Bibliotheca Alexandrina

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. Image File history File links Egypt. ... Image File history File links Egypt. ... For other uses, see Library (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Culture (disambiguation). ... Mediterranean redirects here. ... For other uses, see City (disambiguation). ... This article is about the city in Egypt. ... Inscription regarding Tiberius Claudius Balbilus of Rome (d. ... “Ancient” redirects here. ...

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. Year 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. ... Alexandria University (Arabic: جامعة الإسكندرية ) is a university in Alexandria, Egypt. ... Muhammad Hosni Said Mubarak (Arabic: محمد حسنى سيد مبارك Muḥammad ḤusnÄ« Mubārak), commonly known as Hosni Mubarak (Arabic: حسنى مبارك ḤusnÄ« Mubārak), has been the President of Egypt since 14 October 1981. ... UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) is a specialized agency of the United Nations established in 1945. ... A magnet levitating above a high-temperature superconductor demonstrates the Meissner effect. ... This article is about building architecture. ... Competition is the act of striving against others for the purpose of achieving gain, such as income, pride, amusement, or dominance. ... Year 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar). ... For the mountain Snøhetta, see Snøhetta. ... Year 1990 (MCMXC) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar). ... Egypt: Site of Aswan (bottom). ... The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States. ... For other uses, see Arab (disambiguation). ... Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full 1995 Gregorian calendar). ... is the 289th day of the year (290th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ...

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 Louvre Museum in Paris, one of the largest and most famous museums in the world. ... The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. ... For the song by Ai Otsuka, see Planetarium (song) // A planetarium is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation. ... A manuscript (Latin manu scriptus, written by hand), strictly speaking, is any written document that is put down by hand, in contrast to being printed or reproduced some other way. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

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. This article is about the unit of length. ... This article is about the material. ... The roofs of Olomouc, Czech Republic. ... For other uses, see Sundial (disambiguation). ... Egypt: Site of Aswan (bottom). ... For other uses, see granite (disambiguation). ... This article is about modern humans. ... Writing systems of the world today. ...

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. For other uses, see Suez (disambiguation). ...

Bibliotheca Alexandrina also maintains a copy of the Internet Archive. The logo of Internet Archive The Internet Archive (IA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to maintaining an on-line library and archive of Web and multimedia resources. ...

Criticisms of the Library

The dream of restoring Alexandria to its academic roots has not gone without some outcries from the public. Some 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, some 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 500,000 books in 2002 which is low compared to other national libraries. This is due to the lack of funds available in Egypt. People were upset that so much money was spent on construction rather than on books. It has been estimated that it will take 80 years to fill the library to capacity at the current level of funding. The library relies heavily on donations to buy books for its collections.^[2] Other complaints have arisen, including controversy over better use of funds for more urgent social projects. For example, Egypt has an illiteracy problem with only 59% of females and 83% of males able to read.^{[3] [4]}

Gallery of images

Bibliotheca Alexandrina. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2048 × 1536 pixel, file size: 1. ...

An interior view of the library. Image File history File links Egypt. ...

An exterior view of the library. Image File history File links Egypt. ...

A back view of the library Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (3072 × 2304 pixel, file size: 2. ...

See also

• Library of Alexandria

Inscription regarding Tiberius Claudius Balbilus of Rome (d. ...

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Bibliotheca Alexandrina

• 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

Image File history File links Commons-logo. ...

Notes and references

References

• Arseneault, Michel. "Alexandria, from papyrus to the Internet." The Unesco Courier52, no. 4 (April 1999): 40-42.
• Bilboul, Roger. "The Library of Alexandria Reopens." Information Today19, 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

Coordinates: 31°12′32″N, 29°54′33″E Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...