Leiden University Library

Famous manuscript: Leiden Aratea

The collection Western Manuscripts contains all western manuscripts (including 2,500 medieval manuscripts and fragments and 25,000 modern manuscripts), 300,000 letters, archives and 3,000 annotated prints of the University Library, including the archives of the university.

The collection Western Printed Works contains materials printed before 1801 (including 700 incunabula) and rare and precious works from after 1801. In the course of four centuries the collection has been expanded through bequests, gifts and acquisitions of collections from scholars. Furthermore, the University Library obtained the deposit right for a copy of each book for which the States of Holland had given the privilege to print. The collection also includes more than 100,000 printed works from the library of the Maatschappij der Nederlandse Letterkunde which has been deposited on permanent loan since 1876.

Portrait of J.T. Bodel Nijenhuis by J.L. Cornet (Collection Leiden University Libraries)

The Bodel Nijenhuis Collection contains mainly old maps, atlases, topographical prints and drawings. Most of the collection was obtained as a bequest from J.T. Bodel Nijenhuis. The lawyer Johannes Tiberius Bodel Nijenhuis (1797–1872), director of the publishing house Luchtmans, for 25 years a member of the Maatschappij der Nederlandse Letterkunde, was a passionate collector of cartographical and topographical material.

The collection contains 60,000 maps (of which 3,000 drawings), 1,500 atlases, 24,000 topographical prints, 1,600 drawings and the archive of Youssouf Kamal's Monumenta Cartographica Africae et Aegypti.

From its very onset the study of the Orient was of vital importance to the new university. Theologians studied the Semitic languages to perceive the meaning of the Bible. Political and commercial interests prompted the new-born Dutch Republic to establish relations with its enemies' enemies, among whom the Ottoman Empire, then at the zenith of its power. In the course of its expansionist policy the Dutch Republic secured possession of the Indonesian archipelago and other territories in South East Asia. In Japan, Dutch merchants maintained a trading post to the exclusion of all other European powers.

In the course of four centuries countless manuscripts, printed books and photographs on the Orient and Oriental Studies have found their way to the library of Leiden University. Oriental Studies are still flourishing at Leiden University, and the Oriental Collections are still growing to serve the needs of the national and international scholarly community.

The Oriental Collections of Leiden University Libraries are known as the Legatum Warnerianum (Warner's Legacy), referring to Levinus Warner (1619–1665), envoy to the Sublime Porte at Constantinople, whose collection of 1,000 Middle Eastern manuscripts forms the core of the present-day Oriental Collections. In 1659 following the death of the Ottoman bibliophile-encyclopedist Kâtip Çelebi his library was sold. At the time it was the largest private library in Istanbul, and Warner acquired part of it for the University of Leiden.

The Oriental Collections nowadays contain 30,000 manuscripts and 200,000 printed books on subjects ranging from Archaeology to Zoroastrianism and in languages from Arabic to Zulu.

Bibliotheca Thysiana, Rapenburg 25, Leiden

The Bibliotheca Thysiana was erected in 1655 to house the book collection of the lawyer Joannes Thysius (1622–1653). Upon his early death, he left a legacy of 20,000 guilders for the building of a public library ("tot publycque dienst der studie") with a custodian's dwelling. Designed by the architect Arent van 's-Gravensande, the building follows the Dutch Classical style and is regarded as one of the jewels of Dutch 17th century architecture. It is distinguished by its balanced proportions and the purity of its Ionic order on top of a high basement.

The Bibliotheca Thysiana is the only surviving 17th century example in the Netherlands of a building that was designed as a library. It is quite extraordinary that a complete private 17th century library has been preserved and thus offers a good impression of the book collection of a young, learned bibliophile from the period of late Humanism. The collection contains about 2,500 books and thousands of pamphlets in all scientific fields.

Otherwise known as the MNL, the "Maatschappij der Nederlandse Letterkunde" (Dutch Society of Letters)[14] was founded in Leiden in 1766 to promote the study of Dutch historical linguistic subjects. This society joined the Leiden University Libraries in 1876, and since 1999 forms the basis of the DBNL – the digital online library of the Dutch Language, an initiative for an online open access archive of the greatest works in Dutch literary history.[15] The society had regular meetings in Leiden on literary subjects, but also on scientific subjects. It became fashionable for the elite to become members, and many were also members of the Dutch Society of Science (Hollandsche Maatschappij der Wetenschappen), a similar society for the study of scientific subjects founded in Haarlem in 1752. Both societies still hold contests and award prizes for achievement.

