Director of the BA Inaugurates the Map Library
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Dr. Ismail Serageldin, Director of the BA, inaugurated on Tuesday, 27 April, the Map Library, which is the newest of the specialized libraries established in the Library of Alexandria.
Dr. Serageldin stated that the Map Library is the latest service offered by the Library Sector to respond to the research needs of BA readers and visitors . This is in keeping with the role of the BA in supporting scientific research in Egypt, and in fulfillment of its aim to be Egypt’s window on the World and the World’s window on Egypt.
He maintained that the Library makes accessible to its readers a vast collection of maps, reaching 7000 in number including both modern and historical maps. One of the most significant maps in the collection Serageldin said, is a rare facsimile of “Al-Sharif Al-Idrissi’s Map of the Earth”; another is a facsimile of the map known as the “ …. Map of the Arabian Gulf and the Land between Two Rivers”, the original of which dates back to the 17th century.
Serageldin expressed his gratitude to the Egyptian Naval Forces, the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics, the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the Ministry of State for Environmental Affairs, the Information and Decision Support Center, the Center for Remote Sensing , as well as other authorities, for their cooperation with the Library Sector and for their donation of various map material to be added to the collection.
Dr. Soheir Wastawy, Chief Librarian of the BA, stated that the Map Library, which is situated on the fourth basement (B4) within the Main Reading Hall, is the newest of the specialized libraries established in the Library of Alexandria. She asserted that the Library will begin, as of today, to offer its services to visitors specialized in geographic research and other fields of study dependent on the use of maps and other map material.