Abdel Kader Haidara, Director of the Timbuktu Library

Doctor Honoris Causa of ENS de Lyon - October 11, 2012 In his official biography, under the heading "nationality", Abdel Kader Haidara, a native of Timbuktu, mentions Malian, but his profession is rather unusual: Prospector of manuscripts. It is not every day that École normale supérieure de Lyon has the opportunity to host the work of a man on an "out of the ordinary journey", and especially outside the university curricula. Abdel Kader Haidara's life is inseparable from the Mamma Haidara Memorial Library, that he initiated and to which he dedicates all his time and energy. In Mali, the Haidara family is known for its intellectuals and judges. Abdel Kader's father, Mamma Haidara, was not only a Qadi (judge), he also taught classical Islamic sciences such as law and Arabic grammar. His personal library was one of the largest and oldest in the city. On the death of Sheikh Mamma Haidara in 1981, his son Abdel Kader ensured the succession of the management of the library and began a huge task: gathering the largest number of manuscripts to preserve them, to publish them and to allow the whole world to access these treasures of culture.