Naguib Mahfouz Private Library is open to the public for the first time
The private library of the late Egyptian writer Naguib Mahfouz, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1988, was opened to the public for the first time on Sunday after his daughter Umm Kultham donated it to the Library of Alexandria.
The donated library – according to preliminary estimates – contains about 1,500 books of various sizes and formats, in various specialties and in different languages, and varies between his novel works and books, dictionaries and encyclopedias that Mahfouz bought or received as gifts.
Among the possessions are books with his own autograph, some bearing the signatures of prominent writers and thinkers in Egypt and the world, as well as medals, former President Gamal Abdel Nasser's Medal of Merit, certificates, documents and personal photographs preserved between the folds of books, and videotapes of fictional works based on his novels. and his writings.
Director of the Library of Alexandria, Dr. Ahmad Saeed, because of his great interest and joy in Umm Kulthum's letter asking the library to hand over Mahfuz's materials, said, “I went to get them myself, accompanied by a group of people. Specialists in handling books, packing them, and transporting them, will arrive in full security and prepare them to suit their owner.” (Nobel)
He added to Asharq Al-Awsat: “I was keen to record our moments in its spacious rooms, so we had a photographer with us to record the process of acquiring the library.”
He explained: “Naguib Mahfuz's books were in his reading room and they were well preserved. What caught my attention was that he wrote his name in pencil in each book, and there are many books dedicated to him, and a large book was written. English about his works, with sketches by painter Nazli Madkor. , and with an introduction, by Muhammad Salmawi, and is considered one of the rarest books in Mahfuz's library. There is a large book in which his family collected all the telegrams received to mourn his death.
“During the exchange activities, we found about a hundred video tapes kept on the shelf in the balcony of the library, containing his films, sequences from his works, a meeting between Mahfuz and Taha Hussain and a large number of films between the folds of a book, which will be manipulated and integrated in a special way. , explaining its contents, the dates and places of capture and the names of its occupants.
The Director of the Library of Alexandria said, “The letter received by the library from Karima Naguib Mahfouz, in which she expressed her desire to donate her father's library to the Library of Alexandria, contained only 3 lines. He said: (I hope. You will be kind enough to take the books. It was characterized by simplicity, and her desire was dealt with in a suitable manner. “In her father's position.
He emphasized that they will exhibit the collection in a vision that highlights the uniqueness of Naguib Mahfouz in Arabic and international literature, and that we will create a statue of him and a film about his life. The opening ceremony will be held during a special celebration. Calling upon her respected Umm Kulthum, critics and experts in her literature.
His daughter Umm Kulthum to the Library of Alexandria, no. 57 Collections of gifted Naguib Mahfuz are included in the Library's Special Collections catalogue. , such as: jurist Abdul Razzaq al-Sanhouri, author Muhammad Hassanein Heigal, and artist Noor al-Sharif. , Sultan Qaboos bin Said, and Dr. Ahmad Zawail, Rafiq Mahfooz are among the Nobel laureates. .
For his part, Dr. Muhammad Sulaiman, Head of the Department of Cultural Relations at the Library of Alexandria, told Asharq Al-Awsad, “The Mahfuz Library is filled with many important books of the Arabic language, great poets and large encyclopedias. Books like al-Isfahani (al-Aqani) are all in older editions. It has special historical value.
All the books that fell into Sulayman's hands had notes and footnotes indicating Mahfuz's method of reading and he planned his works and prepared to write as he was told.
He added: “The books were organized and there was a National Geographic magazine along with atlases and map books. We found all his works translated into many languages, he kept them in a special section and they were kept in tightly packed boxes to ensure their safety, containing about 60 books each.
Sulaiman pointed out, “Once the books are transported, they are kept in an isolated place. The library has two rooms for this, during which the books are sterilized and the insects in them are killed. The sterilization process takes 21 days, it has a specific type of gas, and then the mechanical cleaning process begins.” To remove insect residues from each book individually, it is ready to enter the library, and registration of books begins, in preparation for the operations of classification, indexing, etc.
Sulaiman warned, “Other processes required to restore the books will preserve them and undergo chemical treatment to preserve their documents. All books will be digitized and placed in a digital asset repository to be available to researchers. Each book will be identified. It is from Naguib Mahfouz's collection and its donation information.” And its history, and the person behind the collection coming to the library, here, of course, comes the name of the late author Umm Kulthum.
In Sulaiman's words: “Books of a special and rare nature will be preserved after their digitization in compliance with certain environmental regulations that protect them from heat and humidity, and in suitable lighting that protects them.”
He added: “Researchers will read the words of dedication found in every book that reached Naguib Mahfuz, Dr. Such are the phrases that Zebail wrote to him. The purpose of studying it is to know the history of the collection and the circumstances of each dedication Naguib Mahfuz received, and we will combine all these dedications in a special (list) and explain the type of handwriting written in it. Signatures of Authors and Creators.”
For her part, Umm Kultum Karima Naguib Mahfooz, in press reports on Sunday, said that she saw the donation to the library after visiting the headquarters of the Alexandria Library and seeing how the books were handled in a professional manner. To make her father's legacy available to all its readers.
The Library of Alexandria was established at the invitation of UNESCO to renovate the old library. It was opened in October 2002. It is 10 stories high. At the time of opening there were two lakh books and two thousand five books. One hundred reading categories in addition to categories for e-books and magazines.
