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Our History
January 1997: Some friends gather
informally to discuss the idea of opening a free public library.
July 1998: The first municipal
elections are held in Beirut since 1972.
August 1998: ASSABIL contacts the
new Municipal Council for the city of Beirut.
8 January 1999: ASSABIL obtains
legal recognition. “The ASSABIL Association, Friends
of Public Libraries” is born.
5 December 1999: ASSABIL organizes
a conference on libraries and information services that is
attended by 200 participants from 30 different associations.
The idea of establishing public libraries in Lebanon is adopted.
The ASSABIL network is created.
24 January 2000: ASSABIL signs
an agreement with the Municipality of Beirut to establish
Beirut’s first Municipal Public Library.
October 2000: The French Cultural
Mission offers ASSABIL a stand at the annual French Book Fair.
For the next five years, ASSABIL and its network of public
libraries participate in the French Book Fair to promote libraries.
We also participate in the annual Arabic Book Fair.
27 November 2000: The official
opening of Beirut’s first Municipal Public Library in
Bachoura, on the third floor of the Ambulance Building.
21 February 2001: The Municipal
Public Library opens its doors to the public.
April 2001: On the occasion of
International Reading Week, more than 1,000 students visit
the Beirut Library and experience a public library for the
first time.
August 2001: Dr. Boghdana Hajjar,
a member of ABL (Association of Lebanese Libraries) conducts
a training session for 25 participants.
September 2001: ASSABIL participates
in a pan-African and pan-Arab conference on libraries in Rabat
organized by IFLA, UNESCO, and ESI in Morocco.
October-November 2001: Najla Khoury,
Joumana Behlok, Mona Abboud, and Nawal Traboulsi conduct 10
training sessions on classification techniques and how to
organize activities around books for 20 participants.
November 2001: ASSABIL participates
in the French and Arabic Book Fairs.
January 2002: Dr. Chaaban ben Khalifa,
president of ABE (Association of Egyptian Libraries) conducts
a training session on how to use the Arabic thesaurus.
February 2002: ASSABIL hosts a
“Festival of Words and Music” on the occasion
of its first anniversary.
February 2002: Mrs. Linda De Vos,
ABA (Association of German Libraries) conducts a training
session on how to conduct activities about books, especially
focused on young children, for 20 participants.
April 2002: ASSABIL participates
in a training session organized by the French association
Adiflor (a book bank) and the BPI (Public Library of Information
at the Pompidou Center) in Paris that included representatives
from Hungary, Lebanon, Vietnam, South Africa, and Senegal.
April 2002: On the occasion of
International Reading Week, ASSABIL works with schools to
organize a number of activities to commemorate Lebanese authors.
May 2002: ASSABIL organizes a week-long
seminar on working in public libraries in cooperation with
COBIAC. Two professional trainers with expertise in this field
(Ms. Carole Boneau and Ms. Mali Levreau) from ABF-PACA (Association
of French Libraries in the Provence-Alpes Côte d’Azur
region) conducted the seminar.
August 2002: Two members of Assabil
organize a training session for those who work in libraries
(21 participants).
September 2002: ASSABIL participates
in the AFLI (Arab Federation for Libraries and Information)
conference in Beirut.
September 2002: ADIFLOR and BIBLIONEF
donate 40,000 French books to ASSABIL that arranges for their
distribution to libraries and public schools.
October-November 2002: ASSABIL participates
in the French and Arabic Book Fairs.
February 2003-February 2004: With
the generous financial support of AMIDEAST, ASSABIL organizes
activities on human rights, the rights of children, women’s
rights, and the environment. Six individuals conducted 134
activities at 16 libraries in Lebanon. 4,700 people attended
these sessions, one-third of which took place in Beirut. More
than 3,400 books on these topics and a subscription to the
journal “al-bia wal tanmiya” (“The Environment
and Development”) were distributed to participating
libraries.
April 2003: Two librarians (Nidaa
Ghazal from the Municipal Public Library in Saida and Clarisse
Chebli from the Municipal Public Library in Bachoura) received
professional training in Marseille. Funding was provided by
COBIAC and ASSABIL.
April 2003: On the occasion of
International Reading Week, ASSABIL organizes “the path
of the book”—an activity designed to allow schoolchildren
to follow the path of a book from the writer to the shelves
of the public library by way of the editor, graphic designer,
printer, and the bookseller.
3 September 2003: ASSABIL signs
an agreement with the Governor of Beirut to establish a second
public library in Beirut in the Jesuit Garden in Rmeyl-Geitawi.
September 2003: The Goethe Institute
sponsors a visit by a German librarian who works in the children’s
section of an international library in Berlin. She gives a
seminar for young editors, illustrators, librarians, and writers
and makes a donation of 100 books for young people. (50 participants.)
October 2003: ASSABIL participates
in the French and Arabic Book Fairs.
2004: Two large Arabic publishers—Dar
Nahar and Dar Ryad Rayyes—donate 7,200 Arabic books
to 24 libraries in the ASSABIL network. ASSABIL also receives
donations of English books from Rotary International and the
US Embassy in Beirut.
April 2004: For International Reading
Week, local and international participants (writers, illustrators,
editors, storytellers) took part in activities organized for
people of all ages. Invited by the French Cultural Mission,
Marc Roger (a French storyteller who has been walking around
the world) visited the Bachoura Library and took part in activities
for public school children. Alberto Manguel, a distinguished
writer who is currently living in France and is particularly
well known for his book, A History of Reading, met with book
clubs and the general public at the Bachoura Library.
September 2004: Two librarians,
Reine-Marie Richani from the Municipal Public Library in Hammana
and Soha Shamseddine from the Municipal Public Library in
Joun travel to Marseille for professional training. Funding
was provided by COBIAC and ASSABIL.
October 2004: For the fifth year,
ASSABIL participates in the French and Arabic Book Fairs.
November 2004: ASSABIL opens the
second Municipal Public Library in Beirut in the Jesuit Garden
in Rmeyl-Geitawi.
22 November 2004: ASSABIL hosts
a special training session focused on the network of ASSABIL
libraries. Member libraries sign a protocol and discuss the
need for a common set of internal regulations and a document
spelling out the rights and responsibilities of volunteers.
(27 participants.)
18 December 2004: Dr. Najla Bachour
conducts a seminar on “Incorporating Fiction in the
School Curriculum” for teachers and the libraries in
the network. (27 participants.)
19 December 2004: Aline Hazarabedian
and Clarisse Chebli conduct a training session on classification
techniques. (27 participants.)
January 2005: Firas Al-Khateeb
conducts a training session focused on technology. UNESCO
sponsored the session. (10 participants.)
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