European, Middle East Experts Talk Libraries in War Zones

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By Olivia Snaije

This week, April 28-30, the European Association of Middle East Librarians (MELCOM) will hold their annual conference this year in the spectacular city of Constantine, Algeria, which overlooks the gorges above the Rhumel River. MELCOM encourages cooperation between European and world institutions concerned with all aspects of Middle East librarianship, book collecting, the book trade and publishing. Similar to the US-based Middle East Librarians Association (MELA), MELCOM’s membership, however, is international, and board members include librarians from the Bavarian State Library in Munich, the School of Oriental and African studies at the University of London, the library of the French National Institute of Oriental Languages and Civilizations or the Leiden University Library in the Netherlands. Previous annual meetings have been held in Turkey, Russia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Egypt.