The National Library has a Library portal accessible on Isa Cultural Centre Website. It can be accessed anywhere on the net. Just click on the portal link on the upper left corner and it will transfer to the Library Catalogue.

Enter the keywords in the Search Box and press the Search button.

To obtain a borrower’s card, you have to contact the Borrower Card and Book Return section in the Lobby on the ground floor.  Please find the guidelines below for application:

Guidelines to apply for a library membership card for Bahraini Nationals:

1. Applicant must bring his/her smart card to the Book Return section on the Ground Floor at the National Library.

2. Fees are BD 2/- per card.

3. For those under the age of 14 years they have to apply through their parents or guardians.

Guidelines to apply for a library membership card for Non-Bahraini Nationals Residents:

Option 1:

1. Applicant must bring his/her Smart Card at the Book Return on the Ground floor at the National Library.

2. Submit BD20/- security deposit refundable at the return of the borrowed book(s).

3. For those under the age of 14 years they have to apply through their parents or guardians.

Option 2:

1. Applicant must bring his/her Smart Card at the Book Return on the Ground floor at the National Library.

2. Submit a letter to the Library Director (sample letter shown below)

3. For those under the age of 14 years they have to apply through their parents or guardians.

Go to My Account and click on User PIN Change.  Enter your CPR or Smart Card ID number in the Library ID box. Enter your CPR or Smart Card ID number again in the Library PIN. Then Enter new PIN and re-enter the same PIN and press CHANGE PIN button.

You can renew online or in person or by phone 17366572. Unless the book is overdue, then you need to come in person and settle your account. To renew online you will select My Account on the Library Portal and enter your ID number and password. 

If a book you need is on loan, you can reserve or keep it on hold.  Press on the Place Hold option as you search the Library Catalogue. Enter your account details to reserve the book.

The National Library uses Dewey Decimal Classification system, which uses numbers from 000 to 999 as codes to refer to subjects. Books on Education will be classified under numbers ranging from 370 to 379; books on Law will be classified under numbers ranging from 340 to 349; books on History will be classified under numbers ranging from 930 to 999 and so on.

No. The Directorate of Public Libraries under the Ministry of Education manages the Legal Depository for theses and dissertations. 

The National Library is open from 7:30 am to 2pm from Sunday to Thursday and from 8:00am to 1:00 pm on Saturdays. The Library is closed on Fridays.

Wi Fi is available on the Second Floor at the Electronic Library.

There is one group discussion room available on the first floor next to Shaikh Abdulla bin Khalid Library.

Photocopiers are available on the ground floor and the first floor. They operate with a photocopy card. Photocopy cards can be purchased from the Reception Desk at BD2 for one hundred copies.

Online databases are available on the second floor in the Electronic Library through the American Corner. The American Corner hosts “eLibraryusa” which provides access to a number of databases for searching articles in various disciplines.

The Library provides an in-house database for articles published in Arabic periodicals.  These articles are not full text. It is available at the Reference and Periodical Hall on ground floor.  In addition, the National Library holds the National Press Archives in Paper format, which are newspapers and magazine published in Bahrain since 1939. 

Audiobooks in English language are available at the American Corner on the second floor at the Electronic Library.

The Audiovisual collection is available at the Electronic Library on the second floor.

The Library provides access to power connections and LAN at all reading halls available on reading tables and at the reading cubicles on the second floor at the Electronic Library.

Books on learning languages are available in the reading halls. However, audio and video cd’s for language learning are available in the Electronic Library on the second floor.

Computers are available to search the Library Catalogue in each reading hall.  A number of computers are available for internet in the Electronic Library on the second floor.