King Mohammed dedicates Tetuan library

Morocco's King Mohammed VI dedicated on Wednesday in Tetuan ( northern city) the general library and archives center after it was revamped.

After the king unveiled the commemorative plate, he visited the cultural institution various pavilions and signed the guest book before donating the library a package of books. The library comprises some 50,000 works in Arabic and other languages and 2,500 old manuscripts and reference works.

Founded in 1939, the library is one of the most important cultural institutions of northern Morocco. It was renovated and restored under a convention signed between Morocco and Spain in February 1999.

Culture and communication minister, Mohamed Achaari, gave the sovereign a manuscript on Beia (allegiance) paid by the inhabitants of Fez to Sultan Moulay Abdelhafid (1908-1912).

The library and archives center is a 6-storey building, extending over 2,000 square meters.

Restoration works concerned the refurbishing of the building itself, of the reading room, the outer walls and the major entrance, the repairing of the water and electricity-supply network, in addition to building a conference hall. New equipment were also purchased, including an air-conditioning system, anti-fire electronic devices, camera control, anti-theft system, internal phone and computer networks, lifts for old and handicapped people and manuscripts restoration labs.