In 2021, the Mohammed VI Library launched a project to establish the M6L Archives and Special Collections. This new part of the M6L will aim to collect books, documents, photographs, ephemera, and other objects of enduring historical value to Al Akhawayn University and the city of Ifrane. The items in these collections will be made available to the AUI community and visiting researchers on different platforms, which are described here.
The Al Akhawayn Digital Repository and Archives (ADRAR) takes its name from the Tamazight word for mountain (ⴰⴷⵔⴰⵔ or أدرار). ADRAR aims to become the AUI online institutional repository for digital-born and digitized documents, photos, and audio-visual materials of enduring historical value to the university and Ifrane. Among its pilot collections will be a repository of AUI faculty publications and digitized masters-level theses produced at AUI since 1995.
The M6L Digital Showcase serves as a gateway for users interested in our collections of materials relating to the history of Ifrane and the Middle Atlas, as well as AUI's institutional history. Its pilot collections include Ifrane postcards (1930-present), photographs of the city and surrounding areas, and digitized Ifrane-related ephemera. Full details and metadata of all items in the showcase can be found in the M6L Archives and Special Collections search platform.
The M6L Archives & Special Collections platform will allow users to search for documents, photos, ephemera, and other items held in the A&SC. In addition, the platform will offer finding aids to institutional documents stored at the library, including the M6L's institutional archives (1995-present) and published AUI documents like academic catalogs, annual reports, and much more.