Description:
The library of the Institute for Palestine Studies was established at the same time as the Institute in 1963. It was set up with the aim of achieving some of the principal goals of the Institute for Palestine Studies : the preservation of Palestinian intellectual and cultural production, and the collection of documents and research on the question of Palestine and the Arab-Israeli conflict in its various phases and developments.
The library collections include a wide range of basic reference works, books, and periodicals, in Arabic, English, French, and Hebrew. The library's collection places a particular emphasis on Palestine, its population, history and society, as well on the political, social, military and economic aspects of Israel.
In addition to monographs in a number of languages, the collection includes basic reference works, encyclopedias, yearbooks, bibliographies, official reports, dictionaries, atlases, and statistical surveys. The collection also includes a collection of rare books, including books issued by the British Mandate authorities in Palestine, volumes produced by the World Zionist Congresses, the official newspaper and rules and regulations issued by the mandatory government of Palestine.
In 2006, the Center for Information and Documentation was founded and the Library became an integral part of the Center. Also connected to the Center is the website of the IPS and its digitized information which is designed to function within the framework of the Institute’s mission. Since its inception, the mission of the Center for Information and Documentation has been three-fold: to preserve the Palestinian cultural heritage, historical memory, and intellectual production; to monitor developments concerning the question of Palestine and the Arab-Israeli conflict by collecting published material and performing archival work; to make all these resources accessible to the public in the most efficient way, using standardized library tools and information technology.
Its collection covers history, politics, economics, as well as social and military affairs; it extends chronologically from Palestine at the dawn of history to current global developments.