Identity area
Identifier
Authorized form of name
Parallel form(s) of name
Other form(s) of name
Type
- Private
Contact area
Type
Address
Street address
Locality
Region
Country name
Postal code
Telephone
Fax
URL
Note
Description area
History
The exceptional story of the library involves the passionate mission of Fahmi al-Ansari who started collecting books at the age of 16 for the general use of the public.
Geographical and cultural context
The collection was gathered mainly around the theme of the History of Jerusalem, which al-Ansari collects passionately even at the age of 75, without using the internet and while having no visible space in the library. In addition to books Fahmi collects and preserves newspapers from all over the region. They are piled up to the ceiling of the basement.
The library contains today 35,000 books, magazines and newspapers as well as 30 microfilm reels. The number of books and publications in the library is around 30,000. Most of the books deal with literary and religious subjects, with relatively few books covering scientific topics. The number of newspaper titles is approximately 100, while there are hundreds of titles of local, Arab and world magazines. Some of the magazines go back to the 1930s, although the number of complete sets is limited. The importance of the library stems from the lack of public libraries for Arabs in the city.
There are microfilms of some manuscripts from other collections. The printed books deal with Islamic religion, Arabic literature and language, Islamic history and a small number of social topics. There are scattered issues of newspapers from the 1950s, with complete sets of newspapers (especially local ones) from 1967 onwards.
Mandates/Sources of authority
Administrative structure
Records management and collecting policies
Buildings
Holdings
Finding aids, guides and publications
There is a card catalogue (only for the magazines).
Access area
Opening times
Saturday – Friday, 08:00 - 15:00
Access conditions and requirements
Accessibility
Services area
Research services
Reproduction services
Public areas
Control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation, revision and deletion
Entry prepared on November 2018.
Language(s)
Script(s)
Sources
https://www.palestine-studies.org/sites/default/files/jq-articles/1_maqdas_1.pdf
Jerusalem historical libraries and archives revisited, Revised report prepared for Open Jerusalem, October 2014, Merav Mack
Maintenance notes
Author : Open Jerusalem http://www.openjerusalem.org/