A report by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) revisits the history of libraries in Riyadh, which began when the city's educated class saw the need for reference collections for students and the wider public. The first were private libraries in the homes of princes, scholars, ministers and senior statesmen, among them the libraries of Prince Abdullah bin Abdulrahman and Sheikh Muhammad bin Ibrahim.

According to the book "The Literary Renaissance in Najd", the city's first commercial bookshop, "Al-Maktaba Al-Wataniya", was founded by Hassan Al-Shinqiti in 1355 AH in a small downtown shop. It did not last long, as students were used to receiving free books that King Abdulaziz had ordered to be distributed to them.

In 1364 AH, Prince Musaed bin Abdulrahman opened Riyadh's first public library in his palace between Al-Hillah and Al-Dahwa. It had catalogs, opened from morning until the afternoon prayer, required visitors to record their names and the books they read, and allowed no borrowing. After his death, it was transferred to Imam Muhammad bin Saud University.

More followed. In 1369 AH, Sheikh Hamad Al-Jasser opened "Maktabat Al-Arab" east of the Grand Mosque, possibly the first to bring in modern books. In 1373 AH, King Saud, then crown prince, opened the "Saudi Library" in the Dukhna district, which held more than a thousand manuscripts gathered by Grand Mufti Sheikh Muhammad bin Ibrahim. It later moved next to Dar Al-Iftaa on King Fahd Road and still receives researchers.

The Riyadh Municipality established "Dar Al-Kutub" in 1377 AH and opened it the following year; it was later joined to King Saud University. In 1388 AH, the Ministry of Education set up the "National Dar Al-Kutub" east of Al-Wazir Street.

Al-Batha Street became a hub of bookshops. In 1394 AH, Abdulrahman Al-Oqail bought Jarir, then a small shop in Al-Malaz named after its street, which grew into one of the Kingdom's largest bookstores. Dar Al-Marrikh was founded in 1398 AH by writer Abdullah Al-Majed, and Al-Rushd in 1399 by Ahmed Al-Hamdan.