Leiden University Library

History of the organisation

The Polyglot Bible was a gift from Willem of Orange to the University of Leiden on the occasion of its foundation in 1575 and marked the symbolic establishment of the university library. The library was officially opened in 1587 and was located in what is now Leiden University's academy building on Rapenburg. Since the publication of the first library catalogue, the Nomenclator, in 1595, the collection has grown to include many millions of books, manuscripts and other types of documents. Since 2009 the various libraries that had been established at Leiden University over the years have been merged under the name Leiden University Libraries (UBL). The UBL consists of the general university library and the libraries for Social Sciences, Law, Mathematics & Natural Sciences and the East Asian Library.

With regard to research into colonial histories, the UBL manages a large relevant collection, particularly since taking over the collections of the Koninlijk Instituut voor de Tropen (Royal Tropical Institute) and the Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies (KITLV) in 2013 and 2014, respectively. The library of the Netherlands Institute for the Near East was incorporated into the UBL in 2018.

In addition to its collection of written sources, the UBL manages a large number of special collections, some of which are also digitally available. The subject guides provide more information about the wide range of available sources and where to find them. Besides conventional books, the collection contains tens of thousands of manuscripts, maps, cuneiform tablets and miniatures.

Research

The UBL's digital catalogue can be consulted online and contains books, periodicals and other types of material. Various subject guides are available to facilitate your search. The digitised special collections can also be consulted online. In addition to its extensive collection, the UBL manages a large amount of archive material, both from Leiden University itself and from personal and other archives. Detailed descriptions of the various archive collections can be found in the collection guides, which contain extensive information about the available material. If you are unable to find certain information, you can always contact the organisation.

The UBL's digital catalogue can be consulted online and contains books, periodicals and other types of material. To facilitate your search, various subject guides are available. The digitised special collections can also be consulted online. In addition to its extensive collection, the UBL also manages a large amount of archive material, both from Leiden University itself and from personal and other archives. The various archive collections are described in detail in so-called collection guides. These contain extensive information about the available material. If you are unable to find certain information, you can always contact the organisation.

Sources