Central Asia: Scope

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The term Central Asia in one definition refers to the Central Asian republics of the former Soviet Union, i.e.  Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Other definitions might expand the area to Azerbaijan, Iran, Afghanistan, Mongolia, western Pakistan (i.e. Baluchistan), and Xinjiang Province of China (Uighur regions).

The peoples of Central Asia speak predominatety Turkic (Turkish, Turkmen, Uzbek, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Azeri, etc) and Iranian (Persian, Tajik, Pushtu, Baluchi, Tat, etc.) languages.

While KU Libraries collect information on the broader definition above, historically and currently our collections have been strongest in the areas corresponding to the Central Asian countries of the former Soviet Union.

The KU Libraries collects predominately in the subject areas of: Language, Culture, Politics, Religion, Literature, and Energy issues.