left, Illustration of the phases of the Moon (Or. 133, Golius collection) ;right, Firdawsi, Shahnama (15th century, Or. 494)

There are thousands of Middle Eastern manuscripts preserved in European libraries. One of the famous collections is that of Leiden University. Imagine if those were available online? It would be a dream come true for budding scholars and the old guard alike. A dream, indeed. Leiden University has joined with Brill to provide this collection online, but at a cost. The price posted is a mere (I mean only an emir can afford it) $25,900. I suspect it will take only a few sales to recoup the costs of onlining the manuscripts (and perhaps onlining the profits of both the Leiden libraries (a worthy cause) and Brill (a publisher that already charges so much that few can afford their books). Actually, it may be cheaper to matriculate at Leiden University, since university members have free access.

For those who are interested (either to lament or to have lots of money and little to do with it), here are the details:

The Leiden University Library has a world-famous research collection of Middle Eastern Manuscripts. Its core collection consists of volumes brought together by, among others, the Leiden Orientalists Joseph Justus Scaliger (d. 1609) and Jacobus Golius (d. 1667). Included in the Scaliger collection are about a dozen manuscripts which belonged to Franciscus Raphelengius (d. 1597). These collections consist of extremely rare, sometimes unique, manuscripts.

Brill and the Leiden University Library have joined forces to digitize the Arabic manuscripts from three of the library’s core collections, now published online under the title Pioneer Orientalists: The Manuscript Collections of Scaliger, Raphelengius and Golius from the Leiden University Library. The publication will consist of 267 Arabic manuscripts in 303 volumes, consisting of 109.517 pages Pioneer Orientalists: The Manuscript Collections of Scaliger, Raphelengius and Golius from the Leiden University Library. The publication will consist of 267 Arabic manuscripts in 303 volumes, consisting of 109.517 pages, in full-colour, high-definition images.