If an item is not available at Leiden University Libraries (UBL), you can try and obtain it directly from another library, request it using ILL services, or suggest items for purchase.

The standard loan period for items borrowed at Leiden University Libraries (UBL) is 3 weeks.

The Bibliotheca Thysiana Fellowship keeps alive the memory of the young lawyer and book collector and bibliophile Joannes Thysius (1622-1653).

The Centre for Digital Scholarship offers training on research data management (RDM). Topics include Data Management Plans, FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) data, and publishing and archiving data.

De Universiteit Leiden is al 25 jaar stevig geworteld in Den Haag. Dat werd zichtbaar tijdens de feestelijke bijeenkomst rondom de foto-expositie Universiteit Leiden in Den Haag: Onderzoekers van de stad.

The Robert van Gulik Fund has established a Robert van Gulik Fellowship at the Scaliger Institute with effect from 2025. The fund thus supports the promotion of research on the sinological collections of the Leiden University Libraries.

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 South Asian and Tibetan special collections provide material pertaining to the languages, histories, philosophies, art and material cultures of the region. The focus lies on Sanskrit, Tibetan, Lepcha, and Buddhism, but the collections also hold rich visual material for educational and academic purposes…

Approximate delivery times for library items requested at Leiden University Libraries (UBL).

The libraries offer over 2300 study places. Some are freely available, some are available to Leiden University students only.

Use LUCRIS and Scholarly Publications to share, promote, and store your publications.

The domain of the post-medieval manuscripts and private archives covers the period from about 1550 to the present. A clear distinction with the medieval manuscripts, however, is difficult to make. There are many undated manuscripts and it is often difficult to date them even within a decade or a quarter…

Last July, Robbert Dijkgraaf, Minister of Education, Culture and Science and Annetje Ottow, President of Leiden University's Executive Board, opened the new front office of the Leiden University office in Jakarta. The office - located on the grounds of the Dutch embassy - has a dual role. Firstly, it…

Do you use our Interlibrary Loan Service to obtain books, chapters and/or articles from another library? From 28 January we will be moving on to a new application system.

In 2021, it is exactly 400 years since Hugo Grotius mounted his daring escape from Loevestein Castle, hidden in his book chest. Although his escape is a widely known event, especially in the Netherlands, the man behind the story and the reasons behind his imprisonment are often overlooked. In this small…

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?

Are you curious about how the human skeleton works? Discover this and more on 3 October in Leiden and on 4 October in The Hague.

Elsevier has extended its co-operation with Leiden University Libraries’ Centre for Digital scholarship and the Scaliger Institute for two more years on a fellowship programme to support the study of digital collections.

Slavicist, translator and publisher Pim van Sambeek recently donated his correspondence with Nobel Prize winner Wisława Szymborska to Leiden University Libraries (UBL). Most letters were written in 1982-1983 before the first publication of a collection of Szymborska’s poetry in Dutch, translated by…

Festival

The collections of Leiden University Libraries (UBL) not only hold academic material, but also many novels, collections of poetry, non-fiction works and even cookbooks. Is there still some space on your summer reading list? Take a look at the list below and borrow your book through the UBL.

Lawyer, economist, politician and women’s rights activist Lizzy van Dorp is the 100th entry in our Top 450. Who or what is your favourite?

A discount on textbooks is always welcome. But for these students joining a study association has meant much more than that alone.

The Surinamese-Dutch language, Parbo Beer and, of course, football. The ‘Dear Aunt Olga’ (‘Lieve tante Olga’) exhibition focuses on the shared Surinamese-Dutch culture. Full of cheer and with life experience to spare, ‘icon’ Aunt Olga (95) leads visitors through a shared history and does not shy away…

Elsevier collaborates with Leiden University Libraries’ Centre for Digital Scholarship and Scaliger Institute to enhance the study of digital collections.

Exhibition

Rector Magnificus Carel Stolker will head a delegation that is visiting Indonesia at the end of June. The visit is to celebrate the 50th anniversary of ‘Leiden’ institute KITLV-Jakarta. What does this institute do and why is Indonesia important to the University?

The COVID-19 pandemic forced many staff of Leiden institutes abroad to leave their posts in a hurry. How is the KITLV Jakarta team doing now? Director Marrik Bellen talks about the turbulent times for this Leiden institute and its staff. And can we learn anything from the Indonesian approach?