Books for Baghdad Announces Second Drive
Jacksonville State University's Books for Baghdad project has announced a new drive for books, supplies, and cash donations to help rebuild the war-torn library at Baghdad University.

Safaa Al-Hamdani, JSU biology professor and founder of the project, said, "Our objective includes collecting recent editions of textbooks in math, science, medicine and technology to be sent to war ravished Iraq. Books are being accepted now and may be dropped off at JSU. We can also make arrangements to pick up large contributions. In addition, we are planning to collect computers and refurbish them. They will be sent to the Baghdad Library to be used by the students."

The project's website is www.booksforbaghdad.org/.

"Jeff Spurr from Harvard University and Dr. Anwar Diab of Baghdad University will be involved in this project," said Al-Hamdani. "Furthermore, a committee was established in western Massachusetts by a group of librarians to help in accomplishing the same objective. If all comes about as I expect it, we will have enough material to be shipped from Massachusetts to Baghdad in the near future. We should do what we can to help and I can not emphasize the tremendous need for the books and computers in Iraq."

Anyone who would like to contribute books and other gifts should contact Dr. Al-Hamdani at sah@jsu.edu or by phone at 256-782-5801. Cash contributions can be made to the JSU Foundation, 700 Pelham Road North, Jacksonville, AL 36265.

Dr. Safaa Al-Hamdani and a small group of faculty volunteers established the Books for Baghdad project in 2004 as an international humanitarian effort to help reestablish the war-torn Baghdad University library. Local volunteers were soon joined by faculty and students from throughout the U.S. Thanks in part to international media coverage, including special reports on CNN, the project far exceeded its goal of 5,000 books with a total collection of more than 11,000 textbooks and $6,500 in school supplies. Volunteers filled a standard shipping container, which departed for Baghdad on January 20, 2005.   

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