Desperate To Keep Ahead Of ISIS, Iraq’s National Library Is Digitizing Its Whole Collection

“In February, IS torched more than 8,000 rare books and manuscripts in Mosul, Iraq’s second city, which the group seized in June, 2014. … The microfilm department overseeing the digitisation in Baghdad faces significant obstacles, as many books have been ruined by fire or dampness, while others have become hardened and petrified as a result of extreme heat and dampness.”