The Bibliotheca Alexandrina announced today, Sunday, that Om Kalthoum Naguib Mahfouz, the daughter of the Egyptian Nobel laureate in literature, donated his private library to the vast library overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. This donation aims to make the late writer's legacy available to researchers, scholars, and those interested in literary affairs.
The statement from the Bibliotheca Alexandrina indicated that the donated library includes approximately 1,500 books, which range from novels to dictionaries and encyclopedias in various languages. Ahmad Zayed, the director of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, stated that "the value of the donated library's collection comes from being Naguib Mahfouz's personal library, where some books bear his signature or the signatures of prominent writers and thinkers from Egypt and around the world who dedicated their works to him."
He added that among the donated items are "certificates, documents, and personal photographs, in addition to video tapes of novel adaptations based on his works and writings." He continued, "This will undoubtedly be a true addition for visitors to the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, giving them the opportunity to approach the literary persona of a global figure like the Nobel laureate, as well as providing a knowledge space for those who have not engaged with his literature and thought as they should."
For his part, Muhammad Suleiman, head of the cultural communication sector at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, stated, "Experts will catalog, classify, and index the books, as well as restore those that need it, and compile the signatures found on many of them, noting the identities of the signatories." He expressed that this, in his view, represents a form of documenting modern Egypt through clippings, dedications, writings, and notes in Naguib Mahfouz's handwriting.
He pointed out that the library would continue to communicate with the late writer's daughter to obtain some of his personal items to incorporate them into the presentation scenario to ensure it is showcased in the best manner.
Mahfouz, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1988, passed away in Cairo in 2006 at the age of 94. The Bibliotheca Alexandrina, which Egypt reopened in 2002 at a location close to where the famous historic library once stood, houses many personal libraries of various politicians, thinkers, and writers, including former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, late journalist Mohamed Hassanein Heikal, and legal scholar Abdel Razaq al-Sanhouri.
