New Central University Library of Mali to House Ancient Islamic Texts

The government of Mali is constructing a new Central University Library to preserve thousands of ancient Islamic texts, including some that were removed from Timbuktu in 2013 to protect them from destruction by Islamist militants. The library will be built in Bamako, the capital of Mali, and will cost XOF9 billion ($15 million) to construct. The library will include technology that can preserve the country’s written heritage, books, and manuscripts, with security systems to be monitored by the Mali military. The library is being built in the central Badalabougou district and is scheduled to open next August. It will be managed by the government and serve as a resource for all 12 of Mali’s universities and higher education colleges. The library will have a collection of quality books and manuscripts, and many of them will be digitized.

The library will also have departments of cultural activities, public services, administration, scientific services, and technical services. There will be an open courtyard, and the architecture of the building will reflect an ecological and Sahelian approach. There will be security posts, cameras, and effective lighting to enable students to work without insecurity.

El Boukhari Ben Essayouti, the head of the Cultural Mission of Timbuktu and secretary-general of the Malian Human Rights Association, said that the ancient manuscripts of Timbuktu that may be added to the collection include those owned by the Ahmed Baba Institute of Higher Learning and Islamic Research (IHERI-AB), which are the property of the Malian state, accounting for 10% of these documents. The rest of the documents are held privately and are currently distributed in about 50 libraries. Savama, a Malian organization dedicated to the preservation of books and manuscripts, estimates that there are nearly 400,000 manuscripts in Timbuktu.

The library is expected to help students whose learning has been disrupted in recent years by a series of strikes by university staff. The University Library of Mali will reduce the reliance of Malian higher education students on their teachers, and help academics improve their knowledge. The University Library of Mali will offer a reading club to group learners, hold book exhibitions, stage text analysis sessions, and organise course modules in strengthening written and oral expression.

The architect of the project, Abdorahamane Ag Hantafaye, said the design included surrounding green space “to bathe the building in a garden, given the sought-after setting of conviviality and tranquillity for concentration.”