World’s oldest library goes digital as it begins a new chapter

In April 2016, Digital Journal featured the library and the work being done by Canadian-Moroccan architect Aziza Chaouni, a Fez native whose firm was awarded the contract to restore the library in 2012.

Founded in the 9th century by a devout and wealthy Muslim woman, Fatima al-Fihri, she provided the funding for al-Qarawiyyin, originally a mosque. It was later expanded to include a university. Not only was al-Qarawiyyin a learning center in the Muslim world, but it also developed into a cultural center due to its influence in the Muslim world.

The restoration of the library includes a new sewage and underground canal system to drain away the moisture that had threatened to destroy some of the prized manuscripts.

The intricate design work in the architecture can be seen everywhere one looks.

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A special temperature and humidity controlled room houses the most ancient of the texts, including a ninth-century copy of the Qur’an, written in ornate Kufic script on camel skin. “The people who work here jealously guard the books,” says one of the caretakers. “You can hurt us, but you cannot hurt the books.”

The latest addition to the library is the new laboratory that will treat, preserve and digitize the 4,000 texts. The preservation and digitalizing of the manuscripts is being done in collaboration with the Institute of Computational Linguistics in Italy, known worldwide as a leader in the field of Computational Linguistics at both the national and international levels.

“The main aim is to provide means and tools both in terms of hardware and software to digitalize this cultural heritage and to make them available in an open way to the world at large,” said Vito Pirelli of the Italian institute, according to Reuters.

With the use of machinery that includes a digital scanner that can detect tiny holes in the ancient paper rolls and a preservative machine that treats the manuscripts with a liquid that moistens them enough to prevent cracking, the library has already scanned about 20 percent of the manuscripts.

When the library officially opens, it will become a living, breathing part of the city, a prospect that for Chaouni, is something to look forward to.