Alexandria Library managed to reach the finals of the Stockholm Challenge 2006 via its project on Digitisation of "Description de l'Egypte".

The Stockholm Challenge is a well established global networking programme for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) entrepreneurs for over ten years. It continues to be a leader in demonstrating how information technology can improve living conditions and increase economic growth in all parts of the world.

One of the main features of the Stockholm Challenge is the ICT prize, the Stockholm Challenge Award, which has attracted over 3,000 projects over the years.

The valuable collection of Description De l' Egypte containing text and images related to antiquities, natural history, and the modern states of Egypt, has been fully digitized, digitally restored, and integrated on a virtual browser with the objective of preserving it and making it publicly available.

Description de l'Egypte was the outcome of the collaboration of over 150 scholars and scientists accompanying Napoleon in 1798, as well as some 2,000 artists and technicians.

Through 20 years, they examined every aspect of contemporary and ancient Egyptian civilisation, producing 20 volumes of text and plates of un-matched accuracy and detail.

The entire collection was scanned, cataloged, indexed and digitally restored. A tool was developed to publish texts in the standard Extended Markup Language format through which texts may be browsed by a virtual browser or touch screen giving the effect of actually turning the pages and preserving the ancient feel and look of the original volumes.

Bibliotheca Alexandrinas Digital Lab is a milestone for building Egypts capacity through expanding its digital content. By October 2004, the Bibliotheca had successfully upgraded its labs human and technological resources to be considered one of the best digitising centres in the region.

In October 2004, the Digitisation of Description de l' Egypte projects first stage was completed and the application was provided on DVD in high resolution with French and English interfaces.

Development of a specialised virtual browser and other tools necessary to digitise this ancient collection has led to a broader preservation partnership resulting in digitising Institute D'Egypte entire library content.

This project was initiated within the International School of Information Science (ISIS). Founded as a research institute within the Bibliotheca Alexandrina (BA), ISIS acts as an incubator for digital and  technological projects, promoting and nurturing innovations which view the encompassing aims of the BA as an end goal.

Hence, this project of digitising one of the most important works on Egypt "the Description de lEgypte" fulfils an integral part of the BA mission.