This episode of Voices of IIS features Naureen Ali, Cataloguer and Adlib Officer for the Ismaili Special Collections Unit (ISCU) at The Institute of Ismaili Studies (IIS). Marking almost 13 years at IIS, she reflects on the long journey that brought her here and the meaning she has found in caring for an archival collection that spans printed material, manuscripts, photographs, coins, and artifacts
The conversation traces her path from growing up in Pakistan, where she felt conventional Islamic studies curricula lacked the rigour she was looking for, to her studies on Graduate Programme in Islamic Studies and Humanities (GPISH) and, eventually, her role with ISCU.
Naureen describes the day-to-day realities of cataloguing rare heritage items, from provenance research to conservation and collection care, and recalls a memorable project curating an online photo gallery celebrating the legacy of the 49th Ismaili Imam.
She also speaks about the delicate work of preserving fragile materials, the moving stories held within the collection’s letters and manuscripts, and how her ongoing postgraduate studies in archives and records management at UCL feed back into her role. Looking ahead, she shares her enthusiasm for the shift towards a “distributed museum” model and new digital tools for engaging with the collections, closing with personal reflections on the lifelong fascination with objects that keeps her inspired.
Topics discussed in this episode
- Naureen’s background and route to IIS
- The Ismaili Special Collections: manuscripts, photographs, coins, artifacts, rare printed material and archival collections
- What cataloguing and collection care involve behind the scenes
- ISCU Video Series: Ismaili Heritage Past and Present – Episode 1: Ismailis in History and Myth with Dr Farhad Daftary
- Her most memorable project: the photo gallery celebrating the 49th Ismaili Imam
- Challenges of working with fragile historical materials
- Educational outputs, from exhibitions to articles for IIS website
- Postgraduate studies in archives and records management at UCL
- The future: distributed museums and digital access
- Personal reflections on objects and the stories they carry
