This guide provides a general introduction to library and information resources for all those studying, teaching and researching on topics relating to the literatures, languages and cultures of the Middle East.
Main collectionsMost printed books and journals (also called periodicals) in support of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies are located in the Main Library, George Square.
Books are classified in the Library of Congress scheme (e.g. DS272 Wil.) are located on 2nd floor (shelfmark A-PB) and the 3rd floor (shelfmark PC-Z). Older books that are classified in the Dewey decimal scheme (e.g. /91(551) Kit.) are on the 4th floor.
Manuscripts, rare books and archives are held in the Centre for Research Collections (CRC). See information about CRC below.
HUB Collection
Undergraduate course books for German Studies are located in the HUB Collection on the ground floor of the Main Library.
The High Use Books (HUB) collection, located on the ground floor of the Main Library, consists of HUB Reserve (3 hour loan) and HUB Short Loan (7 day loan) books as well as offprints (photo copies of course reading material).
The Centre for Research Collections (CRC) houses the University Library’s Special Collections which include historical books, manuscripts, archives and microfilms that German Studies researchers and students may find useful. The main CRC facilities are on the 6th floor of the Main Library.
The Library has over 650 manuscripts in Oriental languages.
A large part of the Oriental Manuscript Collection consists of Arabic and Persian manuscripts, of which there are 429 in the Special Collections in the Main Library, and 102 in the New College Library.
Arabic manuscripts include commentaries on the Koran; traditions of the Prophet and Imam; prayers; law, general history and biography; medicine, mathematics, philosophy and ethics; and, grammar, rhetoric, poetry, prose, tales, dictionary, and controversy.
Persian manuscripts include theology, history, biography, and travel; mathematics and astronomy; ethics, poetry, music, composition and proverbs, tales and romances; grammar and dictionary; and, agriculture and war.
The Collection includes two of the significant treasures of the Library, namely the World history of the Mongol vizier Rashid Al-Din, which illustrates parts of the life of the Prophet Muhammad, and the chronology of ancient nations of Al-Biruni, both of which were written in Arabic in Tabriz in Persian circa 1307 A.D.
Digital Book: Rashid Al-Din's World History
Digital Book: Al-Biruni's Chronology of Ancient Nations
A detailed description of the Arabic and Persian manuscripts is found in Hukk, Mohammed Ashraful, et al., A descriptive catalogue of the Arabic and Persian manuscripts in Edinburgh University Library (Hertford: Printed for the University of Edinburgh by S. Austin & sons, Ltd, 1925. viii, 454p ; 23 cm, while R. R. Serjeant’s A handlist of the Arabic, Persian and Hindustani MSS. Of New College, Edinburgh (London: Luzac & Co., 1942) contains a detailed list of the manuscript holdings in the New College Library.
Information on these manuscripts can also be found in the Archives Hub's oriental manuscript collection.
