The Algerian academic Salem Chaker, a specialist in Amazigh linguistics, donates his collection of books to the National Library of the Kingdom of Morocco
Salem Chaker, an Algerian academic and writer specializing in Amazigh linguistics, has donated 350 of his books to the National Library of the Kingdom of Morocco (BNRM), according to a reliable source contacted by Le360.
According to the same source, a convention was recently signed between both parties, ensuring that this distinguished expert in Amazigh linguistics guarantees that “his works will be subject to a protection system and a permanent authorization for researchers wishing to consult them.” Salem Chaker’s books will be safeguarded in the donation hall of the BNRM.
Born in 1950 in Nevers, France, to a family from Nath Irathen, Adeni/Azouza, in Kabylia, Algeria, Salem Chaker holds a doctorate in literature, specializing in Amazigh linguistics. He has been a professor of Berber studies at the National Institute of Oriental Languages and Civilizations (INALCO) in Paris since 1989.
After teaching at the University of Algiers from 1973 to 1981, and then for a decade in Aix-en-Provence (at the CNRS and the University of Provence from 1981 to 1989), Salem Chaker founded the “André Basset” Berber Research Center at INALCO in 1990. In 2008, he joined the Institute for Research on Arab and Muslim Worlds in Aix-en-Provence. He has authored numerous books and studies on Berber linguistics and sociolinguistics and also oversees the Maghreb-Sahara / Ussun Amazigh collection (linguistics and sociocultural anthropology) published by Peeters.
It is worth noting that last March, the BNRM received a donation of the late Algerian writer Mohamed Arkoun’s library. At that time, an agreement was signed between the Mohammed Arkoun Foundation for Peace between Cultures and the BNRM, concerning the donation of the late thinker’s book collection, which includes more than 5,000 works and 7,000 magazines.
