
AWDU provides unique collections on Arab Gulf states: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Yemen, United Arab Emirates as well as the wider Arab world including Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan. The collections are mainly documentary reference material such as statistical data, country reports, official publications, political opposition newsletters and Pan-Arab literature. The Unit holds archival, historical and sociological material from the mid-18th century onwards, such as the Bombay Diaries (now held in Special Collections), as well as microfilms from British, American, Indian, French and Portuguese government archives (these can be found in the Old Library) and volumes of reproduced documents from the British Public Records Office published by Archive Editions.