Simon Braune, former librarian at the Southwest Florida Regional Library and Weston Branch Library, has joined the Middle East Institute as chief librarian of the Institute’s historic George Camp Keiser Library. Braune will administer the 59-year old Library’s collection of over 25,000 books and periodicals on the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia.

“With his background in Middle East studies and experience in library administration, Simon will be a valuable asset for the Institute and patrons of the George Camp Keiser Library,” said MEI Vice President David L. Mack.

A member of the Middle East Librarians Association (MELA), Braune was the 2004 recipient of the Association’s George Atiyeh Prize for library and information science. He also authored “Islam as Practiced by the Kazaks: A Bibliography for Scholars,” which was published in the MELA Notes 78. He has extensive training and experience in web development and has knowledge of Arabic, Hebrew, Kazakh, Russian, and Turkish.

Braune holds a MLS from Indiana University-Bloomington, a MA from the University of Chicago and a BA from Indiana University-Bloomington.