Research results may be considered such only when they are properly communicated – to the scholarly and to the lay community as well. The effort at scholarly communication is fraught with special difficulties: the market does not of itself sustain the publication process. Hence the need for input from the outside, if the research cycle is to achieve its proper conclusion.
To this end, the Institute sponsors a number of series, issued by Undena Publications; together, they have pioneered the publication process by and for scholars. Two journals deal specifically with the area in question Assur and Syro-Mesopotamian Studies, two others only partially – Afroasiatic Linguistics and Computer Aided Research in Ancient Near Eastern Studies (the latter two have now been discontinued).
Two volume series deal specifically with Mesopotamian data. Bibliotheca Mesopotamica (of which twenty-seven volumes have appeared) covers the broad space of Mesopotamian civilization, from both a substantive and an interpretive point of view, from late prehistory to the end of the cuneiform tradition. Cybernetica Mesopotamica publishes the results of the Computer aided analysis of Mesopotamian Materials carried out as part of the research program of the Institute.
Sources and Monographs on the Ancient Near East provide translations of major texts, presentations of important archaeological data, and succinct interpretive discussions. Aids and Research Tools in Ancient Near Eastern Studies are practical handbooks for the rapid and inexpensive dissemination of factual information.
Before multimedia tols became readily available, Audio-Visual Modules served as innovative volumes of slides, accompanied by a narrative cassette tape and integrated with published reports, which served as a relatively inexpensive vehicle for color documentation and at the same time meet specific instructional needs. These will shortly be re-issued in CD format, and partly placed online.
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IIMAS Digital Library
IIMAS - The International Institute for Mesopotamian Area Studies, in collaboration with Undena Publications, has pioneered the use of electronic editions since the mid 80's, under two headings.
Titles in the series CM (Cybernetica Mesopotamica) present data files in a structured format, which is conceived digitally from its inception. The Urkesh Global Record, to be published in this series, will constitute the central piece of the full Urkesh website.
The titles in the series EE (Electronic Editions) present the text portion of hard copy editions. The first such edition was on a 5¼ floppy disk, while the others were on 3½ disks and the latest two are in CD format. We intend to republish the entire seires in CD format.
Some of the titles published on CD are posted in the current temporary version of the Urkesh website, the main difference being that graphic files are shown here at lower resolution than in the CD version. Eventually, all Urkesh titles published by IIMAS - Undena will be posted online, with new titles being posted immediately after publication.
The match between paper and electronic editions is intended to provide full bibliographical status to a digital format that risks otherwise to be ephemeral – especially if online posting is used as the exclusive vehicle for distribution.
Following is a list of the titles published so far.