Nat’l Library to open access to 2,500 Islamic works
The National Library of Israel, in coordination with the Arcadia Fund, has announced a major initiative to open digital access to over 2,500 rare Islamic manuscripts and books.
With the aid of a grant from Arcadia, a charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin, the National Library’s opening of access will include the digitization and uploading of high-resolution images of books and manuscripts, improving item descriptions in Arabic and English and the development of an English-Hebrew-Arabic digital platform, according to a press release from the library on Monday.
In order to ensure the conservation of the rare books and manuscripts, the press release stated, experts will be meticulously reviewing all of the items to be scanned, while taking preservation measures on any items deemed to be in poor physical condition.
Users from around the world will be able to access the manuscripts and books, high-resolution images, user-friendly search options and unique tools.
A hefty undertaking, the project is expected to be finished by 2023.
Among the unique documents to be included in the process is an Iranian copy of the great Persian mystical poet Nur al-Din Jami’s collection Tuhfat al-Ahrar, originally produced in 1484, during the poet’s lifetime.
Other items in the collection are decorated Korans, literary works embroidered with gold leaf, and lapis lazuli, from across the Muslim world.
Beyond the traditional Arabic, many items in the National Library are written works in Persian and Turkish, dating from the ninth to the 20th century.
The press release noted that most of the manuscripts were acquired via donation, from Abraham Shalom Yahuda (1877-1951), a Jerusalem-born scholar, linguist and writer and interpreter of many Islamic manuscripts and medieval Judeo-Arabic texts.
The collection is also noted for spanning all major Islamic disciplines and literary traditions, with highlights including items from royal Mamluk, Mughal and Ottoman libraries.
“We are privileged to open digital access to these treasures and hope that this project will contribute to greater understanding and shared inquiry related to Islamic civilization. It is one of a number of initiatives connecting the National Library of Israel in Jerusalem with the global community,” said Dr. Raquel Ukeles, curator of the Islam and Middle East Collection, National Library of Israel.