In Egypt First, at the Biblioteca Alexandrina, in Alexandria, Ann Okerson,
Yale Library's AUL for Collection Development, participated in a digital
brainstorming session at the library and toured the library's impressive
facilities. Ann met with Dr. Ismail Serageldin, Chairman and CEO and
Dr. Noha Adly, IT Director. Travel arrangements were expertly handled
by Ms. Alyaa Ali, Head of Travel Unit. |
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![]() Bibliotheca Alexandria |
![]() Digitization facility at the Bibliotheca Alexandria |
Then, at the National Archives & Library of Egypt, in Cairo, Ann and
Simon Samoeil, Yale's Near East Curator, met with Professor Ahmed
Morsi, Chairman, Professor Mohammed Ghandour, Librarian, and Ms. Howayda
Kamel, Cultural Affairs Supervisor. They discussed the plans for the
migration of the card cataglog at the National Library to an online
format and the participation of the National Libary in the OACIS project.
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![]() National Archives & Library of Egypt, in Cairo |
![]() Mr. Simon Samoeil, Dr. Salah, Ms. Ann Okerson, Dr. Ahmad Mursi, Mr. George Fawzi, Ms. Dina Nassif. |
In Syria Ann and Simon visited the Assad Library, in Damascus, and met with Professor Ali Aydi,
General Director, Assad Library and members of the library staff in the hopes of the Assad Library participating in the
OACIS project. Ann and Simon also had the opportunity to visit with Professor Hani Murtada, Minister of Higher Education, in Damascus. |
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In Lebanon First, at the Université de Balamand, in Tripoli, Mrs. Sameera Bashir, University Librarian and Ms. Randa Al-Chidiac, Systems Librarian, welcomed Ann and Simon to the library
where they discussed Balamand's participation in the OACIS project. Prof. Dr. Georges Nahas, Vice President, contributed
very useful recommendations for potential participants in France and the UK. Next, at the American University of Beirut, Ann and Simon met with Dr. Helen Bikhazi, University Librarian and
Ms. Fatme Charafeddine, Serials Librarian. They discussed the many and varied aspects of participating in OACIS. |
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Some of the sights along the way |
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![]() Transportation options |
![]() Taking a short break |