The MERJ project aimed to provide preservation microfilming, article-level indexing, and bibliographic access to over 2,000 selected Middle Eastern journal titles in various languages (including four non-Roman script languages: Arabic, Greek, Hebrew, and Ottoman Turkish) which are housed in the following seven overseas research centers and their nine libraries:

• American Research Institute in Turkey (libraries in Ankara and Istanbul)
• American Institute for Maghrib Studies (libraries in Morocco and Tunisia)
• American Institute for Yemeni Studies
• American Research Center in Egypt
• American Center of Oriental Research in Amman, Jordan
• W.F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research in Jerusalem
• Cyprus American Archaeological Research Institute

These institutions hold many journals that are rare, important, and currently seriously underused because of their bibliographic and physical inaccessibility. Yet, because these journals are interregional and interdisciplinary in subject matter, they could serve scholars focused on many academic endeavors and bring vital yet inaccessible material to a public audience in the United States that is increasingly aware of the tremendous gaps in its knowledge and understanding of the Middle East and Islamic world. Thus, scholars, researchers, and library users worldwide will reap numerous benefits from the completion of the MERJ project, including:

• public accessibility outside the Middle East through the DLIR union catalog and OCLC's WorldCat,
• existence and coverage of microfilm reproductions
• extent of existing article indexing in other publicly available indexes.

Access to MERJ

Access to the products of the MERJ project is freely available from the links below.

Bibliographic records for over 2,000 journals surveyed at nine libraries of American overseas research centers may be found in the DLIR catalog. Records may also be viewed in OCLC WorldCat under the symbol AMODL. Please consult the DLIR catalog for specific location and holdings information.

A searchable article-level index is available for the following titles:

• Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society (Jerusalem, 1920-1948)
• Quarterly of the Department of Antiquities in Palestine (London, 1931-1950)
• Sumer (Baghdad, 1945-2000)

Digital full-text is available for the following journals:

• Arkeoloji Dergisi, Izmir, 1991-1998
• Arkeoloji-sanat Tarihi Dergisi, Izmir, 1984-1996
• Bogazici University Journal-Beseri Bilimler, Istanbul, 1973-1981
• Revue archéologique syrienne, Aleppo, 1931-1938
• Bulletin of the Israel Exploration Society, 1933-1967

Preservation microfilm for the following titles has been stored at the Center for Research Libraries in lieu of separate storage at the holding centers. Please contact the This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for more information.

• Arkeoloji Dergisi (Izmir, 1991-1998)
• Arkeoloji-sanat Tarihi Dergisi (Izmir, 1984-1996)
• Bogazici University Journal-Beseri Bilimler (Istanbul, 1973-1981)
• CEDAC Carthage Bulletin (Centre d'Études et de Documentation Archéologique de la Conservation de Carthage) (Tunis, 1978-1997)
• Revue archéologique syrienne (Aleppo, 1931-1938)