For many in the business, a university is a library, while the library (in all its successive transformations) is the common denominator of all university-type institutions. Thus, most histories of the university as an institution like to start with the Alexandrian Library built by Ptolemy I in 306bc. In an interesting sign of the times, the Director of the Library and Ptolemy’s modern successor, Ismail Serageldin, stresses not only its historical commitment to academic freedom (“the ancient library was about openness of knowledge, no taboos, questioning everything”) but also its contribution to its contemporary community. In the words of a recent profi le:

He has helped establish the library as a learning complex, with a planetarium, art exhibitions, a children’s learning center, a virtual reality chamber, and a museum chronicling the life of Anwar Sadat, the assassinated president. The library also operates as a cultural bully pulpit for Mr. Serageldin and like-minded scholars and regional leaders.