As part of the University of Oxford’s wider efforts to provide access to education to those from the region, the Bodleian Libraries has made online services and resources available to students and scholars in, or displaced from, Palestinian universities.
The portal has been designed in Arabic and English and enables users to access various Bodleian services. These include SOLO (Search Oxford’s Libraries Online), allowing users to search the resources of most of the University’s Libraries, as well research papers and theses; the Library’s electronic document delivery service, Scan and Deliver; and Digital Bodleian, which provides access to over a million images of rare books, manuscripts and other treasures from the Bodleian Libraries and Oxford college libraries.
Richard Ovenden, Librarian of the Bodleian Libraries and Head of Gardens, Libraries and Museums (GLAM) at the University of Oxford, said:
As a world-leading library that is committed to supporting scholars worldwide, we are delighted to be able to extend access to our online services and collections to students and scholars in, or displaced from, Palestinian universities. With this initiative we wanted to provide support that utilised the libraries strengths and resources, to make a significant difference to those facing challenges in higher education. Over the last few weeks we have been running a trial release, testing demand for the portal and how it will best work in practice, to ensure it is as accessible as possible to those who need it. We are pleased to be rolling out the service to scholars and students in need.
Other initiatives launched by the University in support of the advancement of learning and the rebuilding of higher education in Gaza and the West Bank, include The Palestine Crisis Scholarship Scheme, for displaced students. To support education more broadly, all journals published by Oxford University Press (OUP), as well as most books and online material, have been made available via Research4Life – a cross-publisher initiative to provide access to research content in lower income countries.
Find out more about the University’s efforts to improve access to education in the region.
