The Brown University Library is pleased to welcome Ian Straughn as the new Interim Joukowsky Family Librarian for Middle Eastern Studies. Dr. Straughn, whose appointment began on August 3, 2009, has studied the Middle East since his undergraduate years at Stanford University, where he earned a B.A. in anthropology with a minor in history, focusing on Middle Eastern history, politics, and culture. He went on to complete a Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Chicago, working on the history and archaeology of the greater Levant during the Islamic periods. At Brown, he has taught several courses on Islamic civilization, which have explored the development of Islamic thought, social institutions, and material culture. Fluent in Arabic, Dr. Straughn is also very familiar with modern Middle Eastern culture, political science, anthropology, and medicine, having spent three years living in the region. As the Interim Joukowsky Family Librarian for Middle Eastern Studies, he will review and develop the collections that support the history and cultures of the Middle East and culturally- and linguistically-related countries, help integrate more Arabic and Persian language holdings to the collections, and work directly with faculty, students, and researchers to build the program in Middle East Studies.