Middle East Centre Archive

The Middle East Centre Archive was founded in 1961 by Elizabeth Monroe and Albert Hourani with the aim of preserving and making available for research the papers and photographs of individuals who have lived or served in the Middle East as for example senior Government representatives, members of the armed forces, bankers, businessmen, missionaries or travellers. For further details please see our Collecting Policy and a History of the Middle East Centre Archive: 1961-2007 (pdf file) The Archive now contains over 2,500 boxes of the papers and photographs of over 550 individuals or organisations covering the period 1800 to the present day with strong holdings for the Palestine Mandate and for Oman in the 1970s. If you have papers or photographs that you would like to add to the Archive or if you would like to offer financial support please see our Donation's webpage

Online Photo Galleries (Corkill Slides 9/4/6 The Kathiri Sultanate)

New Building The Archive will be moving to purpose built facilities in the Middle East Centre's new Softbridge building, designed by Zaha Hadid. This will lead to a considerable upgrade in all of the Archive's facilities, including substantial space for the Archive's collections to grow. Construction work is due to run from January 2013 to mid 2014. The Archive will remain open during the majority of the construction period. However the main entrance to the Archive has been closed and it is likely that the reading room will suffer from the noise of the construction site. It may be advisable to bring ear plugs. The Archive's temporary entrance is difficult to find. Please see our Finding the Archive webpage for further details.

How to use the Archive

Preparation prior to your visit

It is recommended that you browse through the Archive's Online Guides and Handlists. To check what is newly available please see the New Accessions and New Catalogues webpage.

Please also read through the Archive's reading room rules and conduct.

For information on the Archive's extensive photographic collection please browse through our Photographic resources webpages.

Please browse through our Useful links webpage for information on how to find other Archives in the UK, as well as online Middle East resources.

Accommodation

For accommodation near to St Antony's College please see Bed and Breakfast accommodation

If you are visiting outside of term time then it is worth noting that many Colleges let rooms during vacation.

Useful information during and after your visit

Digital cameras are permitted in the Archive providing flash and sound are turned off and the standard copyright form filled in. For further details please see our Copying of Archives webpage which also notes some restrictions on copying.

Wireless internet is available in the Archive reading room. Researchers with access to Eduroam will automatically connect. Other researchers will need to register but will then have access.

Advice on citation is available from our How to cite from the Archive webpage.

Projects and Exhibitions

The Middle East Centre Archive is a very active Archive. Listed below are some recent and ongoing projects and exhibitions in the Archive.