Catalog Record Help Desk: BadCat Coming Along Swell

After two months of BadCat going into production, we?re happy to say the project is experiencing success.

If you recall, during the pilot phase (July 21-August 20), Cataloging staff worked on old ?DCU? maintenance requests. During this phase, more than half of these back-logged requests were resolved. The remaining ?DCU? requests are being slowly incorporated into the ongoing current BadCat workflow.

Of the current BadCat workflow, more than 85% of new tickets are resolved within 2-5 days. Waiting for additional information from the ticket submitter is the primary reason other tickets take longer to resolve.

Tips for efficient maintenance requests:

· Use the BadCat form that’s linked from the OskiCat Help Portal on the Staff Web homepage.

? do not send maintenance requests to individual catalogers as this will only delay your request.

? Take advantage of using the auto-fill feature via MyOskiCat. See the BadCat FAQ for more details. http://sunsite3.berkeley.edu/wikis/TechServices/index.php?n=Main.EverythingAZ?action=download&upname=BadCatFAQ.pdf

· Respond in a timely fashion when asked for additional information or for material relating to your BadCat request.

· Do not use the BadCat form to request purchase, cataloging, access assistance, or URL correction for electronic resources. These should be submitted to the Eproblem Report Form that’s linked from the Staff Web homepage.

BadCat Stats:

Average number of tickets received per week: 27

Number of tickets closed in past 12 weeks: 372

Number of active tickets: 72

How are we doing?

The Catalog Department encourages you to tell us about your experience using BadCat. Please add a comment (or a question) to this posting, or send an email to Lisa Rowlison de Ortiz, lrowliso@library.berkeley.edu


ERF Update – April 2015

ERF Update – April 2015

Current number of records in the ERF: 1211

ADDED since last update:

 

Engineering and Physical Sciences

  • IEEE English for Engineering. An interactive course to advance technical communications skills when speaking, reading, and writing English.
  • Spatial Hazard Events and Losses Database (SHELDUS). County-level hazard loss data set for the US for 18 different natural hazard events types such as thunderstorms, hurricanes, floods, wildfires, and tornadoes, covering from 1960 – present.

 

Arts & Humanities / International & Area Studies

  • Brill’s Encyclopaedia of the Neo-Latin World. A comprehensive encyclopedia of Neo-Latin from the Italian Renaissance to the modern era (14th-16th century).
  • British Periodicals (Collection I). Nearly 500 British periodicals published from the 17th through the early 20th centuries.
  • Defining Gender, 1450-1910. Includes a broad range of digitized documents sourced from 21 libraries. The manuscripts, printed works, and illustrations are grouped thematically and address key gender issues from both masculine and feminine perspectives.
  • Design and Applied Arts Index (DAAI). Information for all aspects of design and crafts, from textiles and ceramics to vehicle design, advertising and sustainability. Covers journal articles, exhibition reviews and news items from 1973 to the present.
  • Entertainment Industry Magazine Archive. An archival research resource containing the essential primary sources for studying the history of the film and entertainment industries, from the era of vaudeville and silent movies through to 2000.
  • The Grand Tour. Brings together in one searchable database letters, diaries, printed guidebooks, travel writing, maps, paintings and architectural plans relating to the experiences of people participating in the Grand Tour.
  • Jewish Life in America, c1654-1954. A rich variety of original manuscript collections from the American Jewish Historical Society in New York.
  • Krokodil Digital Archive. Russian for “Crocodile,” Krokodil was a satirical magazine published in the Soviet Union.
  • Literary Manuscripts from the Berg Collection at the New York Public Library. Original manuscripts of 15 Victorian authors digitized from the 19th-century holdings of the Berg Collection of the New York Public Library.
  • Literary Manuscripts from the Brotherton Library, University of Leeds. Complete facsimile images of manuscripts of 17th and 18th century verse.
  • Loeb Classical Library. The only existing series of books which, through original text and English translation, gives access to all that is important in Greek and Latin literature.
  • London Low Life. Digital collection of fiction, cartoons, maps, posters, ballads, advertisements, broadsides, and reform literature relevant to the social history of London from 1800 to 1910.
  • Medici.tv. Classical music videos live and on-demand.
  • Medieval Family Life. Digitized manuscripts that reveal the details of medieval life in the areas of business and trade, politics, community, family affairs, and relationships.
  • Medieval Travel Writing. Manuscripts of important works of European travel writing from the later medieval period. The chief focus is on journeys to central Asia and the Far East, including accounts of travel to Mongolia, Persia, India, China and South-East Asia.
  • Meiji Japan. Digitized papers of Edward Sylvester Morse, who was one of the first Americans to live and teach in Japan. This collection is a good source for those interested in the anthropology, archaeology, art and culture of Japan.
  • OnArchitecture. An audiovisual collection featuring 200+ original videos, interviews, building panoramas and installations by some of the main figures of contemporary architecture.
  • Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium. Standard research tool on 1,100 years of Byzantine history, from the 4th century to the 15th.
  • Perdita Manuscripts: Women Writers, 1500-1700. Over 230 manuscripts of early modern women writers whose work only exists in manuscript form.
  • Romanticism: Life, Literature, and Landscape. Discover literary sources which are indispensable for scholars and students studying William Wordsworth and the Romantic period.
  • Russkaia literatura Digital Archive. A well-known journal of literary criticism, one of the most comprehensive, reliable and authoritative resources featuring biographical information and criticism of Russian and Soviet authors in various genres.

