Arabic Papyrus, Parchment, and Paper
The Arabic Papyrus, Parchment & Paper Collection is the largest of its kind in the United States, containing 770 Arabic papyrus documents, 1300 Arabic paper documents, and several pieces on parchment. The collection was acquired by Prof. Aziz Suriyal Atiya, founder of the Middle East Center and the Middle East Library. A large number of pieces date to the period between 700 and 850 CE. The collection includes a significant number of documents from the pre-Ottoman period and thus offers unique source material on the political, economic, religious and intellectual life of Egypt during the first two centuries of Islamic rule and the period up to Ottoman domination.

Aziz Suryal Atiya papers
The Aziz Suryal Atiya papers (1927-1993) document the life and work of Aziz Atiya. Included are curriculum vitae, memorabilia, and personal correspondence and financial records. Also included are materials relating to his career as a teacher, scholar and author, including lecture notes, student papers, publication contracts, royalty information, materials relating to the publication of the Coptic Encyclopedia, articles, newsletters, offprints, clippings, research files and maps. Aziz S. Atiya was the founding director of the Middle East Center at the University of Utah. He was the author of many books and articles and editor of the Coptic Encyclopedia.

Middle East Collections
The Middle East rare collections include manuscripts in Arabic, Coptic, Hebrew, Persian, and Turkish dating from as early as 800CE/183AH, and more than 3,000 printed books from and about the Middle East. Highlighted in this collection is an eighteenth century Quran produced in Bukhara and a Persian manuscript of poetry by a Mughal princess.