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Microfilm, Microfiche, CD ROM Guide

Encyclopedia of Islam

The Encyclopedia of Islam is an authoritative reference work setting out the present state of knowledge of the Islamic world, covering religion, history, politics and culture. Its geographical and historical scope encompasses the old Arabo-Islamic empire, the Islamic countries of central Asia, the Indian subcontinent and Indonesia, the Ottoman Empire and all modern Islamic states.

The Library has a printed copy of the EofI (Leiden, 1960-) at RR99. It also offers access to the EofI CD-ROM edition (Leiden, 1999).

The CD-ROM edition includes the entire text of volumes 1-10 of the printed EofI, together with its Addenda and Corrigenda and all three indexes. The CD-ROM was developed to supply users with the same information as the printed volumes whilst improving their ability to search and use the information.

Getting started

The EofI CD-ROM has been pre-installed on Reading Room computer 3. It can only be used on this computer.

To open the resource, click on the icon on the desktop of computer 3 labelled ‘Encylopedia of Islam’. This will open up the introductory screen, also known as the ‘Workplace’:

Search functions

EofI provides four ways of searching for information:

  1. Find - quick search via the ‘Find’ toolbar directly from the ‘Workplace’ screen. Search limited to article title or text of article.
  2. Advanced find – Adds ‘wildcards’ or ‘operators’ to a basic finding action. Full details provided in the EofI ‘Help’ section.
  3. Search – accessed via the ‘Search’ menu (Search > Search), via the shortcut Ctrl+S or via the toolbar button depicting a pair of binoculars. Offers a range of options to search the Encyclopedia:
  • All words
  • Entry words
  • Summary words
  • Bibliography
  • Contributors
  • Descriptions
  1. Refine Search – accessed via the ‘Search’ menu (Search > Refine Search), via the shortcut Ctrl+R or via the toolbar button depicting binoculars with a red ‘R’. Enables users to sort results if a search produces too many hits.

The ‘Character picker’ function enables users to include in their search queries transliterated characters not available on a standard European keyboard.

Advanced features

EofI offers a range of options for users to customise their search session, including:

  • A choice of ‘View’ screens, each containing a different type of information, e.g. full text, glossary, subject index
  • A ‘Window’ menu determining the arrangement of multiple windows on the screen
  • An ‘Annotation’ menu offering the possibility to annotate or bookmark entries for future reference

Getting help

EofI incorporates a comprehensive ‘Help’ section, accessed via the Menu bar, or you can ask a librarian in the Reading Room for further assistance.