A poetry collection, a photograph and a government report answer different questions about the same place. For Emirati heritage research, build a small reading list across those formats rather than relying on a single account. This page points to catalogues, digitised records and publications; it is not a repository of the poetry collections and heritage books previously offered through this address.
The essential distinction is between finding a catalogue entry, reading a digitised item and obtaining permission to reproduce it. A book listed online may only be available in print. A scan you can consult may carry separate conditions for publication.
Start with the National Library and Archives
The National Library and Archives (NLA) is a useful first stop for research on the UAE and the wider Gulf. Its Emirates Library holds printed and electronic resources, including books, dissertations, newspapers and periodicals. Arabic and English are central to the collection, alongside material in other languages.
Use the NLA website to find its library catalogue, publications and archival-material request service. Search for a subject and a place together: pearling and Dubai, agriculture and Al Ain, or education and Sharjah. Note useful catalogue entries even when no full text is attached.
The NLA also undertakes oral-history work, collecting personal narratives and comparing them with documentary records. For family history or everyday practices, ask whether relevant interviews or published extracts can be consulted; do not assume that every recording is publicly accessible.
Keep a first enquiry narrow: “I am researching water distribution in Al Ain between these dates” gives an archivist more to work with than “Please send everything about Emirati heritage”.
Three reading-list starting points
These are identifiable publications, not promises of free downloads. Check the edition, language and availability before borrowing or buying.
A photographic recollection of the early 1960s
Emiratis All Our Yesterdays, by Anthony J. Rundell, is listed by the NLA in a combined Arabic–English edition from 2012. It draws on the author’s experience with the Trucial Oman Scouts and includes photographs of people and events.
Read it as a situated recollection: who took the photographs, what circumstances shaped access, and whose voices appear in the narrative? Pair a memoir with other accounts rather than treating it as a complete portrait of the period.
A historical reference work to read critically
J. G. Lorimer’s Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf, Oman and Central Arabia is available through Qatar Digital Library. It offers a route into historical place names and the documentary record, but it was compiled within British imperial administration. Qatar Digital Library’s accompanying essay explains that context.
Use it to raise questions and locate references, not as an unquestioned authority on communities. For a maritime project, start with the context in the guide to pearl diving and the Gulf coast, then compare archival descriptions with local testimony and later scholarship.
A museum guide for studying objects
Louvre Abu Dhabi: The Complete Guide, published with Éditions Skira Paris in 2018, is available in Arabic, English and French. Its collection entries, images and historical explanations make it useful for close reading of objects.
It is a guide to a universal museum, not a comprehensive history of Emirati heritage. Use it for comparative context and object-based research. When consulting any museum catalogue, note the object’s date, material, provenance and collection reference separately from the author’s interpretation.
Archives and public digital libraries
Arabian Gulf Digital Archive
The Arabian Gulf Digital Archive, or AGDA, provides free access to historical documents and multimedia concerning the UAE and the Gulf. The NLA describes its holdings as including correspondence, photographs, manuscripts, memoirs and virtual exhibitions.
Begin with a place, person or event, then inspect the surrounding file. A single page can lose its meaning when detached from the letter it answers or the report enclosing it. Save the document reference alongside your notes, not just an image or search-results link.
Qatar Digital Library
Despite its name, Qatar Digital Library covers the wider Gulf and Middle East. Its collections include archives, maps, manuscripts and sound recordings, supported by explanatory material in Arabic and English.
Use filters to narrow a search by place, subject, person or material type. Search both catalogue descriptions and transcribed content where available. Optical character recognition can misread print, so an unsuccessful text search is not proof that a name is absent. Check the page image before quoting.
MAKTABA, Abu Dhabi’s public-library network
The MAKTABA digital library brings together e-books, audiobooks, research databases and online articles. Its directory includes Arabic research resources such as Dar Al Mandhumah and e-Marefa, alongside broader academic services.
Access conditions differ: a resource may require MAKTABA sign-in, a provider account or on-site use. Check the current resource description rather than assuming that everything is freely downloadable from home. Ask a librarian for help locating a particular article or thesis if the discovery search does not find it.
Read UNESCO dossiers, not just listing summaries
The UNESCO intangible heritage page for the UAE leads to individual elements and their documentation. These files are useful for studying how practices are described, transmitted and safeguarded.
Open the nomination form where available, then look for community-consent documents, photographs, videos, committee decisions and periodic reports. Read each according to its purpose: a nomination argues for recognition, while a later report discusses implementation and safeguarding.
Useful starting points include:
- السدو – al-sadu, traditional weaving. The UAE element moved from the Urgent Safeguarding List, where it was inscribed in 2011, to the Representative List in 2025. Follow the dossier alongside the guide to Al Sadu weaving.
- المجلس – al-majlis, a cultural and social gathering space. The 2015 inscription offers a research route into hospitality and the transmission of knowledge; the guide to the majlis and Arabic coffee provides an introduction.
- التغرودة – al-taghrooda, traditional Bedouin chanted poetry. Its 2012 inscription is shared by the UAE and Oman.
Check the participating countries and the latest decision before describing any element as exclusively Emirati. Also distinguish living-heritage dossiers from World Heritage site documentation: research on Al Ain’s oases and archaeological sites calls for a different set of files.
Search Arabic sources with a small vocabulary
For poetry, start with الشعر النبطي – al-shi‘r al-nabati, vernacular poetry, and ديوان – diwan, a collected volume of verse. The introduction to Nabati poetry can help frame a search before choosing an edition.
Try these combinations in library catalogues and scholarly databases:
التراث الإماراتي– Emirati heritage.الشعر النبطي الإمارات– Nabati poetry and the Emirates.التاريخ الشفوي الإمارات– oral history and the Emirates.الغوص على اللؤلؤ– pearl diving.السدو الإمارات– Al Sadu and the Emirates.
Search without vowel marks first. If results are sparse, try a shorter phrase, a poet’s surname, or alternative spellings such as أبوظبي and أبو ظبي. In English catalogues, try both “Trucial States” and “United Arab Emirates” for historical research.
For a poetry volume, record the editor or collector as well as the poet. Keep the original wording beside any translation, and ask an Arabic reader familiar with the dialect to check passages central to your argument.
Request material with a clear research brief
The NLA website provides an Archival Material Request route. Before submitting, prepare:
- A short description of your subject, geographical scope and date range.
- Any catalogue references, document titles or sample images already found.
- The format needed: consultation copy, readable scan or publication-quality image.
- Your intended use, such as private study, a dissertation, exhibition or website.
- Questions about access, identification requirements, reproduction conditions, possible charges and turnaround.
Ask about oral-history restrictions separately. For museums, include an object’s collection reference when enquiring about images or supporting documentation.
Keep a research log with the institution, reference number, title, creator, date, page or folio, stable link and access date. Before reproducing anything, check the item’s stated conditions and seek clarification where necessary. Public access and permission to publish are separate questions.