The BA Antiquities Museum is the first among all archeological Museums in the world that is located within a library. The initiative came from Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak, during one of her visits to the construction site of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina. Mrs. Mubarak called for creating a committee to prepare the necessary studies to assemble a museum that would house the artifacts discovered at the construction site. A committee of archeologists was set up to develop a plan for the museum.
The Museum's collection documents various epochs of Egyptian civilization dating from the Pharaonic era up to the Islamic period, including the Greek civilization that came to Egypt with the conquest of Alexander the Great. It was followed by the Roman and Coptic civilizations before Islam established itself in Egypt. The collection (both permanent and temporary) currently comprises 1342 artifacts