The BA Receives the Collection of the Royal Tropical Institute, the Netherlands
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Dr. Ismail Serageldin; Director of the Library of Alexandria, and Dr. Derk Vermeer; President of the Royal Tropical Institute— Koninklijk Instituut voor de Tropen (KIT) in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, have signed on Thursday, 31 October 2013, a Memorandum of Understanding between the two institutions by the which majority of the KIT library collection, almost 400,000 books and 20,000 journals, will be reallocated at the BA.
The collection covers different fields, and it is especially important because it is Europe's largest library pertaining to development issues. Most of the collection is in English, and some in German, French and other languages. The Dutch Government have decided to keep all material written in Dutch language. KIT has also agreed to make available to the BA the digital files of relevance including the electronic catalogue of the materials concerned.
The BA has obliged itself to protect this library collection and keep it publicly accessible. It will make special efforts to bring it to the attention of other institutions and interested parties, including Egyptian and regional universities, academies, and research institutions.
Dutch media and cultural circles have greatly commended the BA for this move as a center for learning, tolerance, dialogue and understanding.