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Manuscripts of the Islamic World at Princeton University Library

Online Catalog Search tips

1. Use the facets on the library catalog page.

  • Start with manuscripts under format
  • You can select a specific language (Arabic, Persian, Ottoman Turkish, etc.) under languages
  • You can also select Special Collections under library, though a manuscript format should cover this.

Using only facets, a search for Arabic manuscripts, for example, will yield these results.

2. From there, it is best to search by proper noun. If you have a title or author name of interest, and it is written in non-Latin script, input that information into the search in two ways:

  • the script version of the original language (ex: القانون في الطب)
  • a transliteration of the title or author's name (ex: al-Qānūn fī al-Ṭibb)

For more information on transliteration, see the Transliteration (Romanization) tables linked on this page, below the "From the Collections" gallery.

For more searching tips, see the Catalog Searching Tips for Arabic, Persian, and Ottoman Turkish tab.

You may use the physical catalogs of these collections (digitized versions below), but please note the word of *Caution* when starting from these catalogs before searching them in the online catalog.