 

Social Sciences

  • American Consumer Culture: Market Research and American Business, 1935-1965. Provides insight into the American consumer boom of the mid-20th century through the complete market research reports of Ernest Dichter, the era’s foremost consumer analyst and widely-recognised “father” of Motivational Research.
  • American History. Provides access to over 50,000 unique manuscripts on American History from 1493-1945.
  • American Indian Histories and Cultures. Contains primary and secondary documents such as artwork, speeches, petitions, diaries, journals, correspondence, early linguistic and ethnographic accounts, photographs, maps, rare books and newspapers, ranging from the 16th to the 20th century.
  • Apartheid South Africa, 1948-1980. Makes available British government files from various Foreign Offices spanning the period 1948 to 1980. Includes letters, diplomatic dispatches, reports, trial papers, activist biographies and first-hand accounts.
  • Archives of the Communist Party of China. Archives and publications of the Communist Party in China since its establishment in 1921.
  • Baltimore Afro-American. Founded by former slave John Henry Murphy, Sr. when he merged three church publications, The Baltimore Afro-American became one of the most widely circulated African-American newspapers on the Atlantic Coast.
  • China, America, and the Pacific: Trade and Cultural Exchange. Covering the 18th to early 20th centuries, this database documents the socioeconomic aspects of transpacific and around-the-world commercial, scientific, and other maritime voyages. The focus is on the China trade.
  • China: Culture and Society. Cornell’s Wason Pamphlet Collection, digitized in its entirety. Mostly in English and published between c.1750 and 1929, these include a wide variety of writings on the people and cultures of China and foreign involvement there.
  • China: Trade, Politics, and Culture 1793-1980. Incorporating 19 document types including illustrations, diaries, memoirs, and official papers, the database provides varying perspectives from politicians and diplomats to missionaries and tourists, documenting key events during the period.
  • Chinese New Local Gazetteers. More than 25,900 volumes of Chinese gazetteer books, covering 31 provinces and autonomous regions, and providing historical records of provinces, prefectures, cities, and smaller district administration units.
  • Confidential Print: North America, 1824-1961. A digitized collection of Great Britain’s Foreign and Colonial Offices’ entire Confidential Print series relating to the United States, Canada and the English-speaking Caribbean, with some coverage of Central and South America.
  • EdITLib Digital Library. Journal articles, conference papers, dissertations and multimedia content on educational technology, information technology, and e-learning.
  • First World War. A collection of primary source material for the study of the Great War organized into three modules: Personal experiences, Propaganda and Recruitment, and Visual Perspectives and Narratives.
  • Foreign Office Files for China, 1919-1980. All British Foreign Office files dealing with China, Hong Kong and Taiwan between 1919 and 1980, covering important historical events in modern Chinese history.
  • India, Raj and Empire. First-hand accounts from journals and diaries document the foundation of the East India Company and the independence of India.
  • Japan Chronicle Online. The English-language Japan Chronicle Weekly is the newspaper of record for Japan’?s engagement with modernity and its emergence onto the world stage in the first half of the twentieth century.
  • Macmillan Cabinet Papers, 1957-1963. Documents from the highest level of the British government during Harold Macmillan’s term as prime minister.
  • Plunkett Research Online. Market research, industry statistics, trends, and in-depth analysis of top companies.
  • Popular Culture in Britain and America, 1950-1975. Explore the dynamic period of social, political and cultural change in the US and UK between 1950 and 1975 though chronology, video footage, and more.
  • ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Chinese Newspapers Collection. Gain insight into Chinese political and social life during the turbulent 120 year period from 1832 to 1953 with 12 English-language Chinese historical newspapers.
  • ProQuest History Vault: Vietnam War and American Foreign Policy, 1960-1975. Includes 104 ProQuest microfilm collections; records of the Associated Press’s Saigon Bureau, Military Assistance and Advisory Command, Vietnam; and National Security Files from the Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon and Ford administrations.
  • Slavery, Abolition, and Social Justice. Primary source materials from 1490-2007 in slavery and abolition studies.
  • South Asia Archive. A digital platform for culturally and historically significant literary material produced from within – and about – the Indian subcontinent.
  • The Guardian and The Observer. These British historical newspapers bring history to life by presenting facts, firsthand accounts, and opinions of the day about the most significant political, business, sports, literary, and entertainment events from the past two centuries.
  • The Los Angeles Sentinel. From its earliest beginnings when it urged African-Americans to “not spend your money where you can’t work,” the Los Angeles Sentinel has exposed prejudice, promoted social change, and empowered the black community.
  • The Nixon Years, 1969-1974. The complete UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) 7 and 82 files for the entire period of Richard Nixon’Ã?Â?s presidency.
  • The Times of India. The world’s most widely circulated English daily newspaper was founded in 1838 to serve British residents of West India.
  • Travel Writing, Spectacle and World History. Hundreds of accounts by women of their travels across the globe from the early 19th century to the late 20th century.
  • Victorian Popular Culture: Circuses, Sideshows and Freaks. Focuses on the world of travelling entertainment, which brought spectacle to vast audiences across Britain, American and Europe in the 19th and early 20th century.
  • Victorian Popular Culture: Moving Pictures, Optical Entertainments and the Advent of Cinema. Explores the pivotal era in entertainment history when previously static images came to life and moved for the first time.
  • Victorian Popular Culture: Music Hall, Theatre and Popular Entertainment. Material on music halls, pleasure gardens, exhibitions, scientific institutions from the golden era for variety, vaudeville, and theatre.
  • Victorian Popular Culture: Spiritualism, Sensation and Magic. Explores the relationship between the popularity of Victorian magic shows and conjuring tricks and the emergence of seances and psychic phenomena in Britain and America.
  • Virginia Company Archives. Provides access to the archive of the Virginia Company, which brought settlers to the new world.
  • Women in the National Archives, UK. Archival documents from the British National Archive relating to women

