Aim

The Bibliotheca Alexandrina aims to be a center of excellence in the production and dissemination of knowledge and to be a place of dialogue, learning and understanding between cultures and people. As an arena for voicing cultural pluralism, the BA is concerned with the freedom of speech and of expression, promoting pluralism and diversity, presenting the latest in the fields of science and technology, interacting with the digital world, the arts, and academic research. The BA focuses on issues of dialogue, formulating visions, and developing ideas through the events and activities it organizes and hosts. It serves as a space where everyone, especially the youth, can freely express their ideas and present their creative skills and capabilities. BA acquired an international facet expanding to Europe, Asia and Africa through a series of projects and initiatives in various fields, and thus realizing universal culture. It also builds partnerships with international organizations, celebrates global cultural production, and reaches a sense of diversity and creativity in its various global aspects. The BA is an institution that overlooks the world through the Mediterranean Sea, it reaches out to interact and cooperate with Egyptian, Arab, African, and international cultural, scientific, and religious institutions.

History

BA is one of the oldest libraries in the world. It was built 23 centuries ago, and it contained more than 700,000 volumes and manuscripts till was burnt for the first time. In 2002, the UNESCO cooperated with Egypt to reconstruct Bibliotheca Alexandrina again. It was the first digital library in the Middle East in the 21st century.