The political and economic upheaval in the Libyan Jamahiriyah since 1969 had a profound impact on the country’s educational institutions, its research facilities and the local academic community as well. Revolutionary Committees at the local universities and the relocation of ministries and research institutes led to the dispersal and sometimes destruction of research and data collections. This was exacerbated by a general suspicion of Western-style research and by the forced return of scores of young scholars as the Qadhdhafi regime increased its confrontation with the West.