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…

Leiden University Libraries has a huge collection of books, journals and other materials to help you in your studies, both physical and online. Most of these materials can be requested through the Catalogue. Take a look at the video's below to learn how to borrow items or read about how to read books…

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…

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.

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…

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

Resources for searching Open Access articles, journals and books

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

Welcome to Leiden University Libraries (UBL). The quiet atmosphere in the libraries ensures an inspiring and pleasant study environment.

Study support

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

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 NINO Library, the Walaeus…

Scanners, copiers and printers can be found throughout the Leiden University Libraries' locations.

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

The core business of the UBL is providing information to staff and students of Leiden University and the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) for their educational and research tasks. Though staff and students of Leiden University and LUMC are the primary focus of the services of the UBL, others…

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.

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

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

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

Study support

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.

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

Scholarly Publications is a sustainable archive for Leiden University’s publications, which researchers themselves can make Open Access by means of an upload via LUCRIS.

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…

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

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

All University staff involved or interested in research data management are invited to join Leiden University Research Data Management Community.

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

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).

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 Centre for Digital Scholarship offers training, events and presentations for members of Leiden University on the many different aspects of digital scholarship.

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.

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.

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.

Library, Social

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

The 2021 Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded to Tanzanian author Abdulrazak Gurnah. The Swedish Academy praises Gurnah's "uncompromising and compassionate penetration of the effects of colonialism and the fate of the refugee in the gulf between cultures and continents". The works in the reading…

The American Chemical Society’s Publications Division (ACS) and VSNU, in its role representing Dutch universities and participating research institutions, have reached an agreement whereby open access publishing arrangements will be a part of the subscription licensing contract between the US-based…

Leiden University Libraries (UBL) has received considerable funding from the National Library of Israel (NLI) and the Friedberg Jewish Manuscript Society (FJMS) for the digitisation of a collection of 166 Hebrew manuscripts. The digitised manuscripts will be made available to the public in the course…

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…

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…

Practical information on submitting your dissertation