Collection Development Policy: Middle Eastern Studies
  • Subject Librarian(s):
    Ian Straughn

  • Departmental Library Representative (DLR):
    Melani Cammett

  • Description of the Academic Program | Home Page
    The "Middle East Studies" undergraduate concentration was formally approved in 1999. The program has traditional sought to develop a curriculum that has emphasized the many cultural, ethnic and religious traditions that have formed this region form antiquity to the present. Drawing on faculty from multiple disciplines from anthropology to political science to archaeology the concentration has sought to draw on the interdisciplinary strengths of Brown. While the contemporary Middle East is a major focus of the program, there is also strong emphasis on the historical development of the region from the ancient past through the Islamic periods. in general the term Middle East Studies offers a broad rubric in which students can gain knowledge of the Muslim world, Islam, diverse minority communities that continue to thrive within the region, as well as the requisite language skills for the studies of these varied traditions, historical narratives and literatures.



  • Overview of the Collection
    Scope: The field spans a wide range geographically (North Africa and those parts of Asia once ruled by the various Islamic Empires, as well as other loci of Muslim population) and chronologically (400 C.E. through the present). It is inherently interdisciplinary. Its sphere includes the peoples of the region and their languages (especially Arabic, Turkish and Persian), literatures, history, culture and religions.

    Collection development of Middle Eastern resources, in the absence of a department or formal program, has been unfocused until recently. The holdings were primarily in English, in some cases dated and superseded. Increased allotment for acquisitions, "one-time" funds for area studies development, and generous donations from the Joukowsky family which both endowed a Middle Eastern librarian position and support purchase of resources have enabled a concerted program of developing the collection.

    The collections of the library seek to support the continued building of the MES concentration as the library anticipates the needs of faculty and students through a collection development strategy designed for flexibility given the changing landscape of field. This includes gaining access to increasing amounts of digital resources for contemporary Arabic media, following trends in the teaching of Middle Eastern languages (specifically Arabic, Persian and Turkish) as well as supporting the specific research projects of Brown faculty and students.

    As of May 2002 the Brown University Library's print holdings in subjects relevant to Middle Eastern Studies comprised approximately 18,375 titles, including serials. Other holdings include electronic resources, sound recordings and films, and photographic reproductions in the List Art Slide Collection. With the flourishing of Arab and Iranian cinema as a major cultural force the library has worked to maintain a collection of the most important films.

    In 2001 the Library acquired a large collection of Turkish monographs, in addition to an exchange through which it gained over 15,000 Arabic monographs and 193 cartons of Arabic serials which are in the process of being catalogued. The monographs are in all subjects, and particularly enhance Islamic studies, history, classical and modern Arabic literature, and the social sciences.

    The interdisciplinary nature of Middle Eastern Studies resources renders them beneficial to library users in many fields of study and should play a vital role in the university-wide internationalization efforts.

  • General Collecting Guidelines
    Methods: English language monographs are acquired primarily through a vendor approval plan; Arabic, Turkish, and Persian materials are ordered from specialist vendors in the U.S. and overseas, on a firm order basis- that is, specific titles are ordered by Brown. The Library also participates in the Library of Congress-Cairo cooperative acquisition plan, selecting Arabic materials from lists with costs deducted from a deposit. When necessary, materials are ordered directly from publishers or from out-of-print dealers.

  • Specific Collecting Guidelines
    Priorities: Support of current and potential curriculum offerings has been and will be a primary goal of collection development; this includes the availability of standard reference works and basic linguistic resources. Historical works in Western languages represent a relative strength, of particular use to undergraduates. This will be reinforced by obtaining historical source materials in the original languages and translations.

    Literature will continue as a priority, with the primary emphasis on classical and modern poetry, and fiction, as well as the more important critics and literary scholars of all epochs. Translations when available will be acquired. Turkish and Persian literature in the classical and modern periods will be developed.

    Islam is an extensive topic, permeating many aspects of the Middle East. After primary religious documents (Qur'ans, major Quranic commentaries, canonical hadith collections), areas to next to be developed include medieval Islamic biography, works of the four main schools of Islamic religious law, and the forerunners of modern Muslim reformers.

    Areas which are not currently represented in the curriculum, but receive considerable scholarly attention, include Sufism, Geography and travelers' accounts, and Women and Islam, among others. Pertinent works in these areas will be acquired.

    E-Resources and other non-print materials: Several online and CD-ROM based resources are available to patrons, including Encyclopaedia of Islam, Index Islamicus, Columbia International Affairs Online, and Militant Islam. A small collection of Arab and Persian films on videotape is growing, and the Orwig Music Library holds sound recordings of Arab, Persian and Turkish music.

  • Special Collections
    The John Hay Library houses the Minassian Collection which includes Arabic and Persian manuscripts, some of them illuminated with miniatures. Additionally parts of the Minassian collection of Islamic period ceramics and other objects will soon be on display (end of 2009) in the new Rhode Island Hall for the Joukowsky Institute of Archaeology and the Ancient World. The library also houses calligraphic copies of Qur'anic manuscripts and other materials.

  • Selected List of Key Internet Resources