Iraqi civil society groups seek to restock Mosul libraries
Civil society organizations and cultural institutions are rushing to supply two libraries in Mosul with books, publications and periodicals.
BAGHDAD — Iraqi academics and civil society organizations in Iraq and abroad are implementing an initiative to rehabilitate the Mosul Public Library. The library was founded in 1921 and includes around 113,000 books. On Feb. 22, 2015, the Islamic State (IS) burned down the library, marking a great cultural catastrophe.
The initiative also aims to rehabilitate the University of Mosul’s Central Library, established in 1967, which remained in ruins during IS’ control. IS took control of Mosul in 2014.
On June 13, the students of the University of Mosul took their exams for the first time in three years after the Iraqi armed forces liberated the university on Jan. 14.
The Association of Iraqi Academics in Australia and New Zealand launched its own project with the cooperation of the League of Iraqi Academics in the United Kingdom to help rehabilitate Mosul’s libraries. The project was well received in Australian and Iraqi universities and among civil society organizations and many academics and intellectuals.
