The HOLLIS Catalog
HOLLIS Catalog: HOLLIS contains records for millions of books, journals, manuscripts, government documents, maps, microforms, music scores, sound recordings, visual materials, and data files. The database is updated continually as material is ordered, received, and cataloged. The HOLLIS Catalog contains entries for many, but not all, materials in formats other than books and journals owned by the Harvard University Libraries (e.g., manuscripts, maps, visual media, microforms and government documents).
Insider Tips for Using HOLLIS Well
To View Diacritics on Your Screen
To set your browser to view diacritics, follow the procedures described in the
HOLLIS Browser Display Help (instructions for both Mac and Windows-based machines are provided)
The 2 basic rules of thumb for searching the HOLLIS catalog are:
1. If you know an author’s name or the exact beginning of a book title, search under author or title in Browse.
2. If you don’t know the author’s name or don't have the exact beginning of a book title, or if you are searching for material on a topic, search under Keyword.We recommend using Expanded Search in HOLLIS. Why?:
1. You can find items in a specific library (under "location")
2. You can items in specific languages
3. You can find items in a specific format, e.g. audio
4. You can find items published in a specific year or range of yearsOther tips:
Finding Similar Books: Once you find a useful book, click on one of its subject headings (they're listed onscreen in the field labeled Subject) to find a list of similar items, sometimes subdivided further (bibliographies, histories, etc.).
Transliteration Tables
ALA-LC
Romanization Tables: Transliteration Schemes for Non-Roman Scripts:
These are scanned, full-text, standard transliteration tables for Arabic,
Hebrew and Yiddish, Kurdish, Ottoman Turkish, Persian, Urdu, and other
languages. Links are to PDF files that require the Adobe Acrobat Reader
(the free Reader may be downloaded from the Adobe
web site).
Electronic Resources: The Harvard Libraries Portal
- Academic Search Premier (EBSCOHOST) is a multi-disciplinary database containing citations and abstracts from over 4,500 scholarly publications (journals, magazines and newspapers). Full text is available and searchable for more than 3,500 of the publications. Most complete coverage begins in the 1990s, and the file is updated daily.
- American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures: an online journal published by the University of Chicago Press that includes access to tables of contents and full text of articles from 1895-1941. Articles are available in Adobe Acrobat pdf format. This journal continues Hebraica (1884-1895) and is continued by Journal of Near Eastern Studies (1942-).
- Anthropological Index, Royal Anthropological Institute: based on the journal holdings of The Anthropology Library at the The British Museum (Museum of Mankind) which receives periodicals in all branches of anthropology, from academic institutions and publishers around the world.
- Anthropological
Literature: indexes articles in periodicals, monograph series, and
edited works in archaeology, biological and physical anthropology, cultural
and social anthropology and linguistics, and selectively in such related
fields as: art, demography, ethnohistory, folklore, history, music,
mythology, political science, psychology, religion, and sociology.
Works in English, Germanic, Romance, Scandinavian, and Slavic languages are indexed. Includes works held in Tozzer Library (formerly the Peabody Museum Library) from the 19th century onward. - Arabic & Middle Eastern Literature: provides access to full text from 2000-2001; articles are available in Adobe Acrobat pdf format. Continued as: Middle Eastern Literatures (2002-).
- Columbia International Affairs Online (CIAO): is designed to be a comprehensive source for theory and research in international affairs. It publishes a wide range of scholarship from 1991 on that includes working papers from university research institutes, occasional papers series from non-governmental organizations, foundation-funded research projects, and proceedings from conferences. At least 400 working papers, 40-50 papers presented at conferences, and 10-12 complete books are added, cross-indexed, and archived annually. It also has more than 160 links to international affairs centers, institutes, and resources; U.S., international, and foreign government sites; environmental studies Web pages; and news media services.
- Declassified Documents Reference System Online: From the presidential libraries, the C.I.A., the F.B.I., and a host of other agencies comes this collection of U.S. government documents chronicling the major domestic and international events of the post-World War II world in information by and for presidents, senators, and congress members. All were classified. Some were top secret. View a digital facsimile to see what was removed and what was left in. A tool for international relations specialists, political scientists, economists, journalists, historians, and anyone else interested in how a government thinks and acts.
- eHRAF Collection of Archaeology (Human Relations Area Files): contains the full text of books, periodical articles, manuscripts, site reports, and dissertations and theses on archaeological traditions. This collection is available only on the World Wide Web and is updated annually. A full list of traditions included is available on the HRAF web site.
- eHRAF Collection of Ethnography (Human Relations Area Files): a cross-cultural database that contains the full text of books, periodical articles, manuscripts, and dissertations and theses on selected cultures of the world. A list of cultures covered on the web is available on the HRAF web site.
- EIU Country Reports. Produced by the Economist Intelligence Unit this resource provides annual and quarterly analysis and forecasts of the political, economic and business environment in more than 200 countries. It includes statistics, maps and charts. The "Country Profile" is the annual compilation and analysis of data on the country, with historical information as well as current information. The "Country Report" is the most recent quarterly update.
- Encyclopaedia of Islam Online: reference encylopedia with over 13,000 articles on topics in Near Eastern, Middle Eastern, and Islamic studies.
- Index Islamicus: a bibliography of European language publications on Islam and the Muslim world, Index Islamicus affords online access to over 2,000 journals and series plus conference proceedings, monographs, multi-authored works, and book reviews. The online file covers the years 1906 to the present and is updated annually. [Please do note that printed volumes for the years 1665 to 1905 are available in the Widener Reading Room: RR 4881.10.9.]
