Eight librarians are celebrated for turning school libraries into spaces for curiosity, connection and discovery.
- Eight librarians receive recognition across four categories in 2026.
- Dubai ceremony celebrates the people behind young readers’ habits.
- New Association strengthens connections across UAE school libraries.
- Students and reading advocates joined the celebration at Museum Future.
A child wandering between shelves, pulling out a book because its cover catches the eye, can be the start of something much bigger. Across UAE schools, librarians are helping create those moments every day, turning libraries into spaces where curiosity can take over. School Librarian of the Year brought that work into the spotlight at Dubai’s Museum of the Future. Books took centre stage.
For a profession often associated with quiet rooms and neatly arranged shelves, the stories behind this year’s winners are anything but ordinary. Eight librarians were recognised across four categories, spanning public and private schools in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, with their work celebrated for strengthening reading, resources, innovation and community involvement. Every school has its own story.
At Dubai International Academy, Emirates Hills, Desislava Kouzeva was named the private school winner, while Salma Al Helali of Al Taqadom School in Abu Dhabi received the public school award. Other winners included Ameera Al Humairi, Suman Batra, Muna AlWahshi, Jericho Diano, Salma AlMansouri and Louise Macleod. Different schools, shared purpose.
A library can feel very different when children are there by choice rather than because a lesson requires it. The Emirates Literature Foundation’s Reading for Pleasure work has focused on creating opportunities for students to read outside academic requirements, with access to books and dedicated time to enjoy them. That distinction matters.
Students were part of the celebration too. Award-winning young writers Maryam Alshrafi and Reynah Singh Gahlaut shared letters about hope in Arabic and English, placing young readers directly inside an event dedicated to the people who help them find their way to books. Their voices mattered.
Beyond the awards, the ceremony also highlighted the UAE’s growing professional network for librarians. The Association of School Librarians, established by the Emirates Literature Foundation in 2025, gives members access to networking, workshops, training and opportunities to exchange practical ideas across schools. Librarians now have a room of their own.
That sense of community was visible throughout the wider Reading for Pleasure Caravan Conference, where educators, parents, students, policymakers and reading advocates gathered to discuss how children can build lasting relationships with books. The ELF Reading Caravan also received recognition for supporting around 100 engagements across the seven emirates over three years.
For parents, educators and anyone who has watched a child become absorbed in a story, the celebration offers a useful reminder: reading culture is built through people as much as books. The 2026 award winners are helping make that culture visible, one library, one conversation and one curious reader at a time!
