Qatar National Library has launched Manara – Qatar Research Repository, an open platform that captures, preserves and provides access to scholarly research created in the country. It aims to promote global visibility and the discoverability of Qatar’s research across all disciplines.
Manara, available at https://manara.qnl.qa/, is managed by the Library, co-funded by the Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF) and powered by Figshare’s repository infrastructure.
By becoming a digital archive of Qatar’s research, the new platform aligns with the Library’s mission to create and sustain an intuitive and trusted information environment. The repository supports both Arabic and English traditional research outputs, such as articles, conference proceedings and monographs as well as non-traditional outputs in the form of datasets, software code, multimedia files, posters and presentations. The Figshare repository infrastructure supports over 1000 different file types and has unique in-browser file preview capabilities.
Tan Huism, Executive Director at Qatar National Library, said: ‘‘Manara – Qatar Research Repository enriches the country’s research infrastructure by supporting researchers to make their work discoverable, which can raise their international visibility and impact. We are excited at the possibilities and opportunities to support these goals. Our aim is for Manara to be a reliable, respected and sustainable shared service, facilitating the best management practices for research output, and preserving Qatar’s research output for future generations.’’
Open Access is a core value for the Library and has motivated its efforts to develop and advocate for open research in Qatar and internationally for many years. One of the Library’s main initiatives is the Open Access programme, which supports the transformation of research publishing to new models that work to ensure research is open and reusable. The Open Access Program also supports research publications by covering article processing charges. Since the program began operating in 2017, the Qatar National Library Consortium has supported around 1,500 researchers from 33 Qatari institutions, with more than 3,300 papers published as open access. Manara will preserve all research papers supported by the Library’s Open Access Program, eventually expanding to all Open Access research outputs from Qatar.
The Manara Repository is also an element of a broader cooperation between the Library and the Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF) on research data management and preservation. Manara’s support for research data archiving and publishing will also allow Qatar-based researchers to comply with Open Access requirements of international research funding agencies and publishers.
Figshare’s Founder and CEO, Mark Hahnel, said: ‘It’s brilliant to see the launch of the Figshare powered research repository for Qatar and we’re thrilled to support the Open Access initiatives of the Qatar National Library. We applaud QNL’s efforts to accelerate the progress of Open Research in the country and to provide vital support for researchers in Qatar looking to comply with global research sharing requirements.’
The Library aims to engage with various research and public institutions in Qatar, to see how Manara can serve as their own institutional repository. This approach would allow the institutions to maintain full control over their research outputs and promote them, while building on the Library’s expertise and infrastructure. The Library also invites individual researchers to use the platform to preserve and share their research with global audiences.
For more about the Manara – Qatar Research Repository, please visit https://www.qnl.qa/en/manara-repository/about or to access the repository, please visit https://manara.qnl.qa/.