Walking through the front door of Kabul University Library the visitor arrives at three display cases containing books which were partially destroyed during the various wars that occurred between 1979 and 2001. Torn, with bullet holes and charred edges, they pose a stark reminder of the conflicts.

Founded in 1963, University of Kabul Library had over 1,000,000 books, research papers and photos before the wars. However, in 1992 fighting in Kabul spread into the university grounds. The library was almost destroyed and most of its books were lost. Since that time the building has been reconstructed and a new wing added.

The Goethe-Institut has launched a programme for training library personnel as its current staff members are mostly drawn from other disciplines and have never received training in library and information science. The library has also recently received numerous donations of books from foreign agencies and from Afghans who collected books from the ruins after the fighting. The American Center has also donated its collection to the library.

The resource section of the library now carries encyclopaedias on a wide variety of subjects and the shelves feature such questionable treasures as bound copies of Vanity Fair from 1915, the Human Rights Yearbook in French and English from 1947, and the Wonderland of Knowledge and Pageant of America from 1927. Perhaps an antique book auction would help raise funds for the University.

Upstairs is a large reading area with natural light from one wall of windows. There are display shelves for magazines and a collection of some of the best-known magazines from around the world - from the 1960s, 70s and 80s. The Smithsonian, Newsweek from 1966, and Time from 20 June 1988 with a cover story ‘The Spectre of Stalin’. Only a small donation would supply the library and the students with current newspapers, magazines and other relevant materials.

The Afghan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU) assisted the University Library in the cataloguing of its Dari and Pashtu collections, but help is still needed for the foreign language sections. Some donations of books in foreign languages (especially in English) have been heartwarming, but in interviews with the University’s Fine Arts and Archaeology Faculties it is clear that the real need is for copies of research papers or specialised books in Dari and Pashtu or books in Farsi from Iran. The English Department of Kabul University was teaching literature without texts, a rather daunting task. CfBT (the Council for British Teachers) was asked to assist the Department and also set up a resource centre. This resource centre would be first and foremost for the use of the English Department, then made available for other students and finally be open to outside users. The assistance of the British Embassy in preparing the room and supplying books was requested. The British Council joined in and the project became bigger. It was refurbished in March 2003 and was ready to open except for the small detail of having no books. Boxes of books from the British Council in Pakistan were sent to the Education Ministry, who upon receiving this gift out of the blue started distributing them. The University has collected most of this donation from the other institutions.