Washington, DC, February 13, 2008: The Middle East Institute announced that The George Camp Keiser Library now offers an online reference service to respond to questions about its resources.

Library patrons now can submit questions in a real-time chat to the librarian during regular library hours. Chief Librarian Simon Braune will respond to the reference questions using the resources of the library, which houses more than 25,000 volumes, periodicals, CDs and DVDs devoted to the Middle East.

This exciting new feature may be accessed through the library's webpage or by going directly to: http://www.mideasti.org/library/chat

In addition, the GCK library provides a variety of online resource guides, suggested reading lists and bibliographies of its holdings that deal with countries and issues of the Middle East, from Gulf Security and Pakistan to Women of the Middle East and Islamist Movements. The library also features online in-house access for MEI members to Index Islamicus, one of the world’s premier research tools for Islam, the Middle East and the broader Muslim world. The database includes citations from more than 2,000 journals as well as books, conference proceedings, monographs, book reviews, etc., from 1906 to the present.

Since 1946, the Middle East Institute has been dedicated to increasing Americans’ knowledge and understanding of the Middle East. MEI relies on program activities, media outreach, library resources, language courses, scholars and an academic journal to help achieve its goals.