Discover

The 'Bibliotheca Alexandrina' is a major library and cultural center located on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea in the Egyptian city of Alexandria. It is both a commemoration of the Library of Alexandria that was lost in antiquity and an attempt to rekindle something of the brilliance that this earlier center of study and erudition represented.
The idea of reviving the old library dates back to 1974, when a committee set up by the Alexandria University selected a plot of land for its new library, between the campus and the seafront, close to where the ancient library once stood. The notion of recreating the ancient library was soon enthusiastically adopted by other individuals and agencies. One leading supporter of the project was current Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak; UNESCO was also quick to embrace the idea of endowing the Mediterranean region with a center of cultural and scientific excellence. An architectural competition, organized by UNESCO in 1988 to choose a design worthy of the site and its heritage, was won by Snøhetta, a Norwegian architectural office, from among more than 1,400 entries. At a conference held in 1990 in Aswan, the first pledges of funding for the project were made: USD $65 million, mostly from the Arab states. Construction work began in 1995 and, after some USD $220 million had been spent, the complex was officially inaugurated on October 16, 2002.
The dimensions of the project are vast: the library has shelf space for eight million books, with the main reading room covering 70,000 m² on eleven cascading levels. The complex also houses a conference center; specialized libraries for the blind, for young people, and for children; three museums; four art galleries; a planetarium; and a manuscript restoration laboratory.
The library's architecture is equally striking. The main reading room stands beneath a 32-meter-high glass-panelled roof, tilted out toward the sea like a sundial, and measuring some 160 m in diameter. The walls are of gray Aswan granite, carved with characters from 120 different human scripts.

Contents

Collections

Criticisms of the Library

Gallery of images

See also

External links

Notes and references

References

Collections

The collections at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina were donated from all over the world. The Spanish donated documents that detailed the ruling of the Moors. The French also donated, giving the library documents dealing with the building of the Suez Canal.
Bibliotheca Alexandrina also maintains a copy of the Internet Archive.

Criticisms of the Library

Yet, the dream of restoring Alexandria to its academic roots has not gone without some outcries from the public. Many experts question whether modern day Egypt can afford to supply such a library, with all the materials it needs, or if the government can truly keep censorship out of the collection.^[1] In addition, many people feel that too much attention is being played to sending a message through the building’s design, of a rising sun, and not in the collection it stores. The library only had, in 2002, 500,000 books, which is low when comparing it to other national libraries of the world. There are low levels of books because of the lack of funds available in Egypt. People were upset that so much money was spent on construction, while there is not enough money for books. Some people estimate it will take 80 years to fill up the capacity of the library, due to the fact that the library has insufficient funds to fill up its stacks. The library relies heavily on donations to buy books for its collections.^[2] In addition to a lack of books, another complaint arising is should the money and time be spent elsewhere, in other areas, other than a library. Egypt has a high level of illiteracy within its borders, with half of its adults unable to read; many feel that a priority should be placed on getting the country reading, through education programs, instead of creating a massive library.^[3]

Gallery of images

See also

★ Library of Alexandria

External links

★ Bibliotheca Alexandrina official website

★ Bibliotheca Alexandrina webarchive

★ Images of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina

★ Portfolio of photographs of the complex

★ Bibliotheca Alexandrina: An Ancient Library Goes Modern - illustrated article

Notes and references

1. Roger Bilboul, "The Library of Alexandria Reopens," ''Information Today''19, no. 11 (December 2002): 26, http://web.ebscohost.com/.
2. Bruce Watson, "Rising Sun," ''Smithsonian'', April 2002, http://web.ebscohost.com/.
3. Michel Arseneault, "Alexandria, from papyrus to the Internet," ''The Unesco Courier''52, no. 4 (April 1999): 41-42, http://web.ebscohost.com/.

References

★ Arseneault, Michel. "Alexandria, from papyrus to the Internet." ''The Unesco Courier''52, no. 4 (April 1999): 40-42.

★ Bilboul, Roger. "The Library of Alexandria Reopens." ''Information Today''19, no. 11 (December 2002): 26. http://www.infotoday.com/it/dec02/bilboul.htm

★ Watson, Bruce. "Rising Sun." ''Smithsonian'', April 2002. http://www.smithsonianmagazine.com/issues/2002/april/rising.php