Founded in 1822, the Print Room possesses art works from the sixteenth century until the present day. Whether you are interested in mythological scenes from the Italian Renaissance, daguerreotypes, the largest collection of portraits in the Netherlands, stereophotography or Dutch landscapes by Rembrandt and his pupils, the Print Room has them. The holdings presently amount to some 12,000 drawings, around 100,000 prints and some 80,000 photographs, with an emphasis on Dutch art. Amongst the drawings and prints you will find works by famous Dutch artists like Goltzius, Visscher, Rembrandt, Troost, Maris, Toorop, and Veldhoen, but prominent artists from other European Schools, like Hogarth, Callot, Canaletto, and Dürer are also present with specimens up to 1900. The photography collection spreads from its earliest history to the present day and boasts examples of virtually every Dutch photographer, from anonymous nineteenth-century pioneers through Piet Zwart and Paul Citroen to Ed van der Elsken and Johan van der Keuken, including a lot of attention to present day photographers such as Erwin Olaf and Hendrik Kerstens.

The collection was started in 1864 with the opening of the Colonial Museum in Haarlem, but parts date back to the predecessor of the museum: the department of 'Trade and Colonies' founded in 1777 and part of the Hollandsche Maatschappij van Wetenschappen. In 1913 the collection was taken over by the Colonial Institute in Amsterdam founded in 1910. In 1950, after the Dutch decolonization, the mission of the Colonial Institute changed which was reflected in a name change to Royal Tropical Institute. But also the development of the collection changed quite drastically. In 2013 the library of the Royal Tropical Institute was closed and the part of the collection that dealt with the former Dutch colonies was housed at Leiden University Libraries.

The KITLV was founded in 1851 and created the foremost collections on Southeast Asia (especially on Indonesia) and the Caribbean (especially Suriname, Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles). The collection contains about 1 million – mostly postcolonial – books and special collections, including 150.000 digitized historical photographs, maps, prints and unique archives.

On 1 July 2014, the management of the collection was transferred from the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences to Leiden University Libraries.

Josephus Justus Scaliger, painted by Paullus Merula, third Librarian of Leiden University, 1597.

The Scaliger Institute, founded in 2000, aims to stimulate and facilitate the use of the special collections in both teaching and research. For this purpose, the institute offers favourable working conditions and expertise, organizes lectures, symposia, master classes, and special courses, and provides fellowships to junior and senior scholars from the Netherlands and elsewhere who wish to work in Leiden for a longer period.[16] These include the Brill, Elsevier, Lingling Wiyadharma, Van de Sande, Juynboll en Ailion fellowships, which focus on different disciplines or regions.

The Scaliger Chair, affiliated with both the Institute at Leiden University Libraries and the university's Faculty of Humanities, is tasked with "promot[ing] teaching and research relating to the Special Collections held by the University library" through outreach activities directed towards academic and non-academic audiences.

Scaliger professors:

• Wim Gerritsen (2002–2006)
• Harm Beukers (2007–2016)
• Erik Kwakkel (2016–2018)
• Rick Honings (2020–present)

Furthermore, an internationally prominent scholar is frequently appointed as 'Visiting Scaliger Professor' who delivers i.a. the Scaliger Lecture: Anthony Grafton (2009), François Déroche (2010), Peter Frankopan (2017), Ted Underwood (2019).

The institute was named after Josephus Justus Scaliger (1540–1609), Leiden's most renowned scholar during the early years of its existence and a great benefactor of the University Library through the donation, at his death, of his exceptional collection of manuscripts and all his oriental books.

• Areas of concentration: archaeology, anthropology, art, astronomy, cartography, classics, education, history, law, literature, medicine, Orientalism, papyrology, philosophy, politics, publishing, religion, science.
• Some individual collections: D. Bierens de Haan, Willem Bilderdijk, T. Bodel Nijenhuis, G.J.P.J Bolland, J. Golius, Robert van Gulik, A.P.H. Hotz, J. Huizinga, Constantijn and Christiaen Huygens, F. Kellendonk, Justus Lipsius, P. Marchand, E.M. Meijers, K.H. Miskotte, J. Oort, V. Perelešin, M. Rijke, J.J. Scaliger, C. Snouck Hourgronje, C.P. Tiele, H.N. van der Tuuk, I. Vossius, L. Warner, N. van Wijk, Jan Wolkers.
• Some institutional collections: Bohn Publishers, Sijthoff Publishers, Bibliothèque Wallonne, NHK (Dutch Reformed Church), Seminarium Remonstrantum, photographs Indonesia, ISIM (Islam), Zaken Overzee (Netherlands Ministry of Overseas Affairs).

