The Arthur Paul Afghanistan Collection in Criss Library's Archives and Special Collections is the largest collection of material about Afghanistan held by a university in the United States.
The Arthur Paul Afghanistan Collection has over 20,000 items in twenty-nine different languages representing a range of topics and disciplines.
Researchers may search the Library catalog for books and other printed material in the collection with a video tutorial introducing how to find printed material in Archives and Special Collections. Digitized materials are linked from records in the library catalog. Finding aids (inventories) for archival collections of personal papers and organizational records are available in Archives and Special Collections' finding aids database Nebraska Archives Online. Maps are described in both the library catalog and the finding aids database, so researchers should search both platforms.
Appointments are not required to use the collection, but researchers considering traveling to use material in the Arthur Paul Afghanistan Collection are encouraged to contact Archives and Special Collections at unoasc@unomaha.edu in advance. It may be possible for researchers to request digital copies of collection items. Review the Archives and Special Collections Policies for more information about visiting the department, requesting reproductions, and other relevant information.
The initial plans for UNO's Center for Afghanistan Studies established in 1972 included a special collection of books for researchers. In the fall of 1974, the private collection of Arthur Paul, an economic advisor to the Royal Government of Afghanistan from 1960 to 1965, was donated to UNO by Arthur and Daisy Paul. The collection arrived in the Library and it later became part of what is today UNO Libraries' Archives and Special Collections. During his time in Afghanistan Arthur Paul (1898-1976) collected both published and unpublished material, including many unique items such as reports for the government.
The library has made extensive efforts to add to Paul's original donation of over 1,200 items through purchases and donations from many other supporters. Learn more about donating materials and funds to support the collection. The repository does not accept donations of multiple copies of the same titles. Potential donors of books and other material should contact Amy Schindler, Director of Archives and Special Collections, to discuss your potential gift.
Note that like most special collections, most of the material in the Arthur Paul Afghanistan Collection is only available for use in UNO Libraries' Archives and Special Collections with the exception of some microforms and selected titles. Interlibrary loan requests from researchers for books and other printed material are individually reviewed by an archivist or library worker for potential loan or digitization on demand. Researchers with questions about whether it may be possible to loan or digitize a title should contact Archives and Special Collections at unoasc@unomaha.edu.