Library Resources

Middle East Studies, in the UW-Madison libraries and especially the Memorial Library, covers Middle Eastern and North African countries (in Africa and Asia). This collection includes materials from or about the region in the areas of history, literature, art, linguistics, sociology, anthropology, economics, political science, religion, ethnic and cultural studies, legal studies, women’s studies, and film studies.

Digital Resources & Databases

Dar al-Mandumah Renewal: Access has been secured for an additional three years. This premier database covers Arabic scientific conference proceedings, dissertations, and academic journals (1921–present) across the humanities, Islamic studies, law, and economics.
Late Ottoman Digitization: Through our membership in the Center for Research Libraries (CRL), researchers now have access to a newly digitized collection of late Ottoman materials.
Digital Research Guide: For a comprehensive overview of existing digital and online resources, visit our Middle East Collection Research Guide.

Print & Special Collections

Turkish ReCAP Transfer: We have successfully transferred over 4,200 volumes from the Research Collections and Preservation Consortium. While primarily modern Turkish, the collection includes significant works in Ottoman Turkish, Arabic, Persian, Kurdish, and several European languages.
Rare Materials Initiative: In collaboration with Special Collections, we are actively acquiring rare Middle Eastern, North African, and Ottoman-era materials from antiquarian dealers to bolster our primary source holdings.

Preservation Success: Azeri Collection

Deacidification Project: Our Soviet-era Azeri literature and folklore collection—one of the finest in the country—has been fully preserved. Funded by an Evjue grant and internal funds, all 1,608 at-risk volumes underwent chemical deacidification to ensure their availability for future generations of scholars.

If you have research questions, please contact Andy Spencer, Middle East Studies bibliographer.