Al-Assad National Library
Al-Assad National Library () is the national library of Syria, located in the capital Damascus overlooking the Umayyad Square. It's named after Hafez al-Assad. In 1976, Syria's Ministry of Culture issued an official decision to build a national library. Construction began in 1978 and the library was completed in November 1983 and was opened the following year. The library's purpose was "to gather all books and daily issues in addition to all kinds of literature connected with our ancestral cultural legacy", then to sort out these materials to serve researchers and scholars  and benefit them. It is the legal deposit and copyright for Syria. The Libraries and Documents Association of Syria has its headquarters at the Assad National Library. Departments. The library has several departments which include a lecture hall and a special department for blind people. The library's departments are as follows: