The Rare Collections in the Libraries of Cairo and Sohag Universities: An Analytical Study

Abstract

The study investigated and analyzed the rare collections held in the libraries of Cairo and Sohag Universities to identify the current state of these collections and examine their quantitative and qualitative trends in both universities. The study employed a bibliographic-bibliometric methodology and yielded several key findings. The most important of which are: The total number of rare items in the faculty libraries of both Cairo and Sohag Universities was 37,527 sources. Of these, 84.89% were in Cairo University libraries, compared to 15.11% in Sohag University libraries. Libraries of   faculties belonging to the social and human sciences at Cairo University contained a higher percentage of rare materials, accounting for 66.64% of the university’s total rare collections (about two-thirds). This is compared to the applied and pure sciences faculties, which held only 33.36% (about one-third). Rare materials written in Arabic were relatively limited in both universities, representing only 24.40% of the total collections. Cairo University outweighed Sohag University in this, with 26.20% of its rare items written in Arabic, while Sohag University had only 14.32%. Books and references constituted the highest percentage of rare materials at Cairo University, representing 99.30% of its rare collections. The faculties of Engineering, Agriculture, Economics and Political Science, Mass Communication, Archaeology, Specific Education, Physical Therapy, Oral and Dental Medicine, Veterinary Medicine, and African Studies all recorded 100% of their rare collections as books and references. In contrast, periodicals accounted for only 0.59%, while maps and engineering drawings represented just 0.11%, found only in the Faculty of Arts Library. Similarly, books and references represented the highest proportion of rare materials in Sohag University libraries. The percentage reached 100% in the faculties of Education, Science, and Medicine; 99.29% in the Faculty of Archaeology; and 99.15% in the Faculty of Arts. Periodicals accounted for only 0.56%, while maps and other types constituted 0.14% of the collections.