The Library's collections of manuscripts include more than 7,620 original manuscripts and more than 700 paper or microfilm copies of manuscripts including copies made by the Institute for the History of Arab and Islamic Sciences at the University of Frankfurt, among others. The original manuscripts have been catalogued and entered into the computer, and the library has issued four indexes to date while work on the rest of the indexes is under way.
As an expression of its interests in manuscripts, as a contribution to the preservation and protection of the Arab and Islamic heritage, and in order to make it available to editors and those interested in this field, the Library established the Manuscripts Section, which was opened in 1988. The Library has been working on digitalizing all its manuscripts, and has collected more than two million images, which it has copied onto CD-ROMs, and uploaded onto the Arabic digital library site so as to provide easy access for all.
The library’s rare documents include gilded manuscripts and copies of the Quran. In addition, there are a number of manuscripts which have not been printed or investigated according to the sources which we have consulted, and await the attention of researchers, investigators and interested individuals to dust them down and bring them to light.
In the context of strengthening its relationship with the beneficiaries of all its collections, the King Abdul-Aziz Public Library is pleased to assist researchers and investigators, and invite them to view the manuscripts available in the Library, and obtain what they need from them. At the same time, the Library, on behalf of researchers, requests copies of manuscripts needed by other libraries inside or outside the Kingdom. It also announces its acceptance of the gifting service, while providing a scientific exchange service with other libraries and serious researchers, where the researcher can choose a paper or microfilm version of any of its collections in exchange for another manuscript from the researcher that the Library does not yet have.