Programmes Conducted by MNU Libraries

Assistance form UNICEF to Translate 100 children story books to Dhivehi

The Let’s Read program, developed by The Asia Foundation, is an innovative digital library initiative designed to tackle the challenge of limited access to quality children’s books in local languages across Asia. Launched with the goal of promoting early childhood literacy, the program provides free, high-quality, culturally relevant, and linguistically diverse storybooks through an accessible online platform.

The Maldives National University Library, in partnership with The Asia Foundation, has successfully translated several children’s storybooks into Dhivehi and uploaded original Dhivehi titles to the Let’s Read platform. These contributions have enriched the digital library with culturally relevant and imaginative content, offering Maldivian children the opportunity to engage with diverse and creative stories in their native language. This initiative has played a vital role in fostering language development, creativity, and a love for reading among young learners.

Let’s Read empowers communities by:

• Creating books in local languages through translation and community-based storytelling.
• Distributing free digital books via a mobile-friendly platform and offline reading options.
• Collaborating with local educators, authors, and illustrators to ensure culturally sensitive and engaging content.
• Supporting inclusive education with books that reflect diverse cultures, experiences, and abilities.

By leveraging technology and community participation, Let’s Read helps bridge educational gaps, promotes equity in literacy, and inspires lifelong learning across generations.

The MNU Library has received grant assistance from UNICEF to translate an additional 100 storybooks into the Dhivehi language. Technical support is provided by The Asia Foundation, which includes conducting the workshop to train translators, assistance in the technical publication process and assist in the social marketing of the work. This project includes publishing of written text as well as audio recordings of the stories.

This initiative aims to enhance the availability of Dhivehi-language storybooks for school libraries, public libraries, and parents. At present, Dhivehi-language story collections remain limited in scope and do not adequately address a variety of social issues, environmental themes, or cultural aspects.

As this project is implemented through an online platform, sustainability has been carefully considered. Costs remain minimal, as the platform enables us to source storybooks from various countries and translate them efficiently into Dhivehi.

The MNU Library encourages all staff and students to participate in orientation sessions on the University’s subscribed databases, as well as those freely accessible through international providers. Each semester, dedicated sessions are conducted to familiarise users with these resources and to support them in exploring the extensive range of research materials readily available to them.

During these sessions, academic staff are encouraged to effectively utilise available research literature, strengthen their publications for submission to reputable international journals, and identify potential collaborators and research partners. Participants are also guided on locating and applying for research grants through various academic and funding platforms.

An introductory session on ORCID (Open Researcher and Contributor ID) was conducted for staff and students. ORCID provides unique, persistent identifiers for researchers, enabling seamless connection of their scholarly outputs across disciplines and borders. By registering for an ORCID ID, MNU researchers can explore the work of colleagues worldwide and promote their own contributions more effectively within the global research community.

A refresher training session on Web of Science was held with both physical and online participation from MNU staff and students. The session focused on new platform features and highlighted the value of personal accounts for maximizing access to indexed research content. A total of 58 participants attended the session.

The EBSCO refresher training introduced participants to updated features and services, with a special focus on improved search strategies and tools for locating relevant research materials. A total of 34 participants attended this session.

A specialized orientation session on LexisNexis was conducted by visiting representatives from the LexisNexis team. The session was delivered both physically and online, with a focus on the needs of the Faculty of Sharia and Law. A total of 54 students and staff took part in the training.

The MNU Library is committed to strengthening its collection of PhD theses authored by Maldivians, and actively works to acquire both physical and electronic versions of these scholarly works. The collected theses are made accessible through the Library’s physical holdings as well as its digital repository, Saruna.

The Saruna online repository is open to the public, enabling both Maldivian and international researchers to benefit from the valuable research contributions preserved within this collection

The Maldives National University Student Union (MNUSU), in collaboration with the University Library, has launched a Book Donation Week aimed at expanding library resources and raising awareness of academic access for students and staff. This initiative seeks to enhance the availability of educational materials and strengthen library services across all.

The book donation week will run from 28 August to 3 September, during which books will be collected across six participating libraries: the Central Library, Health Sciences Library, Business Studies Library, Kulhudhuffushi Campus Library, Thinadhoo Campus Library, and Hithadhoo Campus Library. Donation collection points will be set up inside each library, allowing convenient access for donors throughout the week.

A wide range of materials will be accepted, including academic books, educational resources, research publications, reports, thesis, dissertations, and storybooks in both Dhivehi and English. Financial assistance may also be provided to obtain suitable books for donation.

The week will also feature engagement activities such as introducing contemporary authors, sharing book-writing experiences, celebrating a day dedicated to showcasing the largest collection of donated books in a vibrant and competitive environment, conducting door-to-door book collection efforts, and presenting commemorative certificates to contributors.

This initiative aims to promote a strong reading culture, support academic development, and enrich the university’s library collections for the benefit of the entire MNU community. Donations from the general public are warmly welcomed, and books may be donated to any of the participating libraries throughout the week.