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Bibliotheca Alexandrina will soon celebrate its tenth anniversary. The library offers a constantly-evolving range of programs that invite the engagement of Egyptian society regardless of age or background. It is one of the Middle East’s most extraordinary libraries, both in terms of its collection of books (with shelf space for over eight million books) and the scope of its cultural programming, making it more a multidimensional center for culture than a library in the traditional sense.
The library is architecturally striking, with its soaring glass windows, writing carved in over 100 languages on its exterior, and the surrounding pool of water and bright blue tiles that are physical evocation of a rising sun. But even more than that, what makes the library so exceptional beyond its breathtaking façade is how it refuses to satisfy itself with the grandness of its physical structure–instead encouraging the people using the building to converse, explore, and study.
This is particularly important because the library was built at immense cost of over 200 million dollars, and many individuals and social activists questioned the utility of such a project when tens of millions of Egyptians suffer from poverty and lack of access to fundamental social and economic rights. Furthermore, its operating costs are high and its current collection of books is relatively modest for a national library: it holds just one million books. Whether or not the construction of such a library was justified remains a topic for debate; however, now that it has been established it is essential that its programs reach as broad an Egyptian public as possible.
[inset_left]Indeed, the library aims to be anything but elitist and exclusive.[/inset_left]
Indeed, the library aims to be anything but elitist and exclusive. It strives to reach out to Egyptians and welcome them to participate in its programs and explore its diverse resources and collections.
The library certainly invites exclamation and wonder at its physical beauty and distinctiveness. But more than a phenomenal example of modern architecture sensitively designed and executed in an ancient city, what gives the library life is its dynamic programming which places education and interaction at its heart.
On a monthly basis, the Taha Hussein Library for the Blind and Visually Impaired offers introductory computer classes and courses in web design, as well as programs teaching sighted people to read braille. Monthly play readings are hosted at the library, with the latest being Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie. There is also a monthly poetry reading.
The library recently hosted the “Natural Sciences: Earth and Sun” festival, which aimed to raise awareness about the finite nature of earth’s natural resources and to promote conservation and environmental protection. This years’ festival focused on how the sun impacts agriculture, the water cycle, the lives of animals, the human body, and astronomy. Programs were open to the general public and many were specially designed to attract the interests of children.
Another recent program was the sixth BioVision Alexandrina conference, which explored the potential role for science in advancing human welfare, social justice, and greater equality. It placed particular emphasis on examining ways of improving healthcare, as well as the links between the reduction of poverty and the resulting increase in human well-being.
In the words of the conference organizers, “At the conference, we aim at gathering representatives and leaders in science, industry and society to identify and set the priorities needed to rebuild society and discuss how the policies of scientific research need to be revolutionized towards serving society, especially the less fortunate, and to transform the lives of those who truly need it.”
In May, the library hosted the ‘Agenda Exhibition’, which provided a space for both established and emerging artists to display their work. It is also hosted a dance residency workshop, ‘Dance Like an Egyptian’.
From June 9-14 the library will host a conference in partnership with the New York Open Center exploring historical Alexandria as a rich center for culture and intercultural communication and creativity. It is entitled An Esoteric Quest for Ancient Alexandria: Greco-Egyptian Birthplace of the Western Mind.
The library also hosts a permanent sculpture collection and hosts an annual symposium on sculpture in which sculptors working in a variety of media including wood, marble, granite, mosaic, and metals display and discuss their work and the creative process underlying their craft.
Other permanent artistic collections include the Seif and Adham Wanli collection, which features paintings of individuals at play in a variety of sports; Mohie Eldin-Hussein’s ceramics, and Hassan Soliman’s paintings of still nature and photographs that have been artistically rendered to simplify the images they convey and their spectrum of color.
The Planeterium shows a variety of programs exploring astronomy, nature, and ancient history including Mystery of the Nile, Oasis in Space, Seven Wonders and Stars of the Pharoahs. Film screenings, seminars, and courses on topics ranging from calligraphy to documentary film round out the library’s programming.
One of the most significant of the library’s projects is its Forum for Dialogue and Political Studies, which “provides a medium for liberal thought and cultural exchange to promote the values of cultural diversity, and to create an enabling environment for dialogue, reform and development. The Forum aims to defend others’ freedom of expression and to understand human civilizations on national, regional and international levels, as well as promote and support the role of civil societies through the creation of networks and outreach programs in an attempt to create a vision of a promising future for the Arab region.” The Forum aims to educate and inform youth, encourage leadership development and youth interaction, and advance social development.
Bibliotheca Alexandrina is unique in the Arab world and a model for other nations, Arab and non-Arab alike. It is one of the Arab world’s most significant cultural institutions, whose mission extends far beyond the traditional goals of a library. It is at once a school, multiple museums, a conference center, an incubator for social change, a platform for dialogue, and a source of artistic inspiration.
At a time when many Arab nations—and particularly a number of the Gulf states such as the UAE and Qatar—are investing hundreds of millions of dollars into the creation of art museums and new cultural institutions. Many of these have strong links to European museums and cultural institutions, but in contrast the Bibliotheca Alexandrina provides inspiration for how an indigenous Arab cultural institution can develop which is grounded in local Arab culture. In its emphasis on education, interaction, youth development and service in the public good Bibliotheca Alexandrina proves itself to be a vital cultural institution—a treasure of the Arab world.
