Library Resources

The Yale University Library includes three specific collections related to the Middle East: the Near Eastern Collection, the Judaica Collection, and the Babylonian Collection.

The Near Eastern Collection, curated by Roberta Dougherty, houses more than 400,000 books relating to the Middle East in Western languages and over 100,000 Arabic and Persian volumes. The collection is particularly strong in classical texts, Islamic law, philosophy, and Arabic literature. Currently, the libraries at Yale receive more than 1,000 serials relating to Middle Eastern studies, including the major American and European scholarly journals. The 95,000 volume Judaica Collection, which includes manuscripts and rare books, focuses on biblical, classical, medieval, and modern periods of Jewish literature and history, and is curated by Nanette Stahl. The Yale Babylonian Collection holds the largest collection of cuneiform inscriptions and cylinder seals in the United States and one of the five largest in the world. In addition, the Collection maintains a complete library in the field of Assyriology, Hittitology and Near Eastern Archaeology. Contact the Associate Curator, Agnete Lassen, for more information. The Yale University Library also contains many important archive collections related to the Middle East.

The Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library has significant holdings in Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Coptic, Ethiopic, Hebrew, and Syriac manuscripts. In addition, the Yale Law School Library has a collection of material related to the history of the Middle East. The library of the Economic Growth Center has extensive holdings of statistical publications and materials on economic development.