The Department of Research and Development held a training course about the Arabic Union Catalog (AUC) and its services in collaboration with the Central Library of University of Baghdad. With sponsoring by Prof.

Riyadh Khaleel Khammas, the Administrative Assistant of University President, the AUC training course was opened on April 29, 2015. The training course was held by the Department of Research and Development in the Iraqi Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research in collaboration with the General Secretariat of the Central Library in University of Baghdad, and with the participation of employees of Iraqi university libraries and staff members of faculty libraries.

Prof. Khammas ordered libraries staff to work hard, provide the best services and apply new technology in their libraries, which facilitates introducing the best services to libraries' patrons and benefiting from their services by the easiest and fastest way. The training course began its first day by a speech of Dr. Fa`iza Adeeb Abdelwahid, assistant professor and library expert in the Department of Research and Development in the Iraqi Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research.

Dr. Fa`iza explained the importance of the AUC and its role in providing services to all libraries. She also asserted on the importance of engaging all libraries into the AUC for the purpose of establishing the Iraqi Universities Portal for the AUC. She stated that this will participate in decreasing both time and efforts, and standardizing cataloging rules, as well as the constant role of the ministry in supporting libraries and their trends of adopting a Integrated and unified automated system to all Iraqi libraries.

Mrs. Salwa Gaafar Sadik, director of the Acquisition Unit in the General Secretariat of the Central Library, addressed in her lecture an illustration to the AUC Portal and benefits from its services and importance to all member libraries.

She also gave a brief about MARC Format and its importance to libraries. During the second day of the training course, Mrs. Aa`eda Moustafa Salman, teaching assistant and General Secretary of the Central Library University of Baghdad, gave a lecture entitled ‘How to take advantage of the AUC services'. Mrs. Aa`eda introduced practical examples of the most important issues related to the AUC Portal.

This included how to use it and a complete explanation of the AUC interface, as well as the most important services the AUC provides; like search and its types as it is considered the main tool that incorporates the AUC database to its members.

She also dealt with the process of cataloging in terms of explaining the service of original cataloging (uploading) and the service of copy cataloging (downloading) through the AUC database and the service of cataloging by MARC Format.

The training course was concluded by attending Prof. Ghassan Hameed, the general manager of the Department of Research and Development in the Iraqi Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, and Dr. Usama Abdellateef, assistant professor and the Scientific Assistant of University President. Whereas, a discussion and dialog were held about the importance of libraries and their roles in serving the society and the scientific research through applying the project of the Electronic University and overcoming obstacles and difficulties of developing libraries and serious participation of creating an interactive environment between the user and the library.

At the end, certificates of participation in the training course were distributed to attendees who commended the training course, its lecturers and the valuable information presented in it. Attendees showed a serious and sincere desire to work in the future.