired great proficiency in different branches of learning as a philosopher and

scientist and is reported to have been an expert in various languages (El-Morshidy, 2014).

2.5 Public libraries in Saudi Arabia

The developed countries have realized the importance of public libraries and its essential role

in building a civilization since the announcement of information literacy as a terminology by

Paul Zurkowski in 1974. In accordance to the American Library Association’s Information

Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education, information literacy is the ability to

“recognize when information is needed and . . . locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed

information.” (Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education 2000).

through the past years in Saudi Arabia, Hamd Aljasser who is a journalist and historian

mentioned that the first public library was the library of Onaizah in 1350 AH. Then, princes

Musaad Ibn Abdulrahman established the first public library in Riyadh with a great collection

of famous books and manuscripts in 1364 AH (Alqashami, 2007).

Nowadays, number of public libraries in Saudi Arabia is 84 libraries in different cities around

the kingdom and some of them are in rented buildings. There are number of famous public

libraries in Saudi Arabia such as The Prophet's Mosque library which is one of the most

important and oldest libraries in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia established in 1352 AH, it

includes a number of rare books that are endowment to the Prophet's Mosque before its

establishment as the official library, Library of the Holy Mosque of Mecca which has an

importance in Islamic history, this library contains 350 thousand books and manuscripts, and

the date of the establishment of this library in the second century AH during the reign of the

Department Architectural Engineering

University of Prince Mugrin

College of Engineering

Fall 2020

Assignment 2

Abbasid Caliph Abu Abdullah Muhammad bin Abdullah Al-Mansour Bin Muhammad bin Ali

al-Mahdi Billah, who was the third caliph to the Abbasid state in Iraq, in the year 160 AH

(General Presidency for the Affairs of the Alharm Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque, n.d.),

King Abdelaziz Public Library is considered one of the largest Saudi libraries in the capital,

Riyadh, as the aim of its establishment was to provide a general access to knowledge and

science easily to the researchers ,the library is also well known for its role in documenting the

history of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in addition to its support for authorship, translation

and scientific research (King Abdelaziz Public Library, 2018) and king Fahd National Library

which was built as a willingness from the citizens of Riyadh to express the love and loyalty to

the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd - may God have mercy on him - on the

occasion of his assumption of the reins of government in 1402 AH, by establishing a memorial

landmark, so the announcement was made to build the public library of King Fahd , The

building consists of a four floors covered by a very beautiful sky dome. It was designed with

a modern architectural feature decorated with Arabic motifs and marble inscriptions, the

building was completed in 1409 AH (king Fahd National Library, n.d.)

The culture and information sector in Saudi Arabia is experiencing a new phase after the

establishment of the first ministry of culture to develop and support the culture sector. The

official government movement to support all cultural sectors was reflected in the library sector

by the establishment of Libraries Authority. Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan, the Saudi

Minister of Culture, had launched an initiative to develop public libraries to transform them

into cultural platforms with a comprehensive and modern social concept, “in which all types

of cultural creativity meet, and individuals from different segments of society find the

knowledge, participate and interact with an integrated cultural experience ». The initiative aims

to establish 153 public libraries in all regions of the Kingdom by 2030 and to complete the first

13 of them by 2022 (Jafary,2020).

Conclusion

Reading and knowledge offer the potential for a more educated society and our Islamic rules

and history assert the importance to read and seek for knowledge far and wide. Public libraries

considered as an essential public facility to provide a general access to the knowledge sources

which went through different phases over the years due to the technology development and the

4th industrial revaluation. Further, this rapid development of technology has changed the

reading activity to be in different medium digital or physical book. It is worth to mention that

there are many differences between these two types of books forms in terms of psychology and

health aspects. After a years of inactivity cultural movement, Saudi Arabia government have

drawn more attention to develop the public libraries sector according to 2030 vision.