Middle East Studies: Home

Welcome! This library guide introduces recommended resources to support your research in Middle East Studies.

The UCSB Library collection includes thousands of books, journals, visual, and audio materials on the Middle East. The combined UC collection is even larger and ranks among the world's best. The library actively collects materials in the area of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies in support of an active academic program. The library acquires materials in a variety of languages, including the languages of the Middle East (particularly Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Hebrew, Kurdish, and so on).

Searching for Middle East materials can be tricky because names and terms have many spellings and transliterations (e.g., shari‘ah/sharia, Ghaddafi/Qaddafi). Library catalogs use a standardized scheme, but databases and journals do not, each applying its own. To be thorough, try all known variants when searching. See the Transliteration tab for further information.

The UCSB Library holds thousands of books, journals, and audiovisual materials in Middle Eastern languages, and the UC collection is among the world’s best.

U.S. libraries follow the Library of Congress–ALA transliteration system. Use the language tables below when searching transliterated names and titles. Arabic and Persian names usually appear in direct transliteration (e.g., Nawal El Saadawi → Saʻdāwī, Nawāl; search as Sadawi, Nawal). Special diacritics are not required.

Library catalogs use a standard scheme, but databases vary, so search multiple spelling forms (e.g., shari‘ah / sharia; Ghaddafi / Qadhdhāfī) for best results. You can also search UCSB Library Search, Melvyl, and WorldCat using Arabic and Hebrew scripts, though many older records remain transliterated. Use the tables below for UC Library Catalogs and WorldCat:

• Amharic
• Armenian
• Arabic
• Georgian
• Hebrew
• Kurdish (version 1)
• Kurdish (version 2)
• Ladino
• Ottoman Turkish
• Persian
• Pushto/Pashto
• Syriac
• Urdu

*** For entering diacritics, use Unicode Fonts and Keyboard Layouts from Mamluk Studies Resources, Middle East Documentation Center, the University of Chicago.