Lebanese turn to libraries for respite

BEIRUT－In many countries, public libraries are considered a dying relic amid the shift to digital, but they are getting a new lease of life in Lebanon.

Every Friday afternoon, Munira Khalifa takes her son Elia to a public library in the capital Beirut for a weekly storytelling event－one of the last affordable pleasures as a crashing local currency has rendered books to something of a luxury.

"We had reached a point where we couldn't find anywhere to take Elia because of the coronavirus pandemic and our difficult financial situation," Khalifa said.

She is just one of the hundreds of parents who are hitting the shelves at three public libraries in Beirut.

The libraries are managed by the nongovernmental group Assabil, which was founded in 1997 to promote free access to books and culture.

At one of the libraries in the neighborhood of Bachoura, Khalifa and her son were the first to arrive ahead of a reading.

The library offered them some relief. "It is safe, comfortable and close to home," Khalifa told Agence France-Presse. "Financially, it helps us cut on costs for transportation and new books, which have become more expensive."

Throughout the book reading, laughter abounded as a storyteller used puppets to bring the story to life.

Librarian Samar Choucair said the number of visitors had increased in the past year, largely because people cannot afford to buy new books.

This is especially the case for children's books, which are mostly produced abroad and tend to be more expensive, she said.

'Indispensable lifeline'

"We keep hearing from parents that this is the spot they choose to take their children… in light of the economic crisis," Choucair said.

Sluggish internet speeds and the absence of credit cards have also hindered the uptake of digital books in Lebanon, where banks have locked people out of their accounts, AFP reported.

Lana Halabi, who runs a family-owned bookshop in Beirut's Tariq al-Jadideh neighborhood, said all new books were priced in dollars and therefore hit by the fluctuating exchange rate.

But in a public library in the Geitawi neighborhood, demand is on the rise, prompting management to add 300 new books to their collection in the past two months, said librarian Josiane Badra.

"Books have become very expensive and people can't afford them … especially novels that are in great demand in the region, whether in French or Arabic," she said.

For literature student Aline Daou, the Geitawi public library is an indispensable lifeline.

Ali Sabbagh of Assabil said public libraries offered people "breathing room", but they were beset by challenges. "We run these libraries in partnership with the Beirut municipality which used to front around 80 percent of operating costs in Lebanese pounds," he said.

Agencies Via Xinhua