Book recommendations
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Print Collection
The print collections include material on:
The Middle East (including Egypt)
The following sections contain material that may also be of interest:
We welcome suggestions for new purchases from Library members.
Print Collection classmarks and location
In SOAS, classmarks are composed of a:
LETTER CODE (for language, country or topics) +
SUBJECT (Dewey Decimal Number) +
3 first letters of authors (optional) +
ITEM NUMBER (unique to each item)
Eg: P892.736HAQ/913826 = Fiction in Arabic (or translated from the Arabic) from the 20th century by Yaḥyá Ḥaqqī.
P = Arabic material
892.7 = Arabic literature
3 = fiction
6 = 20th century
HAQ = first 3 letters of author’s surname
/913826 = Item number
Selected list of letter codes in use in the Middle East and Central Asia collections
NB. Books prefixed L or Ref are separately located
|
Countries/Regions |
Class Mark |
| Middle East | NB |
| Central Asia | O-OX |
| Islamica | N |
| Abkhazia | OCA |
| Arabs | NR |
| Arabian Peninsula | NC |
| Arabian Gulf Region | NK |
| Armenia | OC |
| Azerbaijan | OD |
| Caucasia | O |
| Caucasian peoples | OH |
| Crimea | OJ |
| Daghestan | OAC |
| Egypt | NE |
| Ex-Ottoman colonies | NSA-NSF |
| Georgia | OG |
| Iran | NT |
| Iranian Peoples | NV |
| Iraq | NQ |
| Israel | QJ |
| Jordan | NN |
| Kurdistan | NU |
| Lebanon | NO |
| Mediterranean Islands | QU |
| Oman | NJA |
| Palestine | QJA |
| Saudi Arabia | NL |
| Southern Yemen | NH |
| Spain (Andalus) | NX |
| Syria | NP |
| Tatarstan | OUB |
| Turkey | NS |
| Turkic peoples | OX |
| United Arab Emirates | NJ |
| Yemen | NG |
|
Languages |
Class Mark |
| Arabic | P |
| Arabic dialects | PA |
| Armenian | PE |
| Azerbaijani | PRB |
| Caucasian languages | PG |
| Epigraphic Arabian | PB |
| Georgian | PJA |
| Hebrew | QN |
| Iranian languages | PL |
| Maltese | PC |
| Modern Persian (Farsi) | PM |
| North Caucasian languages | PH |
| Other Iranian languages | PN |
| Persian dialects | PMA-PMF |
| South Caucasian languages | PJ |
| Turkic languages | PP-PU |
| Turkish | PRA |
| Uralo-Altaic languages | PV-PWF |
Offsite Collections
Part of the collection is held in offsite storage.
These can be recalled by clicking the "Place Hold" button on the SOAS Library Catalogue page of each offsite book you wish to use.
| Rewgion / Subject / Language | Classmark |
|---|---|
|
Ancient Near East (General) |
QB |
| Ancient Near Eastern languages and literatures | QC |
|
Ancient Mesopotamia |
QD |
| Sumer | QDA |
| Babylonia and Assyria | QDB |
|
Hurrians and other ethnic groups |
QDC |
| Mitanni | QDD |
| Elam | QDE |
| Languages of Ancient Mesopotamia | QE |
|
Sumerian |
QEA |
| Old Sumerian (pre Ur III) | QEB |
| Neo-Sumerian (Ur III) | QEC |
| Akkadian (general) | QED |
|
Old Akkadian (Dynasty of Akkad) |
QEE |
| Old Assyrian | QEF |
| Old Babylonian | QEG |
| Middle Assyrian | QEH |
|
Middle Babylonian (Kassite period) |
QEI |
| Late Assyrian (1000-612 B.C.) | QEJ |
| Late Babylonian | QEK |
| Peripheral Akkadian (esp. Asia Minor) | QEL |
|
Amurru Akkadian |
QEM |
| Alalah Akkadian | QEN |
| Nuzi Akkadian | QEO |
| Ugarit Akkadian | QEP |
| Amarna Akkadian | QEQ |
|
Emar Akkadian |
QER |
|
Kassite |
QET |
| Elamite | QEU |
| Hurrian | QEV |
| Ancient Asia Minor | QF |
| Hatti and neighbouring states (Hittite Empire) | QFA |
| Neo-Hittite states (ca. 1000 B.C.-) | QFB |
| Lydia | QFC |
| Lycia | QFD |
| Phrygia | QFE |
| Urartu | QFF |
| Cilicia | QFG |
| Southern Asia Minor | QFH |
| Languages of Ancient Asia Minor | QG |
| Hattian (pre-Hittite) QGA | QGA |
| Anatolian group of Indo-European languages (General) | QGC |
| Hittite | QGC |
| Palaic | QGD |
| Luwian | QGE |
| Hieroglyphic Hittite | QGF |
| Lycian | QGG |
| Lydian | QGH |
| Phrygian | QGI |
| Karian | QGJ |
| Other languages of Asia Minor | QGK |
| Urartian (Vannic) | QGR |
| Ancient Syria | QH |
| Aramaeans | QHA |
| Amorites | QHB |
| Ugarit | QHC |
| Phoencia | QHD |
| Mari | QHE |
| Palmyra | QHF |
| Ebla | QHG |
| Emar | QHH |
| Large ANE Books | L QB - L QH |
Reference Collection
The print reference collections are shelved in separate sequences and their classmark bear the prefix REF. Check the location list for details.
They include:
• Atlases & Gazetters
• Biographies & Directories
• Catalogues of Manuscripts
• Encyclopaedias & Dictionaries
Library's third floor (level B) layout. Where the open stacks for the Middle East & Central Asia collections are based.
E-BOOKS
See our collections of e-books
Cambridge Books Online [SOAS staff & students only when off-site]
Dawsonera [SOAS staff & students only]
ebrary [SOAS staff & students only]
See also the e-books collections freely available online:
The Internet Archive’s Digital books collections
The Internet Archive and Open Library offers over 6,000,000 fully accessible public domain eBooks. This includes a special modern collection of over 500,000 eBooks for users with print disabilities, and a very interesting curated, modern collection for the world at large. You can browse, read and borrow fascinating contemporary materials at OpenLibrary.org.
HathiTrust Digital Archive
HathiTrust is a partnership of academic & research institutions, offering a collection of millions of titles digitized from libraries around the world, including many relevant to Middle Eastern and Central Asian studies.
Image sources
https://digital.soas.ac.uk/LOAA003341/00001/146