Library Resources

Princeton University Library and Near Eastern Studies

Princeton University Library is home to one of the most significant North American collections of pre-modern and modern Near Eastern materials. The Near East Collections gained prominence with a remarkable collection of manuscripts from the Islamic world assembled and acquired for Princeton by Robert Garrett (class of 1897) in 1942. At over 16,000 titles within 10,000 volumes, this is the largest collection of Arabic, Persian, and Ottoman Turkish manuscripts in North America, but this manuscript collection is but one part of the library’s overall collections pertaining to the Near East. 

Researchers utilizing the Near East Collections at Princeton have access to over 540,000 Arabic books, 140,000+ Turkish books with over 11,000 of those in Ottoman Turkish, 130,000+ Persian books, and over 215,000 Hebrew books, as well as numerous books about the Near East and the Islamic world in English, German, French, and other languages. These collections, which also encompass those of our partner institutions in ReCAP, our offsite storage facility shared with Columbia University, the New York Public Library, and Harvard University, are constantly growing. Additionally, the Near East Collections include maps, coins, visual material, music, videos, databases and other formats from and/or about the region.

All areas of classical Islamic civilization are well represented, with an emphasis on literary, historical, legal, and religious texts. The collections are also strong in contemporary Near Eastern publications. Current books and periodicals are acquired on a regular basis from all the countries of the Middle East and North Africa, as are major newspapers. 

  • The Near East Collections are housed in Firestone Library on C Floor. 
    • A Near East Study Room containing reference and other basic works is on A-Floor of Firestone Library (A-12-E). 
  • The Islamic Manuscripts Collection can be accessed in Special Collections, also located in Firestone Library on C Floor.

Staff

There are, at the present time, nine staff members who work on Near East material. Dr. Deborah Schlein is the Near Eastern Studies Librarian ([email protected]).

Other Resources

See Additional NES Resources >