The main library at Mosul University in Iraq opened in 1921. After a donation from 60 of the city’s libraries in 1967, its collection grew to nearly 1 million books. The library had books on subjects such as literature, science, philosophy, law, culture and contained old maps, writings, and newspapers. Over time, it became the university’s research center, and 1,500 students would visit each day. But that changed when the Islamic State (IS) took over Mosul in June 2014. The militant group forced its way into the library and started breaking equipment and burning books. In early 2015, IS loaded about 8,000 books onto trucks, took them outside of the city and set them on fire. The director general of UNESCO, the United Nations’ cultural organization, called this a “cleansing,” and a “systematic destruction of heritage.” While many books were destroyed, the building itself remained largely undamaged until a nine-month-long battle started in late 2016. By the time the Iraqi military pushed IS from Mosul, thousands of people had died. Many people fled the fighting and thousands of buildings were destroyed, including the library. It was burned by IS and hit by missiles aimed at ousting the group.