Aga Khan Library, London
The Aga KhanA title granted by the Shah of Persia to the then Ismaili Imam in 1818 and inherited by each of his successors to the Imamate. Library holds over 54,000 volumes focusing on Islamic Studies in general and Ismaili, Shi‘i, and Qur’anic Studies in particular. The Library actively collects materials on Muslim civilisations, past and present, and Muslim diasporas around the world, as well as on a broad range of research topics including religions and philosophy, history, social sciences, art and architecture, literature, and education.
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As part of its commitment to become one of Europe’s most relevant Islamic studies libraries, the collection includes books in English and several other European, Asian (Gujarati, Sindhi, Tajik, Urdu) and Middle Eastern (Arabic, Farsi, Ottoman Turkish, Turkish) languages. The Library has five librarians and two library assistants to provide expert guidance to help students and scholars with their research.
The Library is continuously growing its resources both in print and electronic format.
Its digital collection now offers access to over 90,000 eBooks and countless electronic resources including journals, databases, and reference works to support research and teaching.
The Aga Khan Library Digital Collections platform has been developed to make many of the titles in its rare and special collections freely available online. These unique collections comprise manuscripts, artworks, out-of-print publications, photographs, and maps produced in different periods and areas of the Muslim world and are invaluable for the study of Muslim communities and the history, politics, customs, and beliefs that have shaped them.
Beyond written texts, the Library has built up a collection of documentary and feature films covering a wide range of themes and regions of the Muslim world, including Afghanistan, Central Asia, Egypt, Iran, Morocco and Tunisia, as well as Muslim diaspora communities in Europe and North America. It also has a unique collection of audio recordings of Qawwali music from the Indian subcontinent, Sufi music from Iran and Turkey, and Gnawa music from North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa.
Ismaili Special Collections
The Institute of Ismaili Studies holds a significant repository of special collections related to the heritage of Ismaili communities and that of other Muslim traditions. The Ismaili Special Collections Unit (ISCU) was established in 2013 with the aim to systematically preserve, develop, digitise and catalogue as well as study, undertake and facilitate research on the Institute’s heritage collections. These collections include nearly 5,000 manuscripts in Arabic, Persian, Indic and other languages, coins, glass weights, medals and other historical artefacts, photographs and audio-visual materials, rare and special printed materials (including periodicals and magazines) and archival collections. ISCU Online Catalogue (special-collections.iis.ac.uk) includes information on about 4,000 items from the special collections housed at the IIS. The Ismaili Special Collections Unit regularly provides guidance and support to students and alumni for accessing as well as researching on heritage material.
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IOE Library
The IOE Library is the largest education library in Europe and holds extensive collections of current and historical materials on education and related areas of social science in print and digital formats.
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Visit UCL Explore search tool to discover journals, books, full-text articles, archive material and much more. IOE students can also access 17 other UCL libraries, the UCL Student Centre, as well as selected libraries in the area that offer a wide range of resources across all subject disciplines.
At the IOE Library, librarians and archivists offer support in person, via library skills sessions, and in one-to-ones. Online library skills support is also available via LibrarySkills@UCL.
Visit our Subject Guides for information about discipline-specific book and journal collections, online resources, other libraries you can use and to contact our Subject Liaison Librarians. If you need assistance, visit our UCL Library Help pages, which include a live chat service and answers to Frequently Asked Questions.
SOAS Library
The SOAS Library is one of the world’s most important libraries for the study of Asia, Africa and the Middle East, and one of only five National Research Libraries in the UK. The library attracts scholars from all over the world to consult its holdings and further their research. The Library houses over 1.3 million volumes at the SOAS campus at Russell Square in central London, together with a major collection of archives, manuscripts, rare books and special collections, an expanding Digital Library and a growing network of electronic resources.
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