About Us
Library
ARCE established its scholarly library in 1978 to support research on various aspects of the history and culture of Egypt. The library grew over the years and, in 1994, a generous donation by long-time supporters William Kelly and Marylin Simpson allowed the physical library to be established in ARCE’s Cairo Center. The eponymous library has continued to grow through contributions, grants, exchanges and ongoing acquisitions. Today the collection contains more than forty thousand volumes, of which approximately 20 percent are in Arabic.
Explore the Library :
Floor Plan >>
Collection
The library collection focuses on Egyptology and Islamic studies and
includes most standard scholarly reference works as well as some 300 journal
titles. The acquisition is undertaken on other subject areas (e.g. Greco-Roman
World, Arabic Literature). The Simpson Library collection also includes a
substantial number of rare books, including a complete set of the bulletins of
the Comité de Conservation des Monuments de l'Art Arabe, a first edition of
the Description de
l'Egypte (one of only five complete sets in Egypt), and the catalogues
généraux of the Egyptian Museum and the Musée National de l'Art Arabe (the
present-day Islamic Museum)
A unique feature of the
Simpson Library is the photographed
and photocopied collection of select Arabic
manuscripts that are held in various Middle Eastern and European Libraries.
Acquired by scholars working in Cairo and throughout the Middle East over the
past eighty years, the collection includes many works by the Arabic philosopher
Avicenna and members of his school. These works have been photographed and photocopied
for public use; the original photographs are preserved in acid-free paper.
Users
The Simpson library is available to ARCE
members, staff, fellows, and representatives of affiliated expeditions. It is
also accessible to the staff of the Ministry of
Tourism and Antiquities, faculty at Egyptian universities and
postgraduate students, members of other foreign institutes and expeditions,
and, by courtesy, to colleagues in general. The library’s large volume of
publications in western languages, especially English, makes it an invaluable
resource to scholars in the Cairo area.
In 2021 ARCE launched its library portal, which provides access to a digital library. The digital library currently grants users access to over 5000 digital publications. Our digital library can be accessed within the library, by library users. Remote access is only available to ARCE members. (become a member)
