New Braille-Accessible Public Library Opens in Maadi
Noon El-Sahar 2 provides Braille-supported resources, including selected titles published by the Ministry of Culture.
A new public library in Cairo’s Zahraa El-Maadi has opened with a dedicated section for blind and visually impaired readers. The facility, named 'Noon El-Sahar 2', was inaugurated on Sunday, 4th of January, by Egypt’s Minister of Culture, Ahmed Fouad Hanno, with the opening coinciding with World Braille Day.
Designed to function as an open public space, with a focus on serving children and young people, the library stocks Braille-supported resources, including selected titles published by the Ministry of Culture. Spanning 620 square metres, the library houses approximately 11,000 books across various subjects in total. In addition to its main reading hall, it contains a cultural salon, separate training and activity rooms, and a computer lab intended for educational programmes.
This branch represents an expansion of the Noon El-Sahar library project, following what organisers described as sustained public use of the original location in Nasr City. The Zahraa El-Maadi site was developed through a partnership between the Ministry of Culture, Cairo Governorate, the Maxim Charity for Development and Services, and the National Roads Company.
The launch follows presidential directives to expand Egypt’s public library network. Noon El-Sahar 2 will operate under the technical supervision of Misr Public Library and received support from several state cultural bodies, including the General Egyptian Book Organisation and the National Centre for Translation.
