On October 25, members of the Board of Trustees visited an exhibition at the Rare Books and Special Collections Library (RBSCL) commemorating the centennial of the discovery of the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun. They heard a lecture about his corpse by Salima Ikram. The exhibition displayed archives of Egyptian Egyptologists and replica tomb artifacts. Earlier, the visitors viewed an exhibition of projects by students of graphic design Professor Ghalia Elsrabki inspired by RBSCL’s resources on Egyptian horticulture and gardens.

The Plants and Public Parks exhibit is the final product of dedicated research by graphic art publication design students at the RBSCL, aiming at engaging students with unique collections of rare books, magazines, maps and so on. Students’ publications were selected to be exhibited in the library foyer area to be an inspiration for peer students are featuring newly designed publications that reinterpret existing archival material concerned with flora and fauna of Egypt, the history of public parks and gardens, streets’ trees and plants, and crop cultivation practices. The exhibit opening was on October 24 at 5 pm. The display will last till December 30 at the AUC Library foyer, Plaza level.

November 2022 marks the 100th anniversary of the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in Luxor’s Valley of the Kings by archaeologist Howard Carter. This RBSCL exhibition showcases archival documents, books, magazines, photographs, and other items that reflect the impact of the find in capturing the imagination of a global audience and inspiring a generation of great Egyptian Egyptologists: Ahmed Fakhry, Labib Habachi and Abdel Moneim Abu Bakr, as well as their teacher Selim Hassan. The exhibition features items from their personal libraries and archives housed at the RBSCL.

Oxford Scholarship Online (OSO) provides AUC with unlimited access to over 20,000 Oxford University Press books, including some of their latest published titles and prestigious series. OSO provides content from all disciplines, focusing on the humanities and social sciences.

As of the fall semester, AUC authors can distribute their thesis or dissertation through ProQuest for a greater global reach. For more information, visit the AUC Knowledge Fountain.

In September 2022, the digitization unit scanned the Al Kawakeb, the oldest art magazine in Egypt that stopped publishing at the age of 90, and Akher Saa magazines. It was an intensive one-year project, and the team generated 112,697 scans! This project allowed me to develop a new understanding of such rare material and create best practices for scanning periodicals. Digitization is a wonderful solution for preserving unique and old collections and gives a slice of history to a large audience.

Akher Saa

Meet David Oldenkamp, AUC’s newest librarian. In August, he joined the Research and Information Services (RIS) team and will serve as the primary liaison to the School of Business. He has over 20 years of experience as a librarian and has worked in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States. Help us welcome him to AUC. To find more information about AUC librarians and the research support they provide to faculty and students, visit the Research Support webpage.

Check the new integration between the Library system and the Library OneSearch, which allows you to retrieve your library card information for a more personalized user experience. Where you can see your checked-out books and renew them; check your fines; check your holds and cancel them if needed; check your library record details and messages; revisit your reading and research history.

Each school and some departments have been assigned a librarian to be the first point of contact for any queries relating to the library, including instruction, reference assistance, purchase requests, and resource feedback.

As of the academic year 2022, AUC Libraries and The Netherlands-Flemish Institute in Egypt have agreed to cooperate in supporting researchers in the field of Arabic and Islamic studies, Egyptology, Archaeology and Papyrology for Egyptian and non-Egyptian scholars.

The Library One-Stop Service provides a laptop borrowing service for availing a working primary laptop device to ensure helping those who are most in need. Laptops can be borrowed for a maximum of 30 days by current full-time AUC students, faculty, and staff with valid ID cards. Laptop borrowing is governed by the Laptop Borrowing policy. Hurry up and visit us at the One-Stop Service desk at the Plaza level or contact us by email.

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Document delivery service delivers electronic copies of articles and/or book chapters from the AUC collections or copies of international libraries on the users’ behalf. This service is guided by the Document Delivery policy. It is provided to AUC faculty, currently enrolled undergraduate and graduate students, staff, as well as alumni, registered external users, and overseas researchers. For any questions or assistance, visit our webpage or email us.

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During the summer of 2022, the Library partnered with the Department of Computer Engineering to host groups of computer science students as interns. The students worked on several projects to enhance access to Library collections.

The virtual live chat service 24/7 Ask Us links users with reference librarians. The live chat is open every day of the week, 24 hours a day. A reference librarian will be able to assist you with queries regarding locating materials in our collections or in online resources and specialist databases. We can also assist you in finding effective search strategies to streamline your research. For more details, contact us by email. For research support or questions, visit the Live Chat (Available 24/7).

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Graduate students and professors from the School of Architecture at the University of Sheffield, UK, visited the Regional Architecture Collection as part of the ongoing collaboration between the architecture department and the RBSCL.