• University Library, Witte Singel 27, Leiden (Architect: Bart van Kasteel)
• Asian Library, Witte Singel 27, Leiden (Architect: Katja Hogenboom studio with FELSCH architecten)
• Law Library, Steenschuur 25, Leiden
• Social and Behavioral Sciences Library, Wassenaarseweg 52, Leiden
• Gorlaeus Library and Mathematics and Natural Sciences Library, Einsteinweg 55 & Niels Bohrweg 1, Leiden
• Walaeus Library (LUMC), Albinusdreef 2, Leiden
• NINO Library, Witte Singel 25, Leiden
• Academic Historical Museum, Rapenburg 73, Leiden
• Wijnhaven Library, Campus The Hague, Turfmarkt 99, The Hague
• KITLV-Jakarta, Jl. H.R. Rasuna Said Kav S-3, Jakarta, Indonesia

1587–1595: Academiegebouw, Rapenburg 73, Leiden.

1595–1983: Faliede Bagijnkerk, Old University Library, now: University Board, Rapenburg 70, Leiden.

• 
  Vault room at Rapenburg 73 (location 1587–1595) [Photograph 1940]
• 
  Rapenburg 73 (1610) Print by Woudanus in Stedeboeck der Nederlanden, Amsterdam: Willem Blaeu, 1649.
• 
  Rapenburg 70 (1694) La nouvelle bibliothèque, from Les delices de Leide, une des célèbres villes de l'Europe, Leiden: P. van der Aa, 1712
• 
  Rapenburg 70 (c.1890)
• 
  Rapenburg 70 (1963)
• 
  Current location: Witte Singel 27 (2006)
• 
  Interior of the University Library. Glass negative, circa 1880. Photographer: Jan Goedeljee 1824–1905.
• 
  Reading room, University Library. Glass negative, circa 1880. Photographer: Jan Goedeljee (1824–1905).

• (in English) Christiane Berkvens-Stevelinck: Magna commoditas – Leiden University's great asset. 425 years library collections and services. Amsterdam, Leiden University Press, 2012. ISBN 978-90-8728-165-6 [Enlarged and updated edition] Digital version
• (in English) Elfriede Hulshoff Pol: 'The first century of the Leiden University Library'. In: Leiden University in the seventeenth century. An exchange of learning. Leiden, Universitaire Pers Leiden, 1975. ISBN 90-04-04267-9
• (in English) Quaestiones leidenses. Twelve studies on Leiden University Library and its holdings published on the occasion of the quarter-centenary of the university'. Ed. by Christiane Berkvens-Stevelinck ... et al. Leiden, Universiteitsbibliotheek, 1975 ISBN 90-221-9996-7

