A survey of the libraries of Abéché, former capital of the Sultanate of Waday (Eastern Chad)

This report describes an Endangered Archives Pilot Project undertaken in the Chadian town of Abéché during the months of November and December 2015. The project was undertaken by Dr Andrea Brigaglia (University of Cape Town), in partnership with Prof Mahamat Saleh Ayoub (Université Roi Faiçal, Ndjamena). The goals of the project were to conduct a survey of the Arabic manuscripts preserved in the private collections of Abéché, the main urban centre of eastern Chad and from 1890 capital of the Sultanate of Waday (Ouaddaï); to produce a preliminary listing of the manuscripts of some selected collections; to digitize some samples of the manuscripts; to raise awareness among the owners of the manuscripts about the importance of their collections; finally, to assess the feasibility of a major project of digitization.