Collections

Most of the British Library's Arabic-language material is held as part of the Oriental and India Office Collections.

The Library's collection of Arabic manuscripts is world-famous. It is one of the largest such collections in Europe or North America, comprising almost 14,000 manuscripts, representing nearly 20,000 works. It is renowned for the importance of many individual items, from some of the finest calligraphic and illuminated manuscripts of the Holy Qur'an to autograph and other high-quality copies of major legal, historical, literary and scientific works.

The collection of Arabic printed books is among the largest in the UK and is made up of over 60,000 items, together with over 600 periodical titles.

Current acquisitions policy aims to maintain a broad coverage of the humanities and social sciences by obtaining material from a number of Middle Eastern countries, focusing principally on Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority.

You can search the British Library's catalogues and find out more about specific holdings by following the link below.

Arabic Material in the British Library