Faculty of Arts at Assiut University Opens Its Doors to the Excellence Committee: Its Library Under the Microscope in the Race for Best University Library
Written by: Dr. Hind Hassanein
Under the patronage of Dr. Ahmed El-Menshawy, University President, Dr. Gamal Badr, Vice President for Graduate Studies and Research, and Dr. Magdy Alwan, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, the Faculty of Arts at Assiut University today, Sunday, welcomed the committee for selecting the best library at the university level. This is part of Assiut University's initiative to encourage positive competition among its faculties and to motivate them to develop library services and enhance the efficiency of their infrastructure.
The visiting delegation included Dr. Abeer El-Taweel, Director of the Digital Library Project, Dr. Hagar Mahrous, General Director of Public Libraries in Assiut, Ms. Hanan Noshy, Acting Director of University Library Administration, and Mr. Hossam Omar, Director of Cultural Agreements and Conferences at the university. They were received by Prof. Dr. Sameh Fikry, Vice Dean for Graduate Studies and Research, Dr. Hind Hassanein, the faculty's media coordinator, and Mr. Ezz El-Mansouri, Secretary of the Faculty, along with several faculty members and the library management team.
The committee members conducted an inspection tour inside the college libraries, during which they reviewed the specialized department libraries and the general library, including the textbooks section, the reference section, and the periodicals section, as well as the modern digital services provided by the library. For his part, Professor Dr. Magdy Alwan, Dean of the College, expressed his pride in what the Faculty of Arts Library has accomplished in recent years, both in terms of expanding its collections and developing its infrastructure according to the highest standards. The college aims to achieve a comprehensive research and educational experience for students and faculty members, constantly striving to transform the library into an intelligent space that keeps pace with the digital transformation in higher education. For his part, Dr. Sameh Fikry, Vice Dean of the College, pointed out that development was not limited to the physical aspect alone but also included training the human resources working in the library and activating mechanisms for communicating with students to receive their suggestions and complaints. Open days were also designated to introduce students to the available resources and ways to benefit from them, which directly contributed to increasing usage rates by more than 40% during the past year.
The members of the evaluation committee confirmed the high quality of the services provided, praising the internal organization, the diversity of collections, the ease of access to resources, and the spirit of initiative that was evident in the library staff. It is worth noting that the Best Library initiative is part of Assiut University's strategic plan to support the knowledge infrastructure in its faculties and to promote a culture of reading and scientific research among members of the university community.
