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A living archive
Abrehot
A library for memory, learning, and community—where Ethiopia’s stories are preserved, shared, and renewed.
Addis AbabaEdition 2026
Chapter I — The House of Readers1.8MAnnual readers and users 400KBooks held at collection capacity 19KSquare metres across four storeys 24/7Reported around-the-clock access
Built for the turning of minds.
Abrehot Library brings readers, students, researchers, families and makers together under one expansive roof. Its shelves, study spaces and gathering rooms make room for quiet concentration and the energetic exchange of ideas alike.
Abrehot Library
Enlightenment for Ethiopia
Open to all
Chapter II — THE INDEX
Find your way in.
Four floors, each given to a different way of working. Move through the index to see the room that belongs to it.
01Reading rooms
02Research & archives
03Quiet study
04Gathering halls
Inside the collectionPlate 01
Chapter III — In the Margins
The library is always in motion.
From community reading circles to contemporary digital access, Abrehot continues to grow as a public stage for knowledge and culture.
Youth
Schools morning
Guided visits for city schools, booked through the education bureau.
Community page
Reading culture moves beyond the reading room.
Book fairs, children’s sessions, donation campaigns and Reading on the Street carry the library’s conversation into the city.
Abrehot Library · notice
A new digital chapter
Recent initiatives include an integrated library-management system, a modern digital library and an international research platform — extending access to knowledge resources across Ethiopia.
Posted by the office of the librarian
The diary
What’s on, month by month
- Schools morning
Chapter IV — The Company We Keep
Held up by many hands.
Abrehot works alongside city offices, ministries, universities and global libraries. Each partnership widens what a reader can reach from a single desk in Addis Ababa.
Office of the Mayor of Addis Ababa
World VisionEthiopia
UNISAUniversity of South Africa
Qatar National LibraryDoha
JSTORDigital research library
Ministry of EducationEthiopia
ITD3Digital systems partner
IPSSAddis Ababa University
Education BureauAddis Ababa City AdministrationChapter V — Executive Leadership
The people holding the next page open.
The library stands under the patronage of the nation and the city, and is held day to day by a board and an executive team. Move through the plates to read each remit.
Under their patronage
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H.E Abiy Ahmed (Phd)
Prime Minister of Ethiopia
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed initiated the Abrehot Library project, envisioned as a landmark center for knowledge, reading, and enlightenment. Under his initiative, the library was developed into a major public knowledge institution in Addis Ababa, officially inaugurated in January 2022.
H.E Adanech Abiebie
Mayor of Addis Ababa
As Mayor of Addis Ababa, H.E. Adanech Abiebie has supported the continued development of Abrehot Library as a center for reading, research, and public knowledge. She has taken part in the library’s institutional development and championed its ongoing modernization and digital transformation.
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H.E Taye Atske Selassie
President of Ethiopia
The board and the executive
01Buzena Alkidr Hajizuli
Speaker of Addis Ababa City Administration Council
02Leading the library’s daily direction, public programmes and expanding culture of access.
Muluken Tariku
Director General
03Tulu Tilahun (PhD)
Deputy Head, Smart City Sector, Addis Ababa Innovation and Technology Bureau
04Dr. Zelalem Mulat
Head of Addis Ababa Education Bureau
05Dr. Hirut Kassa
Director, Addis Ababa City Administration Culture and Art Bureau
06Yonas Alemayehu
FDRE Mesob Executive Director
07Dr. Ephrem Admasu
Senior Advisor
Chapter VI — Correspondence
Write to the library.
Questions about the collection, a visit, a donation or a partnership — the desk reads everything that comes in.
The library online