When the Saddam regime was toppled in 2003, the Iraq National Library and Archive in Baghdad was set alight and looted. Much damage was done, in particular to the library’s archive collections.
In early December 2006, after consulting the heads of his departments, Dr Eskander, the Director of the Iraq National Library and Archive re-opened the Library and Archive even though the security situation remained as bad as before.
The British Library has posted the diary of Saad Eskander, noting that it "describes the perilous and tragic situation that the Iraq National Library and Archive is operating under and which led to the institution's temporary closure" at the end of November. Eskander's concerns are simply security and survival; what most other librarians consider first-order challenges are, in Iraq, much lower priorities.
In early December 2006, after consulting the heads of his departments, Dr Eskander, the Director of the Iraq National Library and Archive re-opened the Library and Archive even though the security situation remained as bad as before.
The British Library has posted the diary of Saad Eskander, noting that it "describes the perilous and tragic situation that the Iraq National Library and Archive is operating under and which led to the institution's temporary closure" at the end of November. Eskander's concerns are simply security and survival; what most other librarians consider first-order challenges are, in Iraq, much lower priorities.
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