Jordan Watch : Reflections from Bibliotheca Alexandrina

Last week I have been privileged to visit the magnificant Bibliotheca Alexandrina. This is one of the few places in the Arab World, and maybe the whole Globe that can be conisidered as a cultural acheivement. I was participating in a workshop organized by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) about new learning for sustainability in the Arab World, where I have presented the case study of using blogs for environmental education and awareness by focusing on my environmental blog.

The Bibliotheca Alexandrina is a breathtaking structure. Not only a library that captures the "lost" spirit of the old library but it is becoming a hub for knowledge and global exchange, where almost 500 events are held in its massive and highly advanced utilities.

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.

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 structure of the BA is really fantastic. It is composed of three components.

The main component is the library and reading room which is built in the form of an emerging desk that symbolizes the ever-rising of the sun of knowledge. It reveals massive stone walls carved with ancient alphabetic inscriptions. The building’s light roof allows it to open toward the Mediterranean sea. Within the interior a great room, similar to libraries of previous centuries, opens up revealing the building’s form into the reading space. The reading space is developed in an original manner along terraces that conceal the limited access books, providing a new standard in library planning. Also housed within the building are other cultural facilities and a small school; to the exterior is a planetarium which is considered to be the second component.

The Planetarium is specialised in screening scientific movies and documentaries trageting both youth and professionals. The third component is the remarkable conference center that is very highly equipped and ready for hosting major conferences and meetings.

One of the most fascinating features of the Bibliotheca structure is the artificial lake surrounding the library which has a very specific control of water level that will never allow a drop of water to fall to the neighboring street.

One can never neglect the remarkable disparity and contracdiction betweeen the enormous capacity of the BA in comparison to the miserable state of the Alexandria University just opposite of the BA where the infrastructure is old and ineffecient and the teachers suffer from low salaries that can reach 300 US $ per month making it one of the lowest paid jobs in academia all over the world.

However, I still think that BA is a reason for Egypt and Arabs in general to be proud. Such a massive structure for knowledge and research is a real priority in the Arab World and I hope that all of you can have the chance to visit it. I will write another detailed post about the library from inside.