IDEO’s library is one of the prominent libraries
specialised in Islamic studies in the world. It is opened to all. Our
library gathers over 125,000 monographs and nearly 1,800 journals and periodicals.
It intends to cover all disciplines in Islamic studies: Arabic
language, Quranic exegesis, theology, law and jurisprudence, history,
philosophy, sufism, history of sciences. It provides more than 20,000 classical texts of the Arabic and Islamic heritage, and secondary literature in Arabic and European languages. Many PhD dissertations are also available.
AlKindi 4 and FRBR
FRBR specifies four levels of information. Each level can
be connected to a specific responsibility. You are already familiar with
two of these four levels:
- The item, the lower level: it is the document you
actually have in hands. It is identified by its call number. Examples of
reponsibilities include: a donor, a binder, or a former owner.
- The manifestation: it refers to a specific
publication. It is identified by ISBN/ISSN. Examples of responsibilities
include: a publisher, a manufacturer, or a copyright owner.
To those long-established levels, FRBR adds two new more abstract levels:
- The expression: it refers to a specific edition.
It is typically identified by a language. Examples of responsibilities
include: an intellectual editor, a translator, or an illustrator.
- The work, the higher level: it refers to the
intellectual production in itself. It is identified by its title.
Examples of responsibilities include: an author, a compiler, or an
addressee.
The new features of AlKindi 4, based on FRBR, make it
easier to display the different editions or translations of a given work
(its publication history), or to distinguish the different
responsibilities of a given authority.
Each of these four levels can be connected to an authority and to another record of the same level.
- At the work level, it enables the display of the
historical and cultural context of a work. Examples of relationships
include: commentaries, refutations, summaries, or compilations.
- At the manifestation level, it enables the display
of the publishing context of a manifestation. Examples of relationships
include: reprints, offprints, piece-analytics, or accompanying
materials.
Lastly, authorities themselves can be
connected to one another, it enables the display of family and academic
relationships. Examples of relationships include: son, father, disciple,
or master.
