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Saudi Arabia's King Fahd National Library Introduces 'Open Access' Initiative

The library wishes to encourage the public to seek knowledge
The library wishes to encourage the public to seek knowledge
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Saudi Arabia's King Fahd National Library Introduces 'Open Access' Initiative

The library wishes to encourage the public to seek knowledge
The library wishes to encourage the public to seek knowledge

King Fahd National Library has launched a new initiative, called "Open Access", to mark World Book and Copyright Day. It enables free access to a range of its publications on library and information science, Saudi history, and heritage.
By making these publications readily available, the library wishes to encourage the public to seek knowledge, which is vital to individual and societal development.
King Fahd National Library Secretary General Prince Khaled bin Talal bin Badr expressed pride in the initiative, and said that it will help wider dissemination and accessibility of knowledge.
The initiative is part of the library's continuous efforts to foster the culture of reading and scientific research, and position itself as a prominent knowledge hub in Saudi Arabia.
Furthermore, the "Open Access" initiative aligns with UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science, of 2021.
It will benefit library users and strengthen partnerships with private, government, and semi-government entities such as the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property (SAIP), the Literature, Publishing and Translation Commission, the Libraries Commission, the Research Development and Innovation Authority, associations, public libraries, specialized libraries, academic libraries, academic departments, and research centers concerned with libraries, information, and publishing.
The "Open Access" approach is the core focus of this initiative; it enables users to freely access scientific and literary books through Creative Commons (CC) licenses that give online access to sources, with certain reuse rights, provided attribution is given to the authors.
The initiative aligns with the goals of the Kingdom's Vision 2030 by promoting the reading culture, scientific research, knowledge dissemination, and accessibility.

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Australia Bans Uranium Mining at Indigenous Site

A view shows a sign at the Energy Resources Australia (ERA) Ranger Project Area in Kakadu National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Northern Territory, Australia, July 11, 2024. (Reuters)
A view shows a sign at the Energy Resources Australia (ERA) Ranger Project Area in Kakadu National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Northern Territory, Australia, July 11, 2024. (Reuters)
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Australia Bans Uranium Mining at Indigenous Site

A view shows a sign at the Energy Resources Australia (ERA) Ranger Project Area in Kakadu National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Northern Territory, Australia, July 11, 2024. (Reuters)
A view shows a sign at the Energy Resources Australia (ERA) Ranger Project Area in Kakadu National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Northern Territory, Australia, July 11, 2024. (Reuters)

Australia moved Saturday to ban mining at one of the world's largest high-grade uranium deposits, highlighting the site's "enduring connection" to Indigenous Australians.

The Jabiluka deposit in northern Australia is surrounded by the heritage-listed Kakadu national park, a tropical expanse of gorges and waterfalls featured in the first "Crocodile Dundee" film.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the national park would be extended to include the Jabiluka site -- which has never been mined -- honoring the decades-long desires of the Mirrar people.

"They were seeking a guarantee that there would never be uranium mining on their land," Albanese told a crowd of Labor Party supporters in Sydney.

"This means there will never be mining at Jabiluka," he added.

Archaeologists discovered a buried trove of stone axes and tools near the Jabiluka site in 2017, which they dated at tens of thousands of years old.

The find was "proof of the extraordinary and enduring connection Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander have had with our land", Albanese said.

"The Mirrar people have loved and cared for their land for more than 60,000 years.

"That beautiful part of Australia is home to some of the oldest rock art in the world," he added.

Discovered in the early 1970s, efforts to exploit the Jabiluka deposit have for decades been tied-up in legal wrangling between Indigenous custodians and mining companies.

It is one of the world's largest unexploited high-grade uranium deposits, according to the World Nuclear Association.

Rio Tinto-controlled company Energy Resources of Australia previously held mining leases at Jabiluka.

The conservation of Indigenous sites has come under intense scrutiny in Australia after mining company Rio Tinto blew up the 46,000-year-old Juukan Gorge rock shelters in 2020.

Australia's conservative opposition has vowed to build nuclear power plants across the country if it wins the next election, overturning a 26-year nuclear ban.