 

Life and Health Sciences

  • Brenner’s Encyclopedia of Genetics (Second Edition). Featuring relatively short entries on genetics topics written by experts in that topic, Brenner’s Encyclopedia of Genetics provides an effective way to learn about any aspect of genetics, from Abortive Transduction to Zygotes.
  • Encyclopedia of Agriculture and Food Systems. Addresses important issues by examining topics of global agriculture and food systems that are key to understanding the challenges we face.
  • Encyclopedia of the Neurological Sciences (Second Edition). Covers all areas of neurological sciences through over 1,000 entries focused on a wide variety of topics in neurology, neurosurgery, psychiatry, and other related areas of neuroscience.
  • Environment Complete. Citations to, plus some full text for, journal articles and books on a wide variety of environmental topics.
  • GIDEON. Updated almost daily, GIDEON has information on the epidemiology, treatment, and microbiology of infectious diseases. Includes an Infectious Diseases module and a Microbiology module.
  • Pathobiology of Human Disease: A Dynamic Encyclopedia of Disease Mechanisms. A standard reference in the pathology and molecular biology of human disease.
  • PubAg. Full-text access to scientific journal articles by USDA researchers, plus indexing of peer-reviewed articles relevant to the agricultural sciences.

 

REMOVED since last update:

  • Emerald Library and Information Studies Collection. Subscription cancelled at Selector’s discretion.
  • American Social History Online. Defunct site.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


NOW ON TRIAL: Incidence and Prevalence Database

IPD: Incidence and Prevalence Database is the most efficient way to look at the world’s epidemiology data.

The database covers over 4,500 diseases, procedures, symptoms and other health issues for incidence, prevalence, morbidity, mortality, comorbidity, treated or diagnosed rates, cost and much more.  Updated monthly, all data are linked to the primary source.  Sources include medical journals, trade journals, audits, on-line databases, registries, and market investment reports.

Our trial runs from February 2 through March 6, 2015.

Please send comments and feedback to Debbie Jan.


