Area Studies Librarians periodically travel to collect library materials which will enrich research and teaching at MSU. In the summer of 2015, I travelled to Jordan, Israel, and Palestine as part of my work as Middle East Studies Librarian. I was based in Jerusalem, the city uniquely sacred to the three Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and claimed as capital by both Israel and Palestine. I also made day trips to Tel Aviv and the occupied Palestinian territories to find materials of particular interest to our library.
[In the exhibition] you will meet some of the artists, writers, and cultural workers who I met when pursuing special materials, from a variety of viewpoints. These artists and organizations represent only a handful of the many religious, political, ethnic, and national groups which make up Israeli and Palestinian societies. It is my hope that their creative expressions, in images and words, will generate new thoughts and questions, and inspire further learning about the Middle East and its people.
