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World's oldest library reopens in Fez: 'You can hurt us, but you can't hurt the books'

Shaheen, Kareem
http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/sep/19/books-world-oldest-library-fez-morocco

Publisher:  The Guardian
Date Written:  19/09/2016
Year Published:  2016  
Resource Type:  Article

After years of restoration, the ninth-century Qarawiyyin library in north-eastern Morocco is finally set to reopen – with strict security and a new underground canal system to protect its most prized manuscripts

Abstract: 
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Excerpt:

The iron door is found along a corridor that once linked the library with the neighbouring Qarawiyyin Mosque – the two centres of learning and cultural life in old Fez. Inside it were kept the most prized tomes in the collection; works of such immense import that each of the four locks had separate keys held with four different individuals, all of whom had to be present for the door to be opened.

The restored library boasts a new sewerage and underground canal system to drain away the moisture that had threatened to destroy many of its prized manuscripts – plus an elaborate lab to treat, preserve and digitise the oldest texts. The collection of advanced machinery includes digital scanners that identify minuscule holes in the ancient paper rolls, and a preservative machine which treats the manuscripts with a liquid that moistens them enough to prevent cracking.

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