814-865-1014
Arts & Humanities Library
Index Islamicus. Annual publication. Penn State has since 1906.
Call # Z7835.M6 L6, Arts and Humanities Reference, 2nd Floor Pattee Library
The primary scholarly index in the field. Covers publications appearing in English, European and Turkish language sources in all subject areas (Art, Music, Politics, etc…)
Proquest Direct
Provides access to articles in over 5,000+ magazines and journals. It contains Full text for many of these publications. To limit to scholarly publications check the box labeled "Articles from Peer-Reviewed Publications"
Ethnic NewsWatch
A full text database of the newspapers, magazines and journals of the ethnic, minority and native press. Most titles go back to the 1990's. You can limit a search to Arab-American or Middle Eastern publications.
Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe
Contains full-text of news sources. For publications from the Middle East select "World News".
Middle East: Abstracts and Index. Annual Publication.Library has 1978-date.
Call # DS41.M44, Arts and Humanities Reference, 2nd Floor Pattee Library.
Summarizes government documents, newspapers, conference proceedings, and journal articles.Provides information on where to locate the original publications.Entries are by country, with subject indices.
Middle East Contemporary Survey, Annual Publication.Penn State has 1976/1977-present.
Call # DS62.8 .M53, Arts and Humanities Reference, 2nd Floor Pattee Library
Provides an overview of developments by country. A good source for learning about the major issues in a country..
World News Connection
Translations of foreign news sources, including radio and television broadcasts. Earlier years are available on paper and microfiche under the title Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS). Daily Report.
News & Media on the Internet:
The CAT - Find Books and Other Materials at Penn State. Identifies specific call numbers and shelf locations.
Call Numbers for Middle Eastern Studies
Subject, Call Number Range and Stack Level
Tips for searching the CAT:
Encyclopaedia of Islam The major reference resource in the field. "Islam" is broadly defined to include Islamic culture, history, geography, literature, politics, etc.... Entries are in English, but subject terms are in transliterated Arabic.
A Concordance of the Quran
Call # BP133.K37 1983, Arts and Humanities Reference, 2nd Floor Pattee Library.
A listing of the words and phrases used in the Quran and where they can be found in the text. Sample sentences are provided to indicate how the term was used.
Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa 2nd ed., 4v, 2004
An Historical Encyclopedia of the Arab-Israeli Conflict
Call # DS119.7.H544 1996, Social Sciences, 2nd Floor Paterno - Reference Collection
Brief essays describing the key people, places, events and issues.
Middle East Conflict Reference Library
Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World
Call # DS35.53.O95 1995, Arts and Humanities Reference, 2nd Floor Pattee Library.
A fairly recent publication containing essays on countries, prominent individuals, politics, society, literature, etc...
Periodicals Index Online - index to back files of thousands of academic periodicals in over forty languages. Coverage of some titles dates back to the eighteenth century.
Web of Online Dictionaries
Arabic-English & English-Arabic Online Translator
An Arabic-English Lexicon
Call # PJ6640.L3 1980 Q, Arts and Humanities Reference, 2nd Floor Pattee Library
The Combined New Persian-English and English-Persian dictionary
Call # PK6378.A78 1986, Arts and Humanities Reference, 2nd Floor Pattee Library
A Comprehensive Persian-English dictionary
Call # PK6379.S7 1930, Arts and Humanities Reference, 2nd Floor Pattee Library
The Oxford English-Arabic Dictionary of Current Usage
Call # PJ6640.D6, Arts and Humanities Reference, 2nd Floor Pattee Library
The Oxford Turkish Dictionary
Call # PL191.I94 1992, Arts and Humanities Reference, 2nd Floor Pattee Library
Cambridge Atlas of the Middle East and North Africa
Call # DS44.C36 1987 F, Maps Library, B-level Paterno - Reference Collection
Contains maps displaying the geography, economics, language, religion and history of the regions.
Centennia [computer file]
Call # G5701.S1 1995.C45, Maps Library, B-level Paterno - Electronic Resources/Manuals
Guide to the history of Europe and the Middle East from the year 1000 A.D. to the 1990's. Users can zoom in and zoom out of map regions, and search by historical names, places, and dates.
Historical Atlas of the Middle East
Call # G2206.S1F7 1993, Maps Library, B-level Paterno, Reference
A selection of maps documenting the Middle East from the pre-Islamic period to the 20th Century.
Middle East Maps Online
An extensive collection of links complied by the University of Texas at Austin Perry-Castenada Map Library.
CIA World Factbook Annual publication. Penn State has 1982-present.
Call # G103.N3201, Social Sciences, 2nd Floor Paterno. Earlier years are on the 3rd Floor Paterno.
Recent years are online: http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/. Heavily statistically based descriptions of countries, including data on economics, language, religion, population, etc...
Europa World Year Book Annual Publication. Penn State has 1959-present
Call # D2 .E8401, Latest edition in Reference, 3rd Floor Paterno, and 2nd Floor Paterno Library.
Provides statistical and textual overviews for individual countries. Includes history, economic data, culture, media, etc...
Library of Congress Country Studies
Originally intended for U.S. government personnel working abroad, these guides provide detailed overviews of the history and culture of foreign countries. Caution: some guides are not current. For more up-to date information see the CIA World Factbook. The library has paper copies of many of the Country Studies. Search The CAT for location and availability information.
UNSTATS
Provides a wide range of social and economic data from 30 international agencies including the, World Bank, IMF, UNESCO, UNICEF, and WHO. Data can be displayed in HTML or downloaded in Excel or CSV format.
The library subscribes to over 10,000 magazines, newspapers, and journals online. Below is a partial list of titles specific to the Middle East. These are paid subscriptions, and remote access is generally restricted to Penn State students, faculty, and staff.
The easiest way to locate a biography is to search The CAT. Enter the name of the individual who is the subject of the biography. For autobiographies do an Author search. Remember that Middle Eastern names are not always spelled consistently.
Unfortunately the above approach only works if the entire book is primarily about one individual. Many people are not famous enough to have entire books devoted to them (or you may not want to read an entire book!) In these cases your best bet is to consult a biographical dictionary or encyclopedia. Typically these sources provide a brief essay (a paragraph to a few pages) summarizing the individual's major accomplishments. The library has literally thousands of biographical sources. The ones below will help you get started.
Biography and Genealogy Master Index
An online index to biographies published in biographical encyclopedias and dictionaries on all topics/regions/disciplines.
Biographical Dictionary of the Middle East
Call # DS62.4.B56 1991, Arts and Humanities Reference, 2nd Floor Pattee Library
Brief biographies of the major political, historical, and cultural figures of the Middle East from the present & recent past.
Who's Who in the Ancient Near East
Call # DS61.5.L45 1999, Arts & Humanities Reference 2nd Floor Pattee Library
Who's Who in the Arab World Annual Publication. Penn State has since 1967/68
Call # DS36.55 .W46, Arts & Humanities Reference 2nd Floor Pattee Library
