Dear SBL members,

I would like to ask for your help in donating materials for the library at the University of Babylon in Iraq. As many of you know, the rebuilding efforts in Iraq also include the country's systems of higher education, an effort that is under the supervision of the USAID. My university is part of a consortium of Oklahoma universities that received a USAID grant for this purpose last year for a project called "al-Sharaka" ("the partnership"). One sub-project of this effort focuses on replacing the main library of the University of Babylon, which was completely destroyed in the looting last spring. This library in particular suffered some of the worst looting; no university library in Iraq is in worse shape.

My budget includes $5000 for transport of books and other research materials, in addition to some limited funds for the purchase of books and journals. Most of these materials, however, will need to be donated. I am asking SBL members to contribute to the rebuilding of the university's library by donating publications, extra copies of journals and monographs, personal offprints, electronic sources, etc. We are looking for anything on history, archaeology and religion in the region in any Middle Eastern or Western language. All shipping expenses to ship materials to Iraq will be paid for by the grant.

Please send all materials to:

Dr. Tom Owens, Project Director

Al Sharaka Project — University of Oklahoma

1700 Asp Ave.

Norman, OK 73072

For more information on the University's library and the al-Sharaka project, please visit:

http://www.cameron.edu/~abbasj/alsharaka/aboutus.html



or e-mail Bethany Walker at

bethanw@okstate.edu (before Aug. 20)

walkerb@gvsu.edu (from Aug. 20 on)

Citation: , " University of Babylon Library," SBL Forum , n.p. [cited July 2004]. Online:http://sbl-site.org/Article.aspx?ArticleID=295