NOW ON TRIAL: GIDEON: Global Infectious Diseases and Epidemiology Network

Updated on a continuous basis, Gideon is a great resource for global infectious diseases, including worldwide distribution, disease outbreak information, and surveys.  The Infectious Diseases module has 5 sections: Diagnosis, Diseases, Travel, Drugs, and Vaccines.  The Microbiology module covers Bacteria, Mycobacteria, and Yeasts.  Content comes from peer-reviewed journal articles, abstracts of major international meetings, and other gray literature.

 

Our trial runs from January 23rd to March 6th.

 

Please send your comments and feedback to Debbie Jan.


Rekishiteki Ongen (Rekion) Now Available at the East Asian Library

The C. V. Starr East Asian Library at UC Berkeley has recently registered to access to Rekishiteki Ongen (Rekion) (http://rekion.dl.ndl.go.jp/) the Japanese Historical Recordings Collection provided by the National Diet Library (NDL). Compiled by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) in cooperation with the NDL, this archive consists of over 48,000 digitized recordings from 1900-1950. With this registration, UC Berkeley faculty and students are now able to access any of the over 47,000 historical recordings marked as “Available only at the NDL/Rekion partner libraries” in the website on the dedicated public PC in the East Asian Library (please ask at the Circulation Desk for the dedicated PC and its ID/password for access). To use the Rekion collection at the Library, please bring your own headsets.

If you would like to see the list of all 48,000+ recordings offered at the Rekion website, click “Browse all recordings” link in “Browse by Title” box. Although the audio files cannot be downloaded, we still hope that the availability of these resources will assist your research in Japanese culture and history, music, and other subjects.

If you have any questions or comments on this resource, please contact Toshie Marra.


ERF Update – January 2015

ERF Update – January 2015

Current number of records in the ERF: 1149

ADDED since last update

Engineering and Physical Sciences

 

  • AIAA Progress in Astronautics and Aeronautics Series. The Progress in Astronautics and Aeronautics series is devoted to books that present a particular, well-defined subject reflecting advances in the fields of aerospace science, engineering, and/or technology.
  • DrillingInfo. Data on U.S. oil drilling, including current and historical data on oil well construction, production, leases, permits, etc.
  • Encyclopedia of Membrane Science and Technology. Critical assessment of the status and advancements in materials and fabrication of membranes, membrane based processes, and applications critical to industrial applications and research.
  • Wiley StatsRef: Statistics Reference Online. Covers the fundamentals and applications of statistics in all fields. Regularly updated with new and revised content.

 

Arts & Humanities / International & Area Studies

 

  • ACLS Humanities e-Book (HEB) Collection. An online collection of thousands of books of high quality in the humanities
  • Al Manhal. Books, journals, dissertations, and reports from the Arab world.
  • Cambridge Edition of the Works of Ben Jonson Online. Fully searchable online edition of the complete writings of Ben Jonson.
  • Cambridge Histories Online. Completely searchable full text of the Cambridge Histories series.
  • Chateauroux Version of the <<Chanson de Roland>>. A fully annotated critical edition of the Chateauroux text of the Chanson de Roland.
  • China Economy, Public Policy, and Security Database. High-value analytical reports intended to guide policymaking in the People’s Republic of China (known as “Pishu” which literally means “cover-books”).
  • Companion to Archaic Greece. A systematic survey of archaic Greek society and culture which introduces the reader to a wide range of new approaches to the period.
  • Digital Public Library of America. Brings together the riches of America’s libraries, archives, and museums, and makes them freely available to the world.
  • Documenting the American South. Texts, images, and audio files related to US southern history, literature, and culture.
  • Encyclopedia of Hebrew Language and Linguistics. Systematic and comprehensive treatment of all aspects of the history and study of the Hebrew language from its earliest attested form to the present day.
  • History Matters. A gateway to web resources as well as a repository of unique teaching materials, first-person primary documents, and guides to analyzing historical evidence for students and teachers of American history.
  • International Index to Black Periodicals. Current content from international scholarly and popular periodicals in Black Studies.
  • Le Bon Usage. An encyclopedic reference work about French language grammar.
  • Lieberman Index of References Dealing with Talmudic Literature. Access to thousands of references to talmudic passages in modern research and medieval scholarship.
  • Media History Digital Library. Digitized public domain media periodicals and online access to the histories of cinema, broadcasting, and recorded sound
  • National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Access to US Federal records and documents that capture the sweep of the past, including slave ship manifests, journals of polar expeditions, and photographs of Dust Bowl farmers.
  • New York Public Library Digital Collections. Over 800,000 images digitized from the New York Public Library’s collections, including historical maps, vintage posters, photographs, and more.
  • Official Museum Directory. Accurate and up-to-date information on America’s museums
  • Oxford Dictionaries Arabic. Online dictionary of Modern Standard Arabic and English.
  • PhilPapers. Comprehensive index and bibliography of philosophy maintained by the community of philosophers.
  • ProQuest History Vault: Law and Society since the Civil War. A broad range of American legal manuscripts and papers from Harvard Law Library. Includes the papers of Felix Frankfurter, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., Roscoe Pounds, Louis Brandeis, the Sacco-Vanzetti case, and other legal documents.
  • ProQuest History Vault: NAACP Papers 2: Education, Voting, Housing, Employment. An in-depth, behind-the-scenes look at the NAACP’s efforts to end school segregation and to gain voting rights and equal employment opportunities, among other campaigns for equal rights. Covers campaigns beginning in 1914.
  • ProQuest History Vault: NAACP Papers: The NAACP’s Major Campaigns. Includes the NAACP’s papers from the Scottsboro case, its anti-lynching investigative and legislative files, and records documenting discrimination in the criminal justice system.

