Public Access to Beirut Arab University (BAU) Libraries

BAU Library Facilities and Campuses

Beirut Arab University (BAU) maintains library facilities across its main campus in Beirut and its branch campuses. BAU’s four campuses – Beirut, Debbieh, Tripoli, and Bekaa – each host library collections to support their academic programs library.ifla.org. The main Beirut campus library is the largest, while branch libraries (e.g. in Debbieh, Tripoli, etc.) serve local faculty and students. These libraries hold a range of books, academic journals, theses, and multimedia relevant to the university’s curricula library.ifla.org. BAU recognizes libraries as vital assets for both its university community and the broader public, and it has policies to facilitate access for external users as part of its community engagement efforts.

On-Campus Access for External Visitors

Members of the general public (non-students and non-staff) are permitted to physically access and use BAU’s library resources on-site, under certain conditions. BAU offers a visitor membership program (sometimes referred to as a “Library Visitors” subscription) that allows outside users to enter the libraries and consult materials within the library premises. Interested visitors must obtain a library visitor card/pass by registering and paying a non-refundable subscription fee. According to BAU’s guidelines, the available visitor subscription options and fees (in Lebanese Lira, L.L.) are as follows bau.edu.lbbau.edu.lb:

• One-day pass: 5,000 L.L. (allows single-day access to the library) bau.edu.lb
• One-week pass: 15,000 L.L. (access for one week) bau.edu.lb
• One-month subscription: 25,000 L.L. bau.edu.lb
• Three-month subscription: 50,000 L.L. bau.edu.lb
• Six-month subscription: 75,000 L.L. bau.edu.lb
• One-year subscription: 100,000 L.L. bau.edu.lb

These passes grant visitors the right to use BAU library collections and services on-site (reading books, consulting periodicals, using reference materials, etc.) during the library’s working hours. It’s important to note that access is library-use only – visitors can study and photocopy materials inside the library, but typically cannot borrow books to take home. BAU explicitly states that certain specialized collections (for example, the Medical Library and Engineering Library materials) are “available for building use only,” meaning they must be used on the premises and are not loaned out externally bau.edu.lb. All BAU library branches observe this on-site usage policy for external patrons to ensure that valuable or limited resources remain accessible to the community.

Library hours and facilities: The libraries generally operate on weekdays during working hours (e.g. 8:00 AM to late afternoon/evening, depending on campus). At the main Beirut campus, the library has extended hours (often 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM) bau.edu.lb, while some branch campus libraries may close slightly earlier (e.g. 4:00 PM) bau.edu.lb. Visitors with a valid pass can use reading spaces, reference assistance, and equipment (computers, photocopiers, etc.) similar to BAU students. The library catalog (OPAC) is openly searchable online, enabling the public to check what books, journals, theses, and other materials are available across BAU libraries library.ifla.org. This helps visitors identify resources of interest before visiting. Overall, BAU’s visitor access scheme is designed to welcome researchers, alumni, and other interested individuals from the community into its libraries in a regulated manner.

“Open Doors” Community Outreach Events

In addition to individual library passes, BAU engages the wider community through organized events and programs. Notably, BAU holds an annual “Open Doors” event on its campuses (Beirut, Debbieh, Tripoli, etc.), where it invites prospective high school students and the public to visit the university. During Open Doors, visitors tour campus facilities — including libraries, laboratories, and other resources — to experience BAU’s academic environment adee.org. High school students get the opportunity to explore the libraries’ collections and learn about the services available, as part of BAU’s effort to promote access to education and information. Through these Open Doors days, BAU demonstrates a commitment to opening its libraries and learning spaces to the community, at least on special occasions. This initiative helps familiarize the public with BAU’s library resources and encourages a culture of learning beyond the university’s enrolled students adee.org. While Open Doors events are time-limited, they complement the year-round visitor access policy by broadly publicizing that BAU’s intellectual resources (books, publications, etc.) are welcoming to the community.

