We celebrate Leids Ontzet, the Relief of Leiden, on Monday 3 October. This means that all University buildings in Leiden will be closed. The University buildings on Campus The Hague will be open, but there will be no classes.

The archives created by Leiden University and the private archives of Leiden professors are an invaluable source for the history of the university and its functioning. The main sources have been edited (nearly always in Dutch). In addition, several studies have been published, describing the development…

Overview of the Scaliger, Brill, Elsevier, Van de Sande, Juynboll, Drewes, Isaac Alfred Ailion, Arminius and Lingling Wiyadharma Fellows who have conducted research in the Special Collections of the University Library.

The Scaliger Institute facilitates research in Special Collections by initialising projects, organising symposia, publishing research results and fellowships.

Overview of databases, reference works and websites for research in Latin American Studies

The photographs collection of Leiden University Librarie (UBL) contains specimens of almost all photographic processes from the history of the medium, rare objects and artistic highlights. Together, they shed light on the history of photography as a technique, a means of scientific, historic and personal…

Leiden University Libraries (UBL) has been able to acquire four remarkable medical manuscripts partly thanks to support from the Friends of Leiden University Libraries, the Pieter van Foreest Stichting and the Van de Sande Fonds. All four are largely written in Dutch and can be dated between 1595 and…

Over 160 years ago, the Hague-based photography pioneer and traveler Alexine Tinne (1835-1869) captured current South Sudan and its inhabitants on film. These photographs represent some of the earliest images taken in the heart of the African continent.

CDS staff cooperate with colleagues from Leiden and other universities and libraries in giving training sessions, workshops and presentations. They (co)authored a diverse set of publications dealing with Digital Scholarship.

In 2022, Leiden was European City of Science. During this year, Leiden presented a public programme brimming with science, knowledge, arts, and skills for anyone with a curious mind. Leiden University Libraries (UBL) organised an extensive programme of activities on the theme of Leiden European City…

At the moment a lot of discussion surrounds ChatGPT, an advanced chatbot which uses Artificial Intelligence (AI). ChatGPT is based on a Large Language Model (LLM) and has been trained using an enormous amount of text, providing it with knowledge of grammar, semantics and contextual nuances. The program…

Overview of databases, reference works and websites for research in Film and Literary Studies

In the course of over four centuries the book collections have been greatly enlarged thanks to the bequests and grants or the purchases from the propriety of scholars or private collectors. Sometimes it concerned collections with thousands of early printed books, such as the purchase of the library…

A systematic review answers a central question by summarising (all) relevant studies.

A previously unknown document about Rembrandt’s student years in Leiden has been found in the archive of Leiden University. The document, which is being kept at the University Library, proves that Rembrandt studied at Leiden University for longer than has always been assumed.

Leiden University Libraries (UBL) has made 45,000 digitised daguerreotypes, autochrome plates, photo prints, albums, cameras and other objects from its photography collections available through Digital Collections. This means that parts of the oldest photo collection in the Netherlands are now digitally…

Rembrandt van Rijn is inextricably linked to the city of Leiden. He was born and raised here, went to school in the city, and spent the early years of his career in Leiden, a career that would one day make him one of the greatest painters in Dutch history. There is a similar connection between Rembrandt…

This year the Scaliger Institute received a record number of applications from domestic and foreign submitters for a fellowship to consult and research material in the Special Collections of the University Libraries. With the financial support of a number of companies and private foundations, the UBL…

With support of several companies, including Brill Publishers and private foundations, Leiden University Libraries and the Scaliger Institute welcome around 15 to 20 Fellows and guest per year to consult and examine material in the Special Collections. The Scaliger Institute received a large number…

With support of several publishers and private foundations, Leiden University Libraries (UBL) and the Scaliger Institute welcome around 15 to 20 Fellows and guests per year to consult and research materials from our Special Collections. The Scaliger Institute received applications this year from domestic…

How do we view friendship? And how have writers throughout the ages described that unconditional bond of trust in poems and literature? It's Poetry Week! And you guessed it; this year's theme is 'Friendship'. For this reading list, we went through our collections in search of the many ways friendship…

Persian stories with beautiful miniatures, letters on papyrus from Egyptian traders and medicinal manuscripts translated from Greek and edited in Arabic. Studium Generale organizes a lecture series on the world-famous manuscripts from the Middle East collection of Leiden University Libraries (UBL).…