Information resources on the Middle East and in the UK: a critical survey of collections, users and selected bibliographical sources

The thesis comprises 5 chapters, including the conclusion. The first chapter is a review of the history of Middle Eastern studies and relevant collections in the UK together with an account of the four official reports commissioned by the UK Government on Oriental and African Studies in the UK. The second chapter is an account of a questionnaire based survey of Middle Eastern collections in the UK, which looks at 62 collections. The third chapter is a social survey, based on questionnaires and interviews on the information needs of library users in the UK with Middle Eastern interests. The fourth chapter is a statistical analysis of certain bibliographical tools on the Middle East (English) and in Middle Eastern languages. Following these analyses the findings from chapter 2 on collections, chapter 3 on users, and chapter 4 on bibliographical sources are compared in order to investigate the correlations between these elements. Having demonstrated the particular significance of the collection of libraries specialising in the Middle East to the conduct of Middle Eastern studies in the UK, ways in which the collections and services of these libraries might be improved are examined