The Bibliotheca Alexandrina is hosting the World Digital Library (WDL) Annual Meeting on 5–6 November 2015, and the4thInternational Summit of the Bookon 6–7 November 2015 at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Alexandria, Egypt. The “International Summit of the Book” is a Library of Congress initiative. The inaugural Summit took place in Washington D.C. on 6–7 December 2012. Every year, the Summit is held in a city that has a global cultural impact—namely Washington, Singapore, and Paris in the years 2012, 2013, and 2014 respectively. This important cultural event will be held for the first time in Africa and the Arab world under the theme “Books, Reading, and Technology”. International eminent figures, intellectuals, and library professionals will participate in this event.

The Summit will discuss key issues on technology and manuscripts, including the role of translation in the preservation and transmission of culture, and books as an important tool in cultural exchange. The Summit will also discuss the development of books into electronic formats and its impact on reading; the challenges facing books and the publishing industry, particularly in Africa and the Arab world; and the role of books and reading in societies.