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.

Explanation and background of Dutch copyright

The collection of prints was started through a donation from the aristocrat Jean Theodore Royer, who bequeathed some 20,000 prints to the university in 1815. The collection has expanded through further donations and some major purchases. The nucleus consists of Dutch graphic art from 1500 until now.…

“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 in western languages for research in Comparative Philosophy

The research suggestions below may be suitable for a bachelor's or master's thesis or can be used as additional source material in ongoing research.

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

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

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…

The Lingling Wiyadharma Fellowship program offers the opportunity to three scholars to spend up to three months conducting research using the Southeast Asian and particularly the Indonesian special collections at Leiden University Libraries.

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

Workshop

You are a PhD candidate and the completion of your dissertation is approaching. What to do next?

A web lecture is a recording of a presentation, a lecture, a class, a keynote, or even a workshop that can be viewed after the event has taken place.

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.

Overview of databases, reference works and websites for research in Cultural Anthropology

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

Overview of databases and websites for research in Astronomy

Training

Leiden is a knowledge hub, unique in its kind in the Netherlands, for academics, professionals, students and all other people who are specialized or interested in photography. The city and university offer:

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

Conditions are attached to the use of information sources (databases) provided by UBL.

Brightspace is the electronic learning environment of Leiden University.

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

This Subject Guide is designed to support students of Korean studies at Leiden University in their research process. For every step of the research process, this guide introduces a number of tips and recommended resources. You can find several sub-guides and contacts in the 'quick links' in the tab…

This subject guide is a work in progress, aimed to provide access to relevant academic works and online resources on Palestine and Israel, as well as, documentaries, films, and literature to familiarize yourself with the complexities of the conflict.

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

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

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.

Welcome to Leiden University Libraries (UBL).

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

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

How do you pick a topic and research question for your thesis or paper? And is your schedule realistic? Check out the tutorials and resources below.

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

Study support

A number of tools and services are available to help you keep up to date with the latest developments in your subject field.

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

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

Read all about the most important functionalities of Mendeley.

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).

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

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.

Leiden University Press presents a new now unabridged, richly illustrated edition of Huizinga's famous study of forms of life and thought of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries in France and the Low Countries.

In short, data management can be defined as the creation, storage, maintenance, disclosure, archiving and sustainable preservation of research data. Increasingly the so called FAIR principles are referred to as a final goal: data should be made 'Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Re-usable'.

Part of the Leiden University Libraries’ (UBL) collections on Southeast Asia is now available in digital form for research, educational purposes and the general public. The collections consist of manuscripts, old prints, photos and maps of Southeast Asia, which have been made available via Digital Collections.…

The Leiden University Libraries (UBL) catalogue contains millions of (e-)books, (e-)journals, manuscripts, letters, and other materials available at the UBL.

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.

The ICAS Book Prize (IBP) is one of the most prestigious book awards in the field of Asian Studies. The prizes were awarded in Kyoto, Japan at the 2021 International Convention of Asia Scholars (ICAS). As the proud sponsor of the ICAS Book Prize, Leiden University Libraries/Asian Library congratulate…

Close to twenty thousand pages of new material have been added to the online collection of unofficial poetry journals from China in the Leiden Digital Collections. Produced “outside the system,” these journals are hugely influential yet very hard to find. To address this paradox, Leiden University Libraries…