A Kurdish library in Syria's Mediterranean city of Latakia joined the list of the oldest Syrian libraries after its managers announced its closure at the end of this year, nearly 80 years after its opening. The library would be closed in the coming days, the owners said. 

We did not decide it shut down because of a shortage of readers or not buying books, but rather because of many circumstances that contributed to our closure and because of which we cannot continue, the Library managers said in a Facebook post. The library is to join dozens of other ancient libraries that have closed their doors to readers in recent years.

In a post on the library's Facebook page, the library's administrators explained that they have not and will not be dragged into the piracy and counterfeiting book business. They contributed as much as possible to restore the original book's culture to Syrian libraries. Still, today theft, photocopying, and piracy predominate the book market despite their high price. The Library owners complained that it leaves no place for original books or our library in such an environment. The owners also pointed out that most readers need help to afford original books.

The "Kurdish" bookstore is one of the oldest libraries in Lattakia and Syria. It was founded by and owned by Yusuf al-Kurdiyah in 1950 and passed on to his children and grandchildren. It is known for its unique services of offering books of all kinds of cultural, literary, social, and political books in the city.

Kurdish culture, history, and language have been preserved in places like Syria through libraries and cultural centers as the various regimes have banned Kurdish education or the Kurdish language.