SHARJAH // The Sharjah Used Book Fair began at the Buhairah Corniche yesterday with about 500,000 titles on display.
The festival is being organised by the Sharjah City for Humanitarian Services in collaboration with Sharjah Education Zone, said Jihad Abdul Qadr the head of the organising committee. About 20 public schools, 32 private schools, three universities and 47 organisations are taking part.
Yesterday, hundreds of people flocked to book fair, which will last for four days.
Mr Qadr said his organisation is keen to boost reading and allow more people access to classic books, which may be harder to find in libraries. "Many valuable books are no longer available in the libraries as they stock more and more new books," he said.
"This is a chance for people to be able to get their hands on some of the classic texts, which are essential reading and which are missing from some libraries."
The University of Sharjah, among the exhibitors, was showcasing more than 5,000 old books on medicine, law and economy, said Dr Fatima Hijazi, the Associate professor in the department of Physiotherapy at the faculty of Health Sciences.
"We seek through our participation to develop a sense of volunteering and value for books in our students," she said. "We are also offering a unique chance to acquire books and scientific journals."