• (in Dutch) Tot Publijcque Dienst der Studie. Boeken uit de Bibliotheca Thysiana. Redactie: Wim van Anrooij & Paul Hoftijzer. Hilversum: Verloren, 2023. ISBN 9789464550030
• (in Dutch and English) Self-Reflective. Hendrik & Paula Kerstens. Maartje van den Heuvel (ed.). Zwolle: W Books, 2023. ISBN 9789462585577
• (in English) Maps That Made History. 1000 Years of World History in 100 Old Maps. Martijn Storms (ed.). Tielt: Lannoo, 2022. ISBN 978-94-014-8530-2
• (in Dutch) Kaarten die geschiedenis schreven. 1000 jaar wereldgeschiedenis in 100 oude kaarten. Martijn Storms (ed.). Tielt: Lannoo, 2022. ISBN 978-94-014-8529-6
• (in English) Books That Made History. 25 Books from Leiden That Changed the World. Edited by: Kasper van Ommen and Garrelt Verhoeven. Leiden: Brill, 2022. ISBN 978-90-04-52342-5
• (in Dutch) Boeken die geschiedenis schreven. Redactie: Kasper van Ommen & Garrelt Verhoeven. Amsterdam: Athenaeum, 2022. ISBN 978-90-253-1479-8
• (in Dutch) Kester Freriks & Martijn Storms. Grensverkenningen. Langs oude grenzen in Nederland. Amsterdam: Athenaeum, 2022. ISBN 978-90-253-1463-7
• (in Dutch and English) Fotografie wordt Kunst. Photo-Secession in Holland 1890–1937. Photography Becomes Art. Photo-Secession in Holland 1890–1937. Concept, image editing and text: Maartje van den Heuvel. Zwolle: WBOOKS in collaboration with Leiden University Libraries, 2019. ISBN 978-94-6258-358-0
• (in English) Voyage of Discovery. Exploring the Collections of the Asian Library at Leiden University. Edited by: Alexander Reeuwijk. Leiden: Leiden University Press, 2017. ISBN 978-90-8728-274-5 Digital version
• (in English) Luitgard Mols & Arnoud Vrolijk. Western Arabia in the Leiden Collections. Traces of a Colourful Past. Leiden: Leiden University Press, 2016. ISBN 978-90-8728-259-2 Digital version
• (in English) For Study and Delight. Drawings and Prints from Leiden University. Edited by: Jef Schaeps, Elmer Kolfin, Edward Grasman, Nelke Bartelings. Leiden: Leiden University Press, 2016. ISBN 978-90-8728-241-7
• (in Dutch) Leiden viert feest. Hoogtepunten uit een academische collectie. Onder redactie van Jef Schaeps en Jaap van der Ven. Leiden: Leiden University Press, 2014. ISBN 978-90-8728-220-2
• (in Dutch and English) Arnoud Vrolijk, Jan Schmidt & Karin Scheper. Turcksche boucken. De oosterse verzameling van Levinus Warner, Nederlands diplomaat in zeventiende-eeuws Istanbul. The Oriental collection of Levinus Warner, Dutch diplomat in seventeenth-century Istanbul. Eindhoven: Lecturis, 2012. ISBN 978-90-70108-93-9
• (in English) Corien J.M. Vuurman. Nineteenth-century Persia in the Photographs of Albert Hotz. Images from the Hotz Photograph Collection of Leiden University Library, the Netherlands. Rotterdam en Gronsveld: Barjesteh van Waalwijk van Doorn & Co's Uitgeversmaatschappij, 2011. ISBN 978-90-5613-000-8
• (in Dutch and English) Maartje van den Heuvel, Janrense Boonstra & Jan van Dijk. In atmospherisch licht. Picturalisme in de Nederlandse fotografie 1890–1925. In Atmospheric Light. Picturalism in Dutch Photography 1890–1925. Zwolle: Waanders, 2010. ISBN 978-90-400-7686-2
• (in English) Maartje van den Heuvel & Wim van Sinderen. Photography! A Special Collection at Leiden University. Leiden: Leiden University & the Hague Museum of Photography, 2010. ISBN 978-90-89101-91-4
• (in Dutch) Fotovoorkeuren. 50 auteurs kiezen een foto uit de collectie van het Leids Prentenkabinet. Onder redactie van Joke Pronk & Tineke de Ruiter. Amsterdam: Voetnoot, 2007. ISBN 978-90-78068-15-0
• (in Dutch) Bronnen van kennis. Wetenschap, kunst en cultuur in de collecties van de Leidse Universiteitsbibliotheek. Onder redactie van Paul Hoftijzer, Kasper van Ommen, Geert Warnar & Jan Just Witkam. Leiden: Primavera Pers, 2006. ISBN 978-90-5997-028-1
• (in Dutch) Oostersche weelde. De Oriënt in westerse kunst en cultuur. Met een keuze uit de verzameling van de Leidse Universiteitsbibliotheek. Onder redactie van Jef Schaeps, Kasper van Ommen & Arnoud Vrolijk. Leiden: Primavera Pers, 2005. ISBN 978-90-5997-023-6
• (in English) Hora est! On dissertations. Leiden, 2005. Digital version
• (in English) Jan Oort, astronomer, with contrib. by Jet Katgert-Merkelijn & Jos Damen (Q58161949). Leiden, 2000. Digital version
• (in Dutch) Goed gezien. Tien eeuwen wetenschap in handschrift en druk. Eindredactie R. Breugelmans. Leiden 1987. ISBN 90-6385-141-3[29]
• (in English) R. Breugelmans: Leiden imprints 1483–1600 in Leiden University Library and Bibliotheca Thysiana. A short-title catalogue. Nieuwkoop, De Graaf, 1974. ISBN 90-6004-341-3