Digital and Online Access for Public Users

Beyond physical visits, BAU provides digital access to certain collections and publications for public users. Key online platforms include:

• BAU Digital Repository (Institutional Archive): BAU Libraries have established a digital repository using DSpace (launched in 2018) to preserve and share the university’s scholarly and historical collections library.ifla.org. This open-access repository contains a rich assortment of materials such as: BAU’s image archive (over 25,000 historical photographs of university life, events, and notable figures across all four campuses since 1960) library.ifla.org, rare books and manuscripts (e.g. original copies of works like Al Hambra, Description de l’Égypte, Mosquée de Sultan Hassan), and academic theses and dissertations produced at BAU. The repository was created to provide the local and international community with access to BAU’s collections, aligning with the principle of open access to information library.ifla.org. Importantly, the content in this digital archive is freely accessible to everyone, but with some limitations: approximately 5% of the repository’s content is openly accessible off-campus (to the general public worldwide), whereas 100% of the content is available to view when on BAU’s campus network library.ifla.org. In other words, any user can browse a portion of the digital archive online from anywhere, and full access to all digital items is provided on-site at BAU (or possibly via BAU’s internal credentials) for fairness and copyright reasons library.ifla.org. This setup still significantly benefits public users – for example, researchers can preview rare materials or find references remotely, and then if needed, visit the BAU library to view the complete item. Through the digital repository, BAU contributes to open knowledge while protecting sensitive content, fulfilling its role as a “strong institution” providing free access to information for all communities library.ifla.orglibrary.ifla.org.
• Open-Access Journals and Publications: BAU also publishes its scholarly output in platforms accessible to the public. Since 2020, BAU has been hosting its academic journals on an open-access Digital Commons platform (Elsevier’s Digital Commons) digitalcommons.bau.edu.lb. BAU currently publishes six peer-reviewed journals spanning disciplines from humanities and social sciences to life and physical sciences digitalcommons.bau.edu.lb. These journals (and their articles) are made available online for anyone to read and download, serving a worldwide community of researchers and practitioners beyond BAU digitalcommons.bau.edu.lb. This means members of the public can freely access BAU’s research publications and articles via the Digital Commons @ BAU portal. In addition to journals, the BAU Digital Commons repository has expanded to include other types of publications and content: it now hosts conference proceedings, books, newsletters, and even sample student works produced at BAU, with more content being added over time digitalcommons.bau.edu.lb. All of these are openly available, reflecting BAU’s effort to disseminate knowledge broadly. For example, a visitor to the Digital Commons site can read BAU journal articles or view conference papers without any subscription or login barriers digitalcommons.bau.edu.lb. The repository is indexed and searchable, increasing the visibility of BAU’s research and allowing the public to benefit from the university’s academic contributions.
• Other Online Resources: BAU Libraries provide access to numerous electronic databases and digital resources (such as academic journals, e-books, and reference databases), though full access to these licensed databases is generally restricted to BAU students and staff via campus login. However, BAU does list some open-access databases and digital libraries on its library website for the benefit of researchers. For instance, BAU highlights resources like AGORA (a free digital library for food and agriculture research) and ARDI (Access to Research for Development and Innovation) among others as valuable sources bau.edu.lb. These are part of international initiatives providing free or low-cost scholarly literature to developing countries; while not operated by BAU, the university directs users (including the public) to such platforms as additional avenues to obtain information. Moreover, BAU’s library catalog can be accessed online by anyone to identify books or publications held at the university, facilitating inter-library loan requests or on-site consultations. If a member of the public cannot physically visit, they may request materials through inter-library loan (ILL) via another institution: BAU’s library participates in ILL services, allowing users to borrow items not available in their home libraries through BAU’s collections bau.edu.lb. This further extends BAU’s reach in sharing knowledge, as evidenced by BAU initiating inter-library loan services since 2011 bau.edu.lb.

Summary of Public Access

In summary, BAU does provide public access to its libraries and publications. Physical library access is available to external visitors at all campuses, enabled by affordable short-term or long-term library passes that grant on-site use of books and materials bau.edu.lbbau.edu.lb. Through programs like Open Doors, BAU actively welcomes the community to explore its facilities and resources adee.org. Digitally, BAU’s commitment to open access is evident in its institutional repositories – a portion of its archival collections (photos, rare books, theses) is freely viewable online library.ifla.org, and its scholarly journals and other publications are published on open platforms for anyone to read digitalcommons.bau.edu.lb. While certain resources (e.g. licensed databases or entire e-theses) may be fully accessible only on campus or to BAU affiliates, the general public can make substantial use of BAU’s libraries: by visiting in person to read print materials, by viewing open-access digital content, or by leveraging inter-library services. BAU’s policies thus align with the goal of spreading knowledge beyond the university’s own students, allowing the broader public to benefit from its books, research, and publications in multiple ways.