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. Today, this vast complex has become a reality, receiving about 1.5 million visitors a year. It 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
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): 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
Alexandria Center for Hellenistic Studies
Sustainable Development Studies, Youth Capacity Building, and African Relations Support Program
Center for Islamic Civilization Studies
Center for Coptic Studies
Center for Strategic Studies
The Women Studies and Social Transformation (WSST) Program
The Arts Center
Seventeen 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)
Mohamed Shaker Museum
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
Seif and Adham Wanly: Motion and Art
Selected artworks of Adam Henein (1929)
Selected artworks of Ahmed Abdel-Wahab (1932)
Selected artworks of Hassan Soliman (1928 – 2009)
Farouk Shehata: A Continuing Experience
Selections from Caricature Art
Mohamed Hassanein Heikal… A Life Journey
Nagy Shaker… The Passion of Experimentation and Discovery
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.
Today, this vast complex has become a reality, receiving about 1.5 million visitors a year.
