In 1999, Beirut was named "The Cultural capital of the Arab world”. His excellency the Minister of Culture, Mr Mohamad Youssef Beydoun, seized the occasion and asked a number of sponsors to organize an exhibition entitled: "The National Archives. A Collective Memory".
A catalogue was published, presenting some rare valuable collections from the heritage of the National Library. Simultaneously, a documentary was produced chronicling the tragic state of this national treasure. Thus, the exhibition and especially the documentary film, produced a strong reaction among the national authorities, energizing the project of the rehabilitation of the National Library, which was announced soon after.
The Ministry of Culture drew a roadmap for the rebirth of the National Library.
The most significant of these steps included:
- Providing temporary buildings
- The recruitment and training of a qualified staff
- The physical treatment of the documents and manuscripts
- Indexing, compiling, and archiving documents and manuscripts and their content
- The installation of laboratories for the restoration efforts
- Amendments to the regulations concerning ISBN registration
- The issuance of a law for the National Library
- Defining policies for expanding collections and for developmental cooperation
With the creation of the project for the rehabilitation of the National Library, many - and massive - tasks were programmed and placed upon the Ministry of Culture.
"The Lebanese Foundation for the National Library” was established on the 27th of March 2000, by a Council of Ministers' decision ref 37/AD, to take the burden of the more specialized tasks from the Ministry, such as taking charge of communications within the project for the National Library, and raising the required funding and the technical resources needed for the execution and achievement of this important cultural and national project.
In the same year, the European Union stepped in as a supporter and a donor to the project for the rehabilitation of the National Library, which offered a new hope for the salvation and restoration of the remaining rare collections and valuable manuscripts. The Foundation co-signed the agreement concluded between the European Union and the Ministry of Culture.
In order to meet its obligations toward the European Union, the Lebanese Foundation for the National Library, with the support of his excellency the Minister of Culture Mr. Ghassan Salameh, leased in 2002, on a temporary basis, a 3.000 m² location, in the Free Zone of the Port of Beirut. This space, along with the administration and the staff, provided the ideal conditions for performing the needed technical tasks, restoring thousands of volumes, and preserving the national heritage. Under the supervision of experts from Lyon, France, the manuscripts and books underwent an extensive process of cleansing.
A restoration workshop was created on the premises, thanks to his excellency the Prime Minister Mr. Saad Hariri who financed and covered all the expenses. The damaged collections were treated in the laboratories and the restoration workshops.
The Ministry recruited and trained a team for the archiving and cataloguing of the books and manuscripts, under its administrative and financial supervision.
Since the launch of the rehabilitation project, The Lebanese Foundation for the National Library has covered the entirety of the costs of the temporary site at the Port of Beirut, in order to allow its good functioning: from rent, to insurance policies, to various bills relating to maintenance and services. The Foundation has also taken it upon to itself to maintain constant communication with the teams in the workshops and the labs, following up on their needs and tasks, in order to guarantee improving work conditions.
Between the years 2000 and 2010, two major events occurred: the building of the Lebanese University’s College of Law in Sanayeh, with its distinctive ottoman architecture, was chosen in 2000 as the final site for the National Library, and, in 2005, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Emir of Qatar, donated 25 million US dollars to the Lebanese state, financing the project of improvement and renovation works planned for the location in Sanayeh.
Meanwhile, the Foundation continued its mission with determination and purpose, organizing cultural events and activities in order to increase awareness and mobilize the public opinion to contribute and aid in funding the project of rehabilitation, including a musical concert and exhibitions, such as “Pinceaux pour Plumes” and “Hundred Years of Journalism in Lebanon: 1858-1958”.
Early in 2010, the Qatari government contracted the ERGA Engineering Company to execute the project of Sanayeh. On the 28th of December 2010, the Lebanese Foundation for the National Library organized the foundation stone ceremony, which was held in the presence of Qatar’s Emir’s wife, Sheikha Moza, launching the reconstruction works. The renovation project was completed in 2017.
The Foundation’s ultimate ambition is to see the project of the National Library, in Sanayeh, become a reality. From this vantage point, the Foundation appeals to cultural associations, commercial enterprises and other organizations, as well as to citizens and persons interested in books and culture, and equally concerned with the national legacy. The objective is clear: to preserve the cultural intellectual treasure of Lebanon, so that the country can have a history to stand upon, reaching out for a prosperous and hopeful future.
"The Lebanese National Library” will remain" National”, available to everyone with no exceptions.