Update on Libraries in Iraq

Martin writes:

“A colleague who is attending the World Library and Information Congress (formerly known as IFLA) in Berlin, sent a note about a report by a French scholar attached to USESCO on the state of libraries in Iraq after the war. He describes the damage to the major repositories in Baghdad, Basra and Mosul, concluding that while there was extensive damage to buildings and many book collections were destroyed, the majority of the precious manuscripts have been preserved. The full report can be found at IFLA’s website.[.pdf]