Alexandria Library
The Bibliotheca Alexandrina is a major library and cultural centre on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea in Alexandria, Egypt. It is a commemoration of the Library of Alexandria, once one of the largest libraries worldwide, which was lost in antiquity.
The idea of reviving the old library dates back to 1974 when a committee set up by Alexandria University selected a plot of land for its new library. the complex was officially inaugurated on 16 October 2002. In 2009, the library received a donation of 500,000 books from the Bibliothèque nationale de France .
The library offers shelf space for eight million books, and its main reading room spans 20,000 square meters (220,000 sq ft). The complex also houses a conference center; specialized libraries for maps, multimedia, the blind and visually impaired, and for children; four museums; four art galleries for temporary exhibitions; 15 permanent exhibitions; a planetarium; and a manuscript restoration laboratory.