Malaysian 'curiosities' join the library collection

A selection of 1950's Malaysian romance and adventure novels written in Jawi (Arabic) script.

Students and staff are invited to check out the latest additions to the Asian Studies Research Library -  a collection of rare and fragile Malaysian books in Jawi (Arabic script).

The books include 1950's 'pulp fiction' and religious, classical and educational literature, and come mainly from the collection of the late Professor Cyril Skinner, a former head of the Monash Indonesian Department.

"Nowadays the Malaysian language is mostly written using the Roman rather than Arabic script, making publications like this increasingly rare," said Senior Asian Studies Librarian, Dr Aline Scott-Maxwell.

"As you can appreciate, cataloguing books that are written in Jawi requires some specialised language skills."

"We were fortunate to have the professional assistance of Julian Millie, a Monash masters graduate, currently undertaking a PhD at Leiden University in Holland. Julian is fluent in both Arabic and Malay," said Dr Scott-Maxwell.

The books are available on request from the Asian Studies Research Library, located in the Matheson Library on the Lower Ground Floor of the ISB Wing.

For more information on the Asian Studies Research Library go to: http://www.lib.monash.edu.au/asrl/index.html

7 February, 2003

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