Alexandria Library

The Egyptian government together with the UNESCO showed lots of enthusiasm toward the project of reviving the Alexandrine Library, which once played a great role in the development of knowledge, science and culture not only in Egypt but in all the Mediterranean cost too.

TARGETS:

1- Revival the Alexandrine Library to create a public library helping scientific researches.
2- The library should supply both Egyptian and Foreign students with precious references concerning the civilizations of Alexandria, Egypt, Middle Ages and every modern domain. The Library will contain rare scientific and technological works in order to help developing socio-economical and cultural studies.
3- The Library should also supply essential services to contemporary history and cultural inheritance studies.
THE GENERAL ORGANISATION OF ALEXANDRIAN LIBRARY (GOAL)

The ministerial decree no. 253 ordered the foundation of The General Organization of Alexandrine Library, which assumes the responsibility of executing the project. The Library enjoys independent legal status, having the Minister of Education as its general manager.

THE SIGHT:

The new Alexandrine Library is situated in front of the compound of social and human science faculties in Shatby. A major part of its fascade overlooks the sea. The sight has been chosen in Silsila as it was-most probably -the same sight for the Ancient Museum and Library of Alexandria. These were located in the Royal Quarter (Bruchium), as some vestiges of the Greaco-Roman civilization, discovered there recently, show. Those vestiges will be exposed in the museum of the new library. Looking towards the horizon, we can find the glorious Qait Bay fort built up in 1480 at the place of the famous Pharos.

THE NEW LIBRARY PLAN:

The library plan consists of an inclining cylinder with its edge sloping towards the Mediterranean. Ancient Egyptians used to consider this shape as a symbol of the sun, which illuminates the human civilization of the whole world.

The sloping roof permits direct sunlight and a clear view of the sea. There is also an arched bridge, which will tie the University of Alexandria to the coastway. The outturn walls of the library will be covered with granite engraved with inscriptions showing different world civilizations. This library plan represents the system with which it functions. This system symbolizes the relation between the cultural inheritance of the area and the new intellectual trends spread by the library to the whole world.

Emblem:

The emblem is composed of three elements: the incomplete solar disk, the sea and the phare. The sun represents the continuity of life by the everyday sunrise offering life and spreading the light of culture not only to Egypt but to the whole world. The sea symbolizes the location of Alexandria, the pearl of the Mediterranean and the native place of the old library. And finally, the phare, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, represents the Greaco-Roman aspect of the city.

Cost of the Project:

Estimated cost of that great international project adds up to 172 million US$. The Egyptian government will contribute with 182 million US$ which is the cost of the Organization budget as well as the land including the conference center. The estimated cost of the constructions adds up to 121 million US$, while book collections cost, according to expectation, reaches 31 million US$. Equipment will cost about 20 million US$.

FACTS & NUMBERS:

1 - Total sight surface: 45.000 m²
2 - Total library floors surface: 69.000 m²
3 - No. of floors : 13
4 - No. of seats: 3500
5 - Volumes: 4-8 million volumes
6 - Cards: 50.000
7 - Handscriptions: 100.000
8 - Electronic applications: 130 giving bases
9 - Rare books: 10.000
10-Electronic material: 1000 headings registered on computer diskette
11-Musical instruments: 200.000 audio tapes
12-Audio-Visual instruments: 50.000 video tapes
13-Staff: 578 persons

The complex will contain also, the conference center (3200 seats), the museum of science, inscriptions institution and a museum.