USEK Library

USEK Library The USEK Library supports and nurtures the mission and vision of the University, namely, provide education for all and foster a humanist culture.

To this end, the USEK Library seeks to preserve the mission by offering excellent library resources and high-standard services to students, scholars and the USEK community. On the student-level, it aims at enriching the learning experience by encouraging exploration and research, providing access to a wealth of academic material, and empowering students to foster intellectual growth in the Informa

tion Age. Our satellite libraries in the Regional University Centers (RUCs) of Chekka, Zahle and Rmeich, and the health library in the School of Medicine and Medical Sciences (Jbeil), all work closely with the main Library to ensure equity of access applies to all. Since 2004, USEK Library has upheld its academic support, and more recently, has launched a major project to preserve, digitize, and conserve Lebanese written heritage in all its aspects (historical, religious, and philosophical) and formats (old newspapers, manuscripts, rare books, archives, photographs, and maps etc.). For this purpose, three centers have been established and are managed by the Library: the Digital Development Center, the Conservation and Restoration Center, and the Archives.

23/06/2026
What can a caricature tell us that a formal record might not?For International Archives Week, under this year’s theme “A...
15/06/2026

What can a caricature tell us that a formal record might not?

For International Archives Week, under this year’s theme “Archives for Justice,” we turn to Lebanese press caricatures as more than satire. These drawings are visual records: sharp, critical, and often painfully honest reflections of the political and social realities of their time.

From the Elias Haddad collection, preserved at the Phoenix Center for Lebanese Studies, this caricature shows Lebanese Minister of Justice Fouad El Khoury during the presidency of Bechara El Khoury, 1943–1952, patching the law with a hammer.

The image points to the breaches and abuses associated with that period, reminding us that archives preserve not only documents, but critique, public memory, and accountability.



في الكاريكاتور ذاكرةٌ لا تشبه الوثائق الرسمية، لكنها لا تقلّ عنها دلالة.

بمناسبة الأسبوع العالمي للأرشيف، وتحت شعار هذا العام "الأرشيف من أجل العدالة"، نسلّط الضوء على رسوم الكاريكاتور المنشورة في الصحف والمجلّات اللبنانية.

فالكاريكاتور ليس مجرّد رسم ساخر، بل وثيقة تعبّر، من خلال لغتها النقدية، عن الواقعين الاجتماعي والسياسي وتوثق تفاعل المجتمعات مع الأحداث.

وفي هذا السياق، نضيء على مجموعة الفنان إلياس حداد المحفوظة في مركز فينيكس للدراسات اللبنانية، حيث يُظهر الرسم أدناه وزير العدل اللبناني فؤاد الخوري في عهد الرئيس بشارة الخوري (1943–1952) وهو يرقّع القانون بالمطرقة، في إشارة رمزية إلى الخروقات والتجاوزات التي شهدتها تلك المرحلة.

EMH3D_052r, Elias Haddad Collection, Phoenix Center for Lebanese Studies, Holy Spirit University of Kaslik.

Each year on the ninth of June, the world marks International Archives Day — an occasion to reaffirm the importance of h...
10/06/2026

Each year on the ninth of June, the world marks International Archives Day — an occasion to reaffirm the importance of historical documents as the collective memory of peoples and the record of their political, social, and cultural development. This year's theme, "Archives for Justice," underscores that preserving and providing access to documents serves not only to safeguard the past, but also to illuminate the paths that shaped the building of nations.

Within this context, the draft of the 1926 Lebanese Constitution — on display as part of the exhibition "The Lebanese Constitution Centenary 1926–2026: A Hundred Years, What Republic?" at the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK) Library — holds exceptional value as one of the founding documents of the modern Lebanese state.

What distinguishes this draft is that it is handwritten, lending it a singular historical and human dimension that transports us to the very moment of constitutional drafting, before the text was officially ratified. Equally significant is that it corresponds to the final text of the 1926 Constitution at a rate of approximately 95%, making it a direct witness to the process of constitutional preparation and to the legal and political discussions that accompanied the birth of the Lebanese Republic.

In this light, the role of the archive and the role of the constitution converge in their service to society. The archive preserves national memory and documents the journey of state-building, while the constitution defines the principles upon which that state is founded. If the archive protects the past from oblivion, the constitution protects the present and the future from disorder and arbitrariness.

Those wishing to view the Lebanese Constitution Centenary Exhibition are welcome to visit the University Library during working hours, from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., or to contact us by phone at 09600071 or by email at [email protected] to inquire or arrange a visit.

06/06/2026

| Lebanon News

05/06/2026
03/06/2026

Happening Now - Inauguration Ceremony: Centenary Exhibition on the Lebanese Constitution

29/05/2026

History does not survive on memory alone.

What remains after one hundred years are the documents, the photographs, the letters, the records, and the stories that continue to carry history forward.

This upcoming archival exhibition retraces the years leading to 1926, beginning with the Mutasarrifate period and the 1861 Protocol, through the proclamation of Greater Lebanon and the political developments that followed.

Bringing together historical material from institutional and private archives, the exhibition revisits key moments through original sources that continue to shape the historical memory of modern Lebanon.

📅 Wednesday, June 3 | 🕔 5:00 pm

📍 USEK Library

11/05/2026

هل ما نقرأه في الدستور اليوم يعكس كل مراحل تكوينه؟
بدأ المسار عام 1925 مع لجنة الإصلاح الدستوري، حيث وُضعت الأسس الأولى عبر نقاشات وصياغات قانونية متتابعة.
تأثر هذا البناء بالنموذج الفرنسي، وما زال أثره قائمًا في بنيته حتى اليوم.
لكن الوثائق تكشف طبقات أعمق من هذا التكوين.

📌 ما لا يظهر في النص… قد يكون الأهم.

📞 للاستفسار والمشاركة، يرجى التواصل عبر:

09600071

[email protected]
ملاحظة: سيتم حفظ الأرشيفات دون أي تكلفة إضافية.

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Joünié
446

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