From July 2025 to April 2026, various major renovations took place in the University Library. Both the transparent domes, the skylight between both halls and the installations for air treatment and heating have been replaced. This will allow the University Library to be cooled and heated more sustai…

Freedom is not something we can take for granted. In its thematic programme ‘Oppression and Freedom’, Leiden University Libraries (UBL) has explored views on identity, relations and the interaction between individuals and groups in the past. The programme included several (online) exhibitions, workshops…

Annually the Scaliger Institute offers working space and facilities to a number of visiting scholars from the Netherlands and abroad, without a fellowship, who want to research (a part of) the Special Collections of the University Library.

Leiden University Libraries (UBL) is an internationally recognised research library with world-class collections and advanced services for education and research. The UBL provides these scholarly information services as a trusted partner in knowledge for researchers, teachers and students. We create…

The photo collection of South and Southeast Asia contains material collected by the Kern Institute and the Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies (KITLV). In addition to photo prints in various techniques, the collection also includes (lantern) slides, picture postcards…

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has introduced itself into everyone's lives. Naturally, Leiden University Libraries also has to address the development of AI. In this subject guide, we will give a short introduction to (Gen)AI and its effects on the university library. This subject guide has also been…

Resources for searching Open Access articles, journals and books

Welcome to Leiden University Libraries (UBL).

Leiden University has several library locations. These libraries are part of one organisation: Leiden University Libraries (UBL). The UBL includes the University Library, the Social and Behavioural Sciences Library, the Law Library, the Science Library, the Asian Library, the Middle Eastern Library, the African…

Study support

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

Leiden University Libraries hosts materials in hundreds of different languages, including many languages that are written in non-Latin scripts.

Overview of databases, reference works and websites for research in Computer Science.

Text and Data Mining (TDM) is increasingly applied in various academic disciplines to extract useful information from unstructured textual data using computational methods.

The collection Prints, Drawings and Portraits comprises over 100,000 prints, 12,000 drawings and 30,000 portraits.

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

Study support

“Digital Scholarship” comprises the many different ways in which researchers can make use of digital technologies for the purpose of academic research.

Scanners, copiers and printers are available at all of our library locations.

Systematically collecting, organising and citing your literature can be an overwhelming and time consuming process. A reference manager, like EndNote, Mendeley or Zotero, can help you with that.

Leiden University students, staff and (dual) PhDs can use the libraries' databases, e-books and e-journals both on-campus and off-campus.

Workshop

Leiden University Libraries hosts materials in hundreds of different languages, including many languages that are written in non-Latin scripts. Since 2015, all items are catalogued in the original scripts. Therefore, you may use for instance Arabic, Persian, Russian, Hebrew, Japanese, Korean or Chinese…

Subject librarians and Medical Information specialists employ general criteria when evaluating titles to be added or removed from the collections, some criteria having greater or lesser importance depending on subject area.

As soon as your thesis has been approved, you will be asked to upload your final version to the Student Repository. The Repository is an online archive for Leiden University theses. You can send all questions regarding your upload to the repository to your Education administration office.

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

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 websites for research in Security Studies

Lecture

Workshop

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.

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

Everyone working with research data will, at some point, come across the acronym of FAIR, which stands for Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable.

Check whether you may incorporate journal articles in readers (via ReaderOnline) or place these articles on Brightspace, without having to pay costs via the Easy Access Agreement (also referred to as Reader Agreement).

Knowing where scientific information can be found and how to use it is of great importance for getting through university. In collaboration with teachers, UBL guides students in information literacy skills: from assessing information to searching in the Special Collections and citation management.

Leiden University Libraries (UBL) owns over 5 million paper materials. Loanable items can be picked up and returned at the UBL library location of your choice.

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

A guide for finding Korean newspapers, magazines, live TV broadcasts and audiovisual materials.

AI in major academic databases, such as EBSCO, Elsevier, and JSTOR explained: what can these tools be used for – and where do they fall short?

Open educational resources, better known as OER, are freely accessible, reusable learning materials in various forms. OER can be extremely valuable for both teachers and students. On this page, we will discuss what OER entails, what their advantages and disadvantages are, what restrictions may apply…

Overview of reference works, journals and website for research in Politics and International Relations of Japan

The KNMI has issued a code red weather warning because of slippery conditions. This applies from 03.00 on Monday 15 February. All university buildings, both in Leiden and The Hague, will therefore remain closed until at least 12.00. Update: the buildings will reopen after 12.00.