In many countries, public libraries are considered a dying relic amid the shift to digital, but in Lebanon they are getting a new lease of life as its economy flatlines.
Every Friday afternoon, Munira Khalifa takes her son Elia to a public library in Beirut for a weekly storytelling event -- one of the last affordable pleasures as a crashing local currency has rendered books something of a luxury.
The libraries are managed by the Assabil non-governmental group, which was founded in 1997 to promote free access to books and culture. "Financially, it helps us cut on costs for transportation and new books, which have become more expensive," she told AFP.Librarian Samar Choucair said the number of visitors at the facility had increased in the past year, largely since people cannot afford to buy new books.
Lebanon is facing a financial crisis that the World Bank says is of a scale usually associated with wars, with more than 80 percent of the population living in poverty.The local currency has shed more than 90 percent of its value against the dollar on the black market, causing skyrocketing inflation.
Lana Halabi, who runs a family-owned bookshop in Beirut's Tariq al-Jadideh neighbourhood, said all new books were priced in dollars and therefore hit by the fluctuating exchange rate."This has reflected negatively on us and other publishing houses," she added, pointing to a drop in orders at the Halabi bookshop.
"I prefer to borrow novels from here," she added, explaining that it helps her set aside money to buy books not carried by public libraries.Ali Sabbagh of the Assabil organisation said public libraries offered people "breathing room", but they were beset by challenges.
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