RAMALLAH, West Bank — Does Palestine need a new presidential palace or a national library? When Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas opted for the latter, he received the approval of the country’s academics and book buffs, who herald the future library as a major tool to bring together Palestine’s scattered archives.

Abbas’ announcement to turn the presidential palace into a national library comes after five years of construction efforts in Sarda, a town north of Ramallah.

For Palestinian Minister of Culture Ehab Bseiso, whom Abbas tasked with following up on the library construction, the decision is a move to create a symbol of national sovereignty. “The decision was taken earlier this year,” said Bseiso at a press conference in August. “We want the national Palestinian library to be our link to national libraries around the world. We want to restitute our looted heritage [by getting back Palestinian documents from around the world] through agreements that protect cultural heritage and traditions and laws defending our cultural existence.”

Bseiso's call to “restitute heritage” refers to the 1980 UNESCO definition on national libraries stating that “libraries [are] responsible for acquiring, copying and conserving all significant publications published in the country and serving as 'deposit' libraries either by law or under other arrangements.”