al-Qarawiyyin Library Set to Reopen Once Dust Settles from Renovations

The library of the al-Qarawiyyin University in Fez will reopen for public use after the completion of major renovations led by Canadian-Moroccan architect Aziza Chaouni. After receiving a grant for the project from Kuwait’s Arab Bank, the Moroccan Ministry of Culture asked Chaouni to rehabilitate the library in order to safeguard its contents and make it suitable for public use. Chaouni was approached in 2012 to begin work on the renovations. In a field mainly dominated by men, she was surprised and pleased to receive the call; after all, the al-Qarawiyyin is the oldest library in the world, and this would be a huge and indescribably important undertaking. Four years later, the renovations are almost complete, and King Mohammed VI is hoping to cut the ribbon on the reopening in May 2016.