Overview of databases, reference works and website for research in the History of Science

With its more than 1400 bindings and over a thousand fragments Leiden’s collection of medieval manuscripts (up to ca. 1550) is the largest in the Netherlands.

Leiden University owns an extensive collection of papyri. The Papyrological Institute is proprietor of most of this collection. A smaller amount of Papyri is part of the ULL collection. Apart from original papyri the Papyrological Institute offers an extensive collection of handbooks and secondary studies…

The Special Collections Reading Room houses a collection of 800+ facsimiles of Western manuscripts originating mostly from Medieval Europe. They enable students to consult a 3D version very close to the original manuscripts kept worldwide, especially those with contents or from cultural traditions that…

The Western manuscript, archival and letter collections consist of books and documents written in Latin, Greek and Cyrillic script.

In the UBL podcast Leiden University lecturers, professors and other experts talk about their research based on items from the Special Collections.

As a Friend, you contribute to the acquisition, digitisation and restoration of important objects.

The Chinese Special Collections are part of the Asian Library. Items can be consulted at the Special Collections Reading Room.

Overview of databases, reference works and websites for research in Linguistics

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 in western languages for research in Comparative Philosophy

UBL has assigned a Subject Librarian or Medical Information Specialist to each department and program who provides in-depth assistance for researchers and teachers

Medewerkers van de Universiteit Leiden trappen maandag 10 maart de estafettestaking af van de Nederlandse universiteiten tegen de kabinetsbezuinigingen.

Since the UBL introduced a new and improved service for requesting course reserves last summer, many lecturers have used the new service. Today, the UBL processed the hundredth application of a course reserve for Casper de Jonge, university lecturer in Greek Language and Culture at the Faculty of Humanities,…

Water damage, old restorations and copper corrosion in some illustrations. De Materia Medica has been through a lot over the centuries. The manuscript dates from 1083 AD and is one of the oldest illustrated Arabic manuscripts in the world. Due to intensive use, De Materia Medica was no longer in good…

The Library of Leiden University holds c. 550 manuscripts and an extensive collection of rare printed books in Hebrew, Aramaic, Syriac, the languages of Ethiopia, South Arabic, Coptic and Armenian, as well as a collection of rare books on the Jewish World.

The Middle Eastern Library is located on the ground floor of the new Herta Mohr Building at Witte Singel.

Overview of databases, reference works and websites for South and Southeast Asian Studies.

The Greek diasporic queer poet Constantine P. Cavafy (1863-1933) has been recognized as a central figure in world literature and literary modernism. On December 9th, a symposium around his work will take place at Leiden University Libraries. This will be combined with the launch of Maria Boletsi's book…

An evening program in the University Library and Middle Eastern Library in Leiden for everyone who has something to do with the Middle East; from Tajikistan to the Mahreb and from Istanbul to Sanaa. View the oldest books and clay tablets from the collection and listen to the most fascinating stories…

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

Library exhibitions, both online and physical, give an idea of the breadth of our collections.

Overview of databases, reference works and websites for research in French language and culture.

The Asian Library holds the largest collection on Indonesia worldwide, and some of the foremost collections on South and Southeast Asia, China, Japan and Korea.

The exhibition ‘Sanskrit – Across Asia and Beyond’ tells the story of Sanskrit’s more than 3,000-year-long existence. It displays manuscripts and objects from Leiden University Library, complemented with objects from the Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen. The exhibition runs from May 18 to August…

President John Quincy Adams studied in Leiden. His father, John, who was also president, also stayed here and received a lot of support from professor and publisher Johan Luzac. And how are presidents Bush and Obama linked to Leiden?