- International Journal of Middle East Studies: This online journal published by Cambridge University Press provides access to tables of contents, abstracts, and full text from 2000. Articles are available in Acrobat portable document format (pdf). See Historical Journal (JSTOR) (1958-) for access to earlier issues.
- ISI Emerging Markets: provides current, comprehensive country and company information from more than 500 sources for emerging markets in Asia, Latin America, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East-North Africa. Arranged by country, this resource includes country profiles; macroeconomic statistics, forecasts, and analysis; reports on financial markets, companies and industries; exchange rates; analyst reports; and business news. Some text and spreadsheet information is downloadable into Microsoft Word and Excel. The file is updated daily.
- LexisNexis Academic: LexisNexis will give you the full text of recent articles from English-language newspapers, newsletters, magazines, trade journals, wire services, and radio and television broadcasts. It also offers international sources in Spanish, French, Italian, German and Dutch.
- Lib-Web-Cats provides links to web-based library catalogs throughout the world.
- Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts (LLBA): currently indexes and provides abstracts for journal articles from over 1200 journals annually in all areas of language and linguistics. LLBA also includes books, book chapters, bibliographies, monographs, conference proceedings, etc. International in scope, this index covers phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics as well as descriptive, historical, comparative, theoretical, and geographical linguistics. Covers 1973 - present.
- Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies (MECAS): an index to research, policy, and scholarly discourse on the countries and peoples of the Middle East, Central Asia, and North Africa.
- MLA Bibliography: a good place to look for citations to journal articles on literature, language, and linguistics.
- PolicyFile provides convenient, efficient, online access to public policy research and analysis from think tanks, university research programs, research organizations, and publishers.
- World News Connection (FBIS and JPRS): provides online access to full text English translations of current non-U.S. media sources from 6/1994 to the present. The file is updated monthly. Please note: coverage for earlier years is available for FBIS (1941-) and JPRS (1957-) in the Government Documents and Microforms Department in Lamont Library.
- Worldwide Political Science Abstracts: indexes the international serials literature in political science and its complementary fields, including international relations, law, and public administration / policy, with abstracts for most citations. Older records are based on the merged backfiles of Political Science Abstracts and ABC-Poli Sci. Available online from 1975 to the present and updated monthly.
Other Web Sites and Resources of Interest
The following sites may help you find more quality information on the Web quickly:
- Alan Godlas' Islamic Studies Web Site: a comprehensive site on Islam, recently nominated for a Webby award in the category of Spirituality.
- Al Bawaba: is a gateway to a wealth of Middle Eastern sources including local information (newspapers and other media) arranged by country.
- Harvard University Center for Jewish Studies: contains important links to Harvard resources on the study and teaching of Judaica.
- Harvard University Center for Middle Eastern Studies: contains links to Harvard resources supporting the study and teaching for the various academic programs that cover the region from Morocco and North Africa to Turkey and Iran.
- Harvard University Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations: links to information about the eleven graduate programs in different fields of study concerned in some way with the peoples and civilizations of the Near East.
- MALMAD: the Israel Center for Digital Information Services, a consortium that provides access to online library catalogs of the Israel Library Network, including: Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, University of Haifa, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Tel-Aviv University, and more.
- MENALIB: the Middle East Virtual Library is an information portal for Middle East and Islamic Studies. It provides access to online information and to digital records of printed and other offline media.
- MENIC: the Middle East Network Information Center, a service of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Texas at Austin, is a treasure trove of resources, with thousands of links to Web-based Middle Eastern materials. One of its most notable features is the ability to browse Web resources by country of interest.
- MERIA: The Middle East Review of International Affairs (MERIA) “reaches over 17,000 readers in more than 100 countries, serving a high-level audience of Middle East experts, scholars, teachers, students, officials, journalists, and people intensely interested in the region.” Includes a valuable link list “…specifically designed to be useful for researchers on contemporary Middle East issues, including only the most useful or interesting sites.... Sites with significant material in English are given preference though… these provide links to materials in Arabic, French, Hebrew, Turkish, Persian, and other languages. (quoted from the site)
- RAMBI: the Index of Articles on Jewish Studies: a selective bibliography of articles in Jewish studies. Material here is compiled from thousands of periodicals and collections of articles in Hebrew, Yiddish, and European languages, mostly from the holdings of the Jewish National and University Library.
- Research in Middle Eastern Studies: a guide to research at Harvard developed by librarians in Widener Library.
- World-Wide Web Virtual Library Middle East Studies Internet Resources: “…an on-going compilation of electronic bibliographic resources and research materials on the Middle East and North Africa available on the Web, created under the purview of the Middle East Studies Department of Columbia University Libraries. Electronic resources from the Middle East are organized by region, country and subject. The scope of the collection is research-oriented, but it also provides access to other web sites with broader missions.” (quoted from the site)
Using Library Resources Inside and Outside the Library
Inside the library
For library locations, consult the Harvard University Library Map/Guide. For library hours, visit the Library Hours page of the Harvard Libraries site.
Outside the library
Some networked resources you will need are available to you through a subscription paid for by the Harvard libraries. When you use these resources outside a Harvard library, you will be asked to enter your Harvard ID number and PIN. If you do not yet have a Harvard PIN and would like to use these resources from your dorm room (or anywhere else), go to the Harvard University PIN Administration Site.
For Future Reference
Do you have questions about how to proceed with your research? Please schedule a research consultation with me:
- Cheryl LaGuardia, Library Liaison for Near
Eastern Languages & Civilizations, Research Services, Widener
Library, 617-496-4226, claguard@fas.harvard.edu