 

Social Sciences

 

  • BCC Research. Market research reports on major economic, scientific, and technological developments in industrial, pharmaceutical, and high technology.
  • Business Plans Handbook. Actual business plans compiled by, and aimed at, entrepreneurs seeking funding for small businesses.
  • Business Rankings Annual. Provides “top ten” rankings of companies, products, services, and business-related activities compiled from a variety of published sources.
  • Consultants & Consulting Organizations Directory. Information on firms and individuals from the United States and Canada in the consulting services industry.
  • CQ Almanac. Coverage and analysis of United States Congressional legislation from 1945 to today.
  • Eldis. Policy, practice, and research on international development issues.
  • Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice. A reference source for the fields of criminology and criminal justice.
  • International Directory of Company Histories. Detailed timelines and narrative histories of major U.S. and international companies.
  • Market Share Reporter. Annual compilation of market share statistics for products and companies.
  • ProQuest History Vault: Women’s Studies Manuscript Collections. Historical documents related to women’s rights, drawn from the Schlesinger Library’s Woman’s Suffrage Collection.
  • UNIDO International Industrial and Mining Statistics. International statistical data on industries and mining from the United Nations Industrial Development Organization.
  • Vital Statistics on American Politics. Data, facts, and figures that offer a vivid and multifaceted portrait of the broad spectrum of United States politics and policies.

 

Life and Health Sciences

 

  • Biopolymers Online. A comprehensive overview of the occurrence, metabolism, and applications of all important biopolymer classes.
  • Encyclopedia of Biodiversity (Second Edition). More than 300 overview articles in 20 different subject areas including the economics of biodiversity, evolution, population issues, and theories of biodiversity.
  • Encyclopedia of Biological Chemistry (Second Edition). Covers all aspects of biochemistry, including topics relating to biochemistry, biophysics, cell biology, molecular biology, neuroscience, pharmacology and oncology.

 

DELETED since last update

 

  • Encyclopedia of Biodiversity (First Edition). Replaced by Second Edition.
  • Encyclopedia of Biological Chemistry (First Edition). Replaced by Second Edition.
  • Media History Project. Website appears to be defunct.
  • African American Theses and Dissertations (University of California, Berkeley). No longer a continuing need for this.
  • Books on Architecture and Garden Design – Digitized. Website appears to be defunct.

 

CHANGED since last update

  • Oxford Bibliographies Online. Subject tags have been added to reflect new subscriptions (Chinese Studies, Education, and Military History).

NOW ON TRIAL: Berg Fashion Library

The Berg Fashion Library

The authority on world dress

The Berg Fashion Library is a unique online portal which offers fully cross-searchable access to an expanding range of Berg content collections – including the Berg Encyclopedia of World Dress and Fashion online, e-books, reference works, images, and much more. For a full list of content click here.

Students and scholars in disciplines as diverse as anthropology, art history, history, sociology, geography, folklore, museum studies, theatre, and cultural studies as well as fashion and textiles will find the Berg Fashion Library a treasury of fascinating insights into people and cultures all over the world.

The Berg Fashion Library will be updated at least three times a year.

Our trial runs from 23 January through 28 February 2015.

Send comments and feedback to Kathryn Wayne.


