Princeton University has placed a new digital library of 200 Islamic manu******s online for scholars to consult and study.

These manu******s were selected from some 9,500 volumes of Islamic manu******s in Arabic, Persian, Ottoman Turkish and other ********s of the Muslim world in the University Library's Department of Rare Books and Special Collections. Princeton's extraordinary holdings constitute the premier collection in the Western Hemisphere and among the finest in the world, according to Don Skemer, curator of manu******s.

The digital library is a major component of the Islamic Manu******s Cataloging and Digitization Project, begun in 2005 with the generous support of the David A. Gardner '69 Magic Project. Eventually, all of the manu******s will be cataloged online, which involves creating bibliographic records containing basic de******ive information that helps researchers decide whether to order microform copies or to visit the library in person.

"The Islamic Manu******s Cataloging and Digitization Project was conceived specifically as a way for the library to improve access to these rich collections and share them worldwide through digital technology," Skemer said. "It is hoped that the project will make a contribution to international understanding and serve as a gesture of good will to a critical part of the world."

Michael ****, the Class of 1943 University Professor of Near Eastern Studies and one of the leading Islamicists in America, said, "Princeton has 9,500 Islamic manu******s in Arabic and other ********s in a ******** that is very convenient for scholars ****d in North America, but far less so for those ****d in the Islamic world or Europe. Most of the collection is described in printed catalogs, and scholars can always obtain microfilms of the manu******s. But the printed catalogs are old and not available everywhere, while microfilms often provide images of poor quality. The online digital library thus marks a major advance in providing up-to-date de******ions of the manu******s to anyone who can log onto the ***, and in making at least some of the manu******s available online in fine-quality digital images."


The digital library includes this Arabic botanical manu****** from the 15th century that is from the Robert Garrett Collection donated to the University in 1942.

Approximately two-thirds of the manu******s were donated to the University in 1942 by Robert Garrett, a member of Princeton's class of 1897. But the library has continued to build this collection since then.

The digitized manu******s date from the early centuries of Islam until the fall of the Ottoman Empire. They originated in all parts of the Islamic world, from Moorish Spain and northern Africa in the West, through the Middle East, and to India and Indonesia in the East. Subject coverage is fairly encyclopedic, including history, biography, philosophy and logic, theology (****d both on the Quran and tradition), law and jurisprudence, ********, literature, book arts and illustration, magic and occult sciences, astrology, astronomy, mathematics, medicine, and other aspects of the spiritual and intellectual life of the Islamic world.

While the digital library emphasizes rare or unique texts of academic research interest, it also includes a selection of Persian illuminated manu******s and Mughal miniatures, such as a magnificent 18th-century Indian album of miniatures and calligraphy.

Princeton expects to add more manu******s to the digital library in the future, besides producing the online bibliographic de******ions.

Click here for access to the digitized manu******s. From this ***page, click on "View the Digital Library" and select any of the 200 manu******s, which are listed both alphabetically and by subject and genre.

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