The first meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina (BA) was held in Cairo. The members of the Board were received by the President of Egypt who reaffirmed the support of the Egyptian government to the BA and wished them well on their work. The meetings proceeded chaired by Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak, who gave a moving and inspiring opening address. The Board covered many items, including hearing detailed reports by Ismail Serageldin on everything from the status of civil works to the condition of manuscripts to the staffing policies and financial regulations. They approved the outline of work and the cultural program and the proposals for the statutes and the budget for the next fiscal year and empowered the newly confirmed Director of the BA to implement these initiatives. A number of the members of the board visited Alexandria to see the BA first hand. At the end of the meeting, Serageldin, now formally confirmed as the permanent Director of the BA, de clared himself extremely happy with the outcome.