The new Library of Alexandria, the new Bibliotheca Alexandrina (BA), is dedicated to recapturing the spirit of openness and scholarship of the original Bibliotheca Alexandrina. It is much more than a library.
The library of Alexandria comprises the following:
The Main Library
which can hold up to millions of books and its affiliated libraries: the Francophone Library, the Depository Library, and the Maps Library
Six specialized libraries
- The Arts and Multimedia Library
- The Taha Hussein Library for the visually-impaired
- The Children’s Library
- The Young People’s Library
- The Exchange and Archive Section
- The Rare Books and Special Collections Library
A copy of the Internet Archive
The Internet Archive (IA) holds a recorded memory of all webpages on every website since the launch of the Internet in 1996.
Founded in San Francisco by Brewster Kahle, the original Internet Archive signed an agreement with the BA in 2002 to render the latter a backup of the original and create two mirror sites for the web archive collection.
The web archive collection at the BA can be accessible by national, regional, and international users through the BA Wayback Machine at web.archive.bibalex.org
The BA Internet Archive is the first center of its kind established outside US borders. It is not only a backup of the mother archive in San Francisco but also a cultural and informational hub for Africa and the Middle East.
Four museums
- The Antiquities Museum
- The Manuscripts Museum
- The Sadat Museum
- The History of Science Museum
The Planetarium Science Center (PSC)
The ALEXploratorium
An Exploratorium for introducing children to science
The Culturama
A cultural panorama projected over nine screens. It is the first-ever patented nine-projector interactive system.
It has won many awards. The Culturama, developed by CULTNAT, allows the presentation of a wealth of data layers; presenters can click on an item and go to a whole new level of detail.
It is a remarkably informative and attractive multimedia presentation of Egypt’s heritage spanning over 5,000 years of history with highlights and examples of Ancient Egyptian and Coptic/Muslim heritage.
VISTA
The Virtual Immersive Science and Technology Applications system is an interactive virtual reality environment that allows researchers to transform two-dimensional data sets into 3D simulations and step inside them. A practical tool of visualization during research, VISTA helps researchers to simulate the behavior of natural or human-engineered systems instead of merely observing a system or building a physical model.
Twelve academic research centers:
- Alexandria and Mediterranean Research Center (Alex Med)
- Writing and Scripts Center
- Center for Special Studies and Programs (CSSP)
- International School of Information Science (ISIS)
- Manuscripts Center
- Center for the Documentation of Cultural and Natural Heritage (CULTNAT) – Cairo
- Center for Islamic Civilization Studies
- Alexandria Center for Hellenistic Studies
- Center for Coptic Studies
- Sustainable Development Studies, Youth Capacity Building, and African Relations Support Program
- Center for Strategic Studies
- The Women Studies and Social Transformation (WSST) Program
The Arts Center
Thirteen permanent exhibitions
- Impressions of Alexandria: The Awad Collection
- The World of Shadi Abdel Salam
- Arabic Calligraphy: Mohamed Ibrahim Collection
- The History of Printing: Bulaq Press
- Arab-Muslim Medieval Instruments of Astronomy and Science (Star Riders)
Contemporary Art Exhibitions:
- The Artist’s Book
- Mohie El Din Hussein: A Creative Journey
- The Raaya El-Nimr and Abdel-Ghani Abou El-Enein Collection of Arab Folk Art
- Selected artworks of Adam Henein (1929)
- Seif and Adham Wanly: Motion and Art
- Selected artworks of Hassan Soliman (1928 – 2009)
- Farouk Shehata: A Continuing Experience
- Selected artworks of Ahmed Abdel-Wahab (1932)
- Four art galleries for temporary exhibitions
The Conference Center (which can accommodate up to thousands of people)
The new Bibliotheca Alexandrina also hosts a number of institutions:
- The Academia Bibliotheca Alexandrinae (ABA).
- Arabic Society for Ethics in Science & Technology (ASEST).
- The Anna Lindh Foundation for Dialogue between Cultures – the first Euro-Med foundation based outside Europe.
- The HCM Medical Research Project – located in Shallalat
- The Arab Regional Office of the Academy of Science for the Developing World (TWAS-ARO).
- The International Federation for Library Associations (IFLA) Regional Office.
- The Secretariat of the Arab National Commissions of UNESCO.
- The Middle Eastern and North African Network for Environmental Economics (MENANEE).
- The Arab Network for Women in Science and Technology (ANWST).
- The Secretariat Office of the North Africa and Middle East Science Centers Network (NAMES).
- The number of these institutions continues to grow, making the BA the center of many international and regional networks.
The library of Alexandria also host more than 1000 event every year
BA offers guided tours in three languages Arabic, English, and French.
Guided tours can be booked directly from the BA.
Phone: + (203) 4839999 – Ext: 1573 / 1574
official website https://www.bibalex.org/
You may also need to check Alexandria & Egypt
