Mosul library

The Mosul Library is a public library located in the city of Mosul, north of Iraq. In particular, it houses rare and ancient works, including testimonies of the invention of writing – this region^[1] being considered as the Cradle of Civilization; or even for some the Cradle of humanity^[2] (as indicated in the writings compiled for the elaboration of the Bible,^[3] then from the Quran).^[4][5][6]

Mosul library
مكتبة الموصل
The Mosul library in 2016 before its destruction.
36°20′51″N 43°9′3″E
Location	Iraq
Type	library
Established	1921
Collection
Items collected	15,000

Many have been destroyed since 2015 by the action of the members of the Islamic State terrorist organization.

Collection

Its collection includes centuries-old works such as manuscripts from the c. 18th century, Syrian texts from the c. 19th century, and ancient objects,^[7] some dating back to 5000 BCE.^[8]

Since the intentional destruction of thousands of structures in 2015, the inventory of the remaining structures is no longer guaranteed and needs to be updated.

History

The library was founded in 1921.^[9]

In 2003, the library was looted during the country's occupation by the United States military.^[10]

On February 22, 2015, during a period when the city of Mosul was controlled by the terrorist organization Daesh for several weeks, improvised explosive device were placed in the library. Due to this attack, fire destroyed about 8,000 old books.^[7] This destruction of works was part of a wider regional context, which also saw the destruction of churches, the burning of the university's library and theatre in January^[7], and on February 26 (a few days after the fire of the library), the destruction of pieces within the Mosul Museum.^[11]

Alerts regarding these Auto-da-fés were issued as early as January 2015; in early February, through, Irina Bokova - Director-General of the UNESCO - stated that "if confirmed, it would be one of the largest intentional destructions of works in human history".^[12]

In the end, only 15000 books out of a million documents could be saved from destruction.^[9]

The library was rebuilt with the help of the UNDP, and reopened in 2022. Many donations of books were made globally, to re-stock its shelves.^[9]