In addition to the Bodel Nijenhuis Collection, the map collections of the former library of the Royal Tropical Institute (KIT), and the map collection of the Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies (KITLV), the collection of Maps and Atlases includes several smaller sub…

There are several excellent options for teachers and researchers to engage students and other audiences with primary sources. Either by requesting items from the Special Collections for use during lectures or by integrating our educational resources into your lesson plans.

The UBL develop collections which support the needs of faculty and students of the University.

The special collections of Leiden University Libraries offer access to worldwide known valuable, rare, and unique materials. The collections are actively complemented and made accessible for research and education.

The Special Collections of Leiden University Libraries contain a world-renowned and vast collection of old prints, manuscripts, archives, prints, drawings and photography. Our collections are accessible to Leiden researchers and students, as well as external researchers and other interested parties.

The Middle Eastern Special Collections form the nucleus of the entire range of Oriental heritage collections of Leiden University Libraries.

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

The Asian special collections comprise tens of thousands of rare books, thousands of manuscripts, maps, prints, drawings and photographs, and hundreds of archives.

The collection guides of archives and collections of Leiden University Libraries (UBL) have been made available via the portal Collection Guides. This has greatly improved the findability, visibility and ease of use of these collection finding aids.

The Southeast Asian Special Collections contain text and audiovisual materials pertaining to the languages, histories, philosophies, religions, literatures, and (material) art of the region. The focus lies on the Malay world, in particular on the Nederlands-Indies/Indonesia. Apart from books and periodicals…

The main focus of the Islamic World Special Collections is on the Middle East and North Africa, with smaller holdings from Indonesia, the Indian Subcontinent and Central Asia as far as Xinjiang, China.

The Special Collections Reading Room was closed due to renovation work. However, the work was completed earlier than expected and the reading room will reopen on Friday 17 May. Monday 20 May (Whit Monday) the reading room will be closed.

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…

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

As UBL, we select, acquire, catalogue and manage materials to support teaching, learning and research at Leiden University. We aim to have all required study literature available online or in print at the beginning of the semester. Are you missing any titles? Contact your subject librarian/medical…

The special collections from Japan and Korea are located at the central library building at Witte Singel, where it forms a part of the Asian Library.

Digital Collections contains over 500,000 digitized primary sources, reference works and digital born materials held by Leiden University Libraries. In this repository you will find digital facsimiles of prints, drawings, photographs, maps and archival documents; digital facsimiles of manuscript books…

The people behind the Leiden University Libraries aim to maintain the level of their services to clients as much as possible. They are making thankful use of internet, but not everything can be put online.

The family of the famous diplomat, sinologist and writer Robert van Gulik has donated his personal archive and part of his collection to Leiden University Libraries (UBL). The collection and archive provide insight into the life and work of Robert van Gulik, who became known to the general public for…

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).…

Overview of databases, reference works and websites for research in Art & Art History