La Bibliothèque Nationale du Royaume du Maroc

Although I have been doing a lot of eating since my arrival, I've also had a chance to find out a little about the library situation in Morocco. The new king, Mohammad VI, is a strong proponent of libraries; these are the institutions that support knowledge, after all. The proof? A new national library has just been constructed in Rabat. The tall tower with blue decorations at the top is visible from this 4th floor apartment building in the Agdal neighborhood.

As it stands, the National Library of the Kingdom of Morocco is one of four Moroccan OCLC member libraries whose holdings appear in WorldCat. The other OCLC member libraries are at the Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane, at the Ecole des Sciences de l'Information where I'll be teaching in Rabat, and at the Foundation Al-Saoud in Casablanca. The grand opening of the new Rabat library facility is in the near future, and I hope very much to be able to attend.