For two years, the library of the Cultural Center in Idlib governorate has been out of service, after it was targeted by a concussion missile that destroyed a massive part of the library, costing the center its cultural storage of books, manuscripts and valuable sources, amidst action to reactivate it and place it at the service of the readers, students and those seeking knowledge.
“Share Your Book with Us” is one in a series of campaigns, which in total seek to reignite the cultural aspect in a city, where militarization and politics were the only hues that it knew for years. Thus, eyes were all on the Cultural Center in Idlib, the largest and, relatively, only source in the area in the past years.
The event, led by “Violet” Organization, was launched on December 18, while scheduled for a whole month, during which books are to be donated to the Cultural Center by individuals and publishing houses, inside and outside Syria, according to Ibrahim Sarmini, the Protection Team Coordinator of the organization.
The Organization has designated four places in Northern Syria, for donors to leave their books, within “Violate’s” emergency branches in Azaz, northern Aleppo, Maarrat al-Nu’man, southern Idlib, Armanaz, northern Idlib, in addition to Idlib’s city center, Sarmini told Enab Baladi.
The Organization has also designated two locations for the donation of books in Turkey, one in Istanbul and another in Antakya.
In general, the event aims to reactivate the library of the Cultural Center after it was destroyed by the Syrian regime’s aerial shelling which targeted the area in 2016, in a manner that supports university students in Idlib, 14 thousand students, in addition to providing researchers and avid readers with needed books and sources.
The Protection Team’s Coordinator at “Violet” Organization pointed out that people interacted very well with the campaign in its first days, for many individuals and publishing houses donated several books, some of which are literary, in addition to novels, scientific books and sources, pointing out that the number of the donated books will be announced at the end of the campaign.
In addition to the renovation and reopening of the Cultural Center’s library, efforts are being done to create an electronic library, to supplement the paper books, with the task of allowing beneficiaries an access to different books through the internet.
The supplementary library contains a data base of the paper books in the Cultural Center, which also would be helpful to readers.
Lately, action has been focusing on activating the cultural dimension of Idlib city through the renovation of the Cultural Center and its stage, in addition to the opening of the National Museum in the city Last August, after it was closed due to the military operations in the area, and it turned into a target for looting, thefts and vandalism.