Acquisitions

MEC Library Acquisitions Policy

The MEC Library collects books and resources primarily aimed at research and graduate taught courses in the field of Modern Middle Eastern Studies.

The Library actively purchases books and other resources within the following scopes:

1- Regional: Turkey, Iran, Israel, and the contemporary Arab countries.

2- Subjects: General history of the region; Political history; Economy and industrial development; Urban policy and development; Politics and government; Nationalism and political parties; Islamic movements and writings of Islamic thinkers; Gender studies; Media studies.

3- Period: late 18th century to the present day.

4. Languages: English and official languages of Europe, Arabic, Persian, Turkish and some Hebrew (most of the Hebrew language acquisitions on the region are covered by the Bodleian Library and the Leopold Muller Memorial Library).

The MEC Library remit does not normally include works of fiction or poetry, art and architecture from and about the region. These materials are extensively collected by the Bodleian Library, the Bodleian Nizami Ganjavi Library, and the Bodleian Art, Archaeology and Ancient World Library.

The Library also tends not to acquire multiple copies of a title, unless there is a specific reason for this. Generally, when needed, the MEC Library will acquire a print copy and an e-copy of a resource to ensure it is widely available.

Readers are very welcome to make suggestions for purchases by emailing the Librarian. Requests will be evaluated and satisfied based on relevance of the resource requested, reasons for requesting it, price and availability in other UK libraries.