These reference books can give you good background information on the Middle East and Islam, but pay close attention to their publication dates! If they were published more than two years ago, the "current" information in them will be out of date.
Reference books have been moved to the condensed shelving in the southeast corner of the library's first floor. Please ask library staff for help if you don't find them.
The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the Middle East and North Africa by 
The Contemporary Middle East by 
Continuum Political Encyclopedia of the Middle East by 
Historical Dictionary of United States-Middle East Relations by 
Historical Dictionary of Women in the Middle East and North Africa by 
The Middle East by 
The New Encyclopedia of Islam by 
The Oxford Dictionary of Islam by 
The Oxford History of Islam by 
Poltical Handbook of the Middle East 2008 by 
Shorter Encyclopaedia of Islam by 
The State of the Middle East by 
The United States in the Middle East by 