Middle East Librarians Association

MELA was established in November 1972 at the sixth annual meeting of MESA (Middle East Studies Association), by 17 librarians (our “founding fathers and mothers”). Before this date there had indeed been specialist librarians whose principal concern was the development of library collections in support of research and teaching. But these 17 pioneers saw, five years after the establishment of MESA, that professionals devoted to the development of library collections for study and teaching about th