The acquisition of Arabic books by British libraries 20 years on: Progress or decline?

In 1984, a survey was undertaken to discover how many Arabic books were being acquired by British academic libraries. Four Arab national bibliographies were examined and the proportion suitable for acquisition (Category A books) determined according to the criteria found in the scholarly literature. All Category A books were checked against British library catalogues and the results tabulated. In 2004, four Arab national bibliographies were again scrutinised and the resulting Category A books checked against British catalogues and against North American holdings. More Arabic books were acquired in 2004, but these represented a lower proportion of Category A material.