Daily Blog: Alexandria's Library

In terms of size, there’s a great difference between Alexandria, Ohio (population 500) and Alexandria, Egypt (population 6 million).

But there is one, perhaps unexpected, way the two places share an important commonality – the library.

On the Internet for the Alexandria (Ohio) Public Library you will find the following, “the Alexandria Public Library is THE gathering place of this Licking County Village.”

Much the same is being said about the new Alexandria Library in Egypt’s second largest city. A recent article in Travel and Leisure magazine, May 2009, p. 78 says the new Bibliotheca Alexandria in Egypt has become “a gathering place.” The new library opened in 2002 – amid questions about “whether a brick-and-mortar library is still relevant in the Internet era.” But the visionary library director responds, “This was an institution that was born digital.” In the span of six years it is now hosting “more than 500 events – lectures, conferences, concerts, exhibitions – and some 1.4 million visitors a year.”

The library in Egypt is described as an “oasis of culture, democracy and free speech.” In Ohio the library’s motto is “Envision, Enlighten, Educate.” Together, they remind us that the significance of the library is not merely historical.

Rising above time and geography the library can still be a valued “gathering place” in the 21st century.