The Library at the Academy

The world in which The Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management students pursue their studies, and will later work, is characterised by information overload. More than one million books are published every year around the world. Web-based information abounds, proliferating much more quickly (and uncontrollably) than print material. The key to life success in this era is the ability to sort through the plethora of information to find the most relevant, best quality resources for a particular purpose. While academic libraries used to focus on providing books, journals and other print materials in support of students’ course work, the priority now is to train students to become independent, information literate citizens.

At the Academy, we take this role very seriously. Of course, we still provide a wide range of information resources in all formats, but equally important are our efforts to help our students learn how to locate, evaluate and use information effectively.

Library mission
The Library supports  the mission of the Academy “To be a world leader in providing innovative learning for individuals and organizations in the hospitality and service industries”. We strive for excellence in the acquisition, organization and provision of access to top-rated information materials. We provide user-focused, quality services and a space that invites individual and collaborative learning and knowledge-sharing. We place a high value on our role in developing students’ information literacy and lifelong learning skills.

Facilities
The Library is a bright, airy space with seats for 75 people. There are closed rooms for group work and meetings, as well as individual study spaces. A fully-equipped multi-media centre is part of the Library, with photocopiers, scanners, laminating and binding facilities.

The Library is fully wireless-enabled, so students can use their laptop computers, and desktop computers are available too. A video/DVD player can be used to preview films.

Collections
The Library houses the best collection of hospitality and tourism materials in the region, offering not only books, journals and DVDs but an extensive choice of electronic resources, as well as specialised items like restaurant menus. The Academy Library is a depository library for the UN World Tourism Organization, and a set of their reports is available in both print and electronic form. We also have excellent core collections in business and management topics, economics, accounting, interior design, and computer applications, among other subjects.

The Library’s electronic resources are available from all student computers anywhere in the world.

The Library also has a small equipment collection, including chargers, headsets and digital cameras, all for short-term loan.

Services
Training and assistance in finding and using information resources are provided by well-qualified, approachable librarians. Orientation sessions and workshops are given regularly.

Students can request journal article delivery through inter-library loans.

IT specialists are on call in the multi-media centre to help students with their laptops and the photocopiers.