The Islamic Manuscript Association

The Islamic Manuscript Association is an international non-profit organisation dedicated to protecting Islamic manuscript collections and supporting those who work with them. It was formed in response to the urgent need to address the poor preservation and inaccessibility of many Islamic manuscript collections around the world.

The Islamic Manuscript Association:

• Articulates standards and guidelines for best practice in cataloguing, conservation, digitisation and academic publishing so that Islamic manuscript collections may be made more accessible and preserved for posterity.
• Promotes the highest ethical and professional standards in the care and management of Islamic manuscript collections.
• Promotes excellence in scholarship on Islamic manuscripts, particularly Islamic codicology and disciplines related to the care and management of Islamic manuscript collections.
• Provides a platform for presenting scholarship on Islamic manuscripts, particularly Islamic codicology and disciplines related to the care and management of Islamic manuscript collections, at its biennial conference at the University of Cambridge.
• Provides a wide range of online resources about manuscripts and their care.
• Awards grants to support the care of Islamic manuscript collections and advance scholarship on Islamic manuscripts.
• Organises regular training workshops in cataloguing, conservation, digitisation and academic publishing as well as an annual workshop on Islamic codicology in cooperation with Cambridge University Library.
• Facilitates dialogue between individuals with scholarly and professional interests in Islamic manuscripts and institutions holding collections of Islamic manuscripts.

The Islamic Manuscript Association includes among its members libraries and museums possessing collections of Islamic manuscripts as well as individuals with scholarly and professional interests in Islamic manuscripts. Over 600 persons from 25 different countries are members. Members have the right to vote, hold office, apply for grants and receive members' rates for the biennial conference and training workshops.

The Islamic Manuscript Association is an affiliated project of the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Centre of Islamic Studies at the University of Cambridge.