The Oman Library's Online Subscription Content
The Oman Library (previously known as the George Camp Keiser Library) has subscribed to various current periodicals since its founding in 1946. Electronic resources, however, are a relatively new phenomenon and in June 2020, the library began to invest in providing its users with access to subscription e-resources. Online subscription content and e-books are cataloged and searchable in the online catalog, as well as being accessible directly from the main page.
Any general reference questions or citations for desired articles may be emailed to the librarian as a reference request. MEI's online subscriptions are accessible remotely to library-account holders or to anybody physically located within the Library.
For inquiries about subscription content, please contact the librarian by phone or email.
Databases
located on the right side
of the home page.
ProQuest databases include two collections focusing on current news publications from the MENA region and scholarly publications, including more than 4,000 scholarly and trade journals, 175 newspapers, 56 wire feeds, dissertations, conference papers and proceedings, reports, magazines, and more:
Middle East & Africa Database
Provides full-text access to academic journals published in and about Middle Eastern and African countries. The subjects cover major areas of study, including business, science, technology, engineering, social sciences, education, and humanities.
Middle East & African Newsstream
Provides ongoing full-text access to current newspapers, news wires, websites and blogs from leading publishers throughout the region. The database includes back files dating to 1988.
To access ProQuest content remotely, simply click on the green button, enter your library card number when prompted...
Researchers will be automatically directed to the Advanced Search page. The default databases include the two subscription databases detailed above as well as (as of Summer 2021) a free Coronavirus Research Database and a Publicly Available Content Database.
The menu at the top of the page allows researchers to switch from Advanced to Basic Search, select which databases are to be included in the search, and the Publications Search which allows users to search for specific publications by their titles.
search fields allows for targeted
searching.
The default Advanced Search allows users to easily perform Boolean searches for a variety of metadata fields such as "anywhere" (selecting this option includes all fields in the search, such as title, subject, author, and the documents' full text), subject terms, title words, author name, and more. Users may also preemptively limit results by source type, document type, and language. This allows for more precise searching from the start.
For a simple "anywhere" keyword search, a Basic Search is a quick alternative will retrieve more results. Regardless of Advanced or Simple search, users may use a filter after seeing initial search results by using the left-side menu options.
Researchers have the option to modify the search, view recent searches, or save the current search by looking to the top right corner of search results. For saving the current search there are several options to save the search after having created a My Research account, create an RSS feed, create a link to return to or share the search results, and to set up alerts to deliver new documents matching your search as they become available in ProQuest.
The EastView database featured on the e-resources menu is an Open Access portal that provides users with a host of Middle Eastern and North African Newspapers. "From the Ottoman Empire to the Arab Spring...The Middle Eastern & North African Newspapers collection includes publications from across this dynamic region, providing unique insights into the history of individual countries, as well as broad viewpoints on key historic events from the late nineteenth century through the present."
The database includes newspapers from Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt, Algeria, and more, dating from 1870 to 2019.
Magazines
ArabLit Quarterly was the first electronic subscription that the Oman Library purchased in June of 2020. Available via Exact Editions, it is a title that has been popular among general readers and MEI Interns alike. Users may click on the ArabLit image located near the top of the Oman Library catalog home page. The bibliographic record is another point of access.
In order to log in to Exact Editions, users who are not physically located at MEI should click on "Log in" from the top menu, then select the "library card" login option:
Remote users must have an account with the Oman Library, although the card number may be different from what appears on a cardholder's account. Please contact the librarian for more specific login instructions.
Cornucopia: Turkey for Connoisseurs
This magazine will be available to Oman Library patrons through Exact Editions, along with ArabLit, as of June 26, 2021. Access information will be updated at that time.
eBooks
The EBSCO button is located on the right side of the Oman Library catalog's homepage along with the other subscription e-resource links. EBSCO is best viewed on web browsers other than Firefox.
After clicking (from a remote location) on the EBSCO eBooks button, users will be prompted to log in. Please enter your Oman Library Card number to search for and access Oman Library eBooks.
Currently, the Oman Library has purchased permanent access to several eBooks:
Armed Struggle and the Search for State: the Palestinian national movement, 1949-1993, by Yezid Sayigh. (The Oman Library's first eBook purchase!)
Arabic Short Stories for Language Learners: traditional Middle Eastern tales in Arabic and English, by Hezi Brosh and Lutfi Mansur.
Modern Arabic Short Stories: a bilingual reader, ed. by Ronak Husni and Daniel L. Newman.
The Masnavi [Six volumes, English edition] - available in EBSCO but awaiting cataloging record.
The Masnavi [Six volumes, Persian edition] - available in EBSCO but awaiting cataloging record.
These titles (and eventually, future purchases) may be searched directly in EBSCO or in the library catalog.
This post is maintained by the Oman Library at MEI.