What collections and services are available to me in this reading room?
The African & Middle Eastern Reading Room is the primary public access point for materials housed in the the African & Middle Eastern Division (AMED). Anyone 16 years or older with a valid Library of Congress library card (see link below may use the reading room collections and services. To make the best use of your time, we recommend that you plan your visit in advance by contacting us via our Ask a Librarian online service.
About the Division
Recognized as as a major world resource center for Africa, the Middle East, the Caucasus, and Central Asia, the collections include a variety of vernacular scripts, such as Amharic, Arabic, Armenian, Georgian, Hebrew, Persian, Turkish, and Yiddish. Covering 77 countries from Morocco to Southern Africa to the Central Asian republics of the former Soviet Union, the division's three sections—African, Hebraic, and Near East—offer in-depth reference assistance, provide substantive briefings on a wide range of subjects relating to these languages and cultures, produce guides to the Library's vast resources and cooperate in developing and preserving the Division's unparalleled collections.