NOW ON TRIAL: Japan Times and Japan Chronicle Weekly

A UC-wide trial to the Japan Times Archive and the Japan Chronicle Weekly is available through December 31, 2014.

More than a century of Japanese history, as it happened, in English, is available in The Japan Times. Every issue published between March 1897 through 2013 is available.

The English-language Japan Chronicle Weekly (1902-1940) is the newspaper of record for Japan’s engagement with modernity and its emergence, through war, political and social upheaval and seismic social change in East Asia, onto the world stage in the first half of the twentieth century. Historians of East Asia have long seen the Japan Chronicle as a uniquely valuable resource.

Please send comments and questions to Toshie Marra.


NOW ON TRIAL: Oxford Dictionaries | Arabic

Our trial to this resource will end on November 12, 2014 (extended from October 29).  Send feedback and comments to Shayee Khanaka.

* * *

Oxford Dictionaries | Arabic is a new groundbreaking resource for those with an interest in the Arabic language. Structured by Oxford’s renowned language research and compiled by an international team of expert advisers, the dictionary is based on language as it’s used today.

Oxford Dictionaries | Arabic contains the latest vocabulary in technology, business, media, and the arts in both languages to ensure you have the most up-to-date words at your fingertips.

Key benefits include:

  • Over 330,000 words, phrases, and translations
  • 70,000 real life example sentences
  • Vowels in all Arabic text
  • Fully searchable in Modern Standard Arabic and English
  • Regular word and content updates to ensure this resource is the most up to date bi-directional Arabic and English dictionary available
  • Incorporates extra content including tables of Arabic verbs, numbers, and dates
  • Modern and user-friendly design is optimized for use on a phone or tablet

 

Visit the Oxford Dictionaries | Arabic website to explore the Arabic language, learn more about the language situation in the Arabic speaking world, learn how to write dates in Arabic, and more!


NOW ON TRIAL: Classic Arabic Texts Online

From now through November 21, 2014, we have trial access to a beta version of Classic Arabic Texts Online from Brill.  The trial version includes access to the following texts:

Kitab Futuh al-buldan (Arabic text) | Author: Ahmad b. Yahya al-Baladhuri | Edited by: M.J. de Goeje (1866)

The Kitab Futuh al-buldan by Ahmad b. Yahya al-Baladhuri (d. c. 892 CE), edited by M.J. de Goeje and originally titled Liber expugnationis regionum (Leiden, 1866), offers an account of the early conquests of the Islamic polity. It has the form of a geographical survey of the Caliphate’s territories, describing how each location came under Muslim rule.

Kitab Futuh al-buldan (English translation) | Subtitle: The Origins of the Islamic State | Author: Ahmad b. Yahya al-Baladhuri | Translation by: P.K. Hitti (volume I: 1916) and F.C. Murgotten (volume II: 1924)

The Origins of the Islamic State is the English translation of Kitab Futuh al-buldan, written by Ahmad b. Yahya al-Baladhuri (d. c. 892 CE). The work offers an account of the early conquests of the Islamic polity. It has the form of a geographical survey of the Caliphate’s territories, describing how each location came under Muslim rule. It was translated into English by Philip Khûri Hitti (volume I: 1916) and Francis Clark Murgotten (volume II: 1924).

Mukhtasar Kitab al-Buldan | Subtitle: Bibliotheca Geographorum Arabicorum 1-5 | Author: Ibn al-Faqih al-Hamadhani | Edited by: M.J. de Goeje (1885)

Ibn al-Faqih was the Iranian author of a Geography in Arabic entitled Kitab al-buldan written around the year 903. The original work is lost, but the abridged version, possibly composed around 1022, has survived in a handful of manuscripts. Only three manuscripts were known during De Goeje’s life and he used them all for his edition, which was originally published in 1885. Its introduction includes a summary of Ibn Faqih’s life on the basis of the classical sources by De Goeje. Ibn al-Faqih’s Kitab al-buldan offers geographical and historical details not found in other sources, and it was in itself an important source for later works, for example by Muqaddasi and Yaqut.

As Brill builds out this product, they plan to add the following texts by the end of 2014:

  • Bibliotheca Geographorum Arabicorum (with indices and glossaries) edited by M.J. de Goeje and J.H. Kramers
  • De Goeje’s edition of al-Tabari’s Ta’rikh al-rusul wa l-muluk
  • Origins of the Islamic State by Murgotten and Hitti, the English translation of al-Baladhari’s Kitab Futuh al-buldan

Please send comments and feedback to Shayee Khanaka.