At the dawn of the 

21st century, the Bibliotheca Alexandrina (BA) takes its place in the world as one of the centers of knowledge and intellect. It represents a vast enterprise, it includes libraries, museums, exhibitions, and more.

As we move on in the revival of the roles of the Ancient Library of Alexandria, we take into account the focal point it has been, where many of the fundamental rules of science were born. The ancient city's scholars contributed enormously to the advancement of mathematics, geometry, and astronomy. They also founded new areas of learning, such as grammar and trigonometry.

Scholars such as Callimachus, Eratosthenes, Hipparchus, Euclid, and Archimedes are but few of the scientists who helped build the infrastructure of science as we know today. Reaping from the knowledge available in the Ancient Library of Alexandria, they proved that the presence of a center of learning could make all the difference.

We honor this as we bring the Library's ‘BA Information for Africa (BAIFA)' to life, a continuation of the Ancient Library's role of the dissemination of knowledge. We take on the role of being a hub, creating a network of international collaborators and a source of superior resources.

BAIFA aims to advance African research by empowering researchers and research institutions through access to the world’s latest scholarly literature, top-quality research, and capacity-building resources. Through BAIFA, and in co-operation with its partners, the BA aspires to provide a plethora of resources and tools, to establish an innovative approach to professional development and to launch a platform for sharing experiences amongst peers and experts.

I am confident that you will find the BAIFA website an imperative resource, and I encourage you to explore the different sections of the website. I hope you find it useful and inspiring.

Ismail Serageldin

Founding Director Emeritus of Bibliotheca Alexandrina