- To establish personal contacts between individuals in the UK concerned with collecting, organising and making available materials on the Middle East.
- To provide a forum for the exchange of information and ideas between institutions and persons in the UK involved in the foregoing activities.
- To facilitate and encourage the co-ordination of acquisitions of materials on and from the Middle East by UK libraries, in order to make best use of scarce resources, to ensure that the fullest possible coverage is achieved in the UK as whole, and to avoid unnecessary duplication of holdings.
- To develop and share expertise in the technical aspects of Middle East librarianship and bibliography.
- To represent the interests and concerns of members, and to stress the importance of adequate provision of Middle Eastern materials and facilities for their use, to other persons and organisations in the UK and in particular:
- academics, institutions and associations involved in Middle Eastern studies, and especially the British Society for Middle Eastern Studies (BRISMES);
- senior librarians and other persons or bodies responsible for the provision of library, information and bibliographical facilities for example the National Committee for Information Resources on Asia (NACIRA).
- To compile and publish bibliographical handbooks in the field of Middle Eastern studies, guides to collections of relevant materials in the UK, and works on librarianship and information science related to the Middle East.
- To encourage the proper use and cultivation of Middle Eastern bibliography, broadly defined, both as a tool of teaching and research, and as a field of scholarly inquiry.
- To encourage contact and co-operation in the above fields between individuals and organisations in the UK and those in other countries, through MELCOM International and other appropriate bodies.
- To provide relevant material for the publications of the British Society for Middle Eastern Studies (BRISMES).
