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

Overview of databases, reference works and websites for research in Italian Language and Culture

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.

Workshop

Summer School

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

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

Your support enables the UBL to continue fulfilling its role for the Leiden University community. You can make a one-off donation or make donations on a periodical basis. Gifts can made for the library as a whole, or for a designated project, the purchase of a subject collection or the…

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.

In the course of over four centuries the book collections have been greatly enlarged thanks to the bequests and grants or the purchases from the propriety of scholars or private collectors. Sometimes it concerned collections with thousands of early printed books, such as the purchase of the 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 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.

Lecture, Studium Generale

UBL's collection exists to a large extent thanks to donations and financial support from private donors and funds.

Public lecture

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.

Overview of databases, reference works and websites for research in Life Science & Technology

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

The Walaeus Library is Leiden University Libraries' medical library. The library is located on the first floor of the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC).

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

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

Overview of databases en websites for research in the Bio-Pharmaceutical Sciences

Some books have particular features such as design, unique illustrations and descriptive annotations. These features can be of interest for specific research.

According to a rough estimate the western manuscripts collections and (private) archives contain some 500,000 letters, of which over 300,000 are catalogued. The letters kept in the University archives are not catalogued; the same holds for most letters kept in the oriental collections. They can be found…

Overview of databases, reference works and websites for Research in Russian and Eurasian Studies

Library, Research

Library, Research

Our information specialists are ready to answer your questions on how to use Leiden University Libraries' (UBL) services or how to search for information.

The collections of drawings consists of around 12,000 drawings of mostly Dutch origin, dating from 1500 until now. The collections is the result of some major purchases, such as the collections of Albertus Welcker (1957) and Adolphus Staring (1969). Almost every Dutch artist is represented with a single…

Arts and culture

The Netherlands Code of Conduct for Research Integrity defines plagiarism as ‘the use of another person’s ideas, work methods, results or texts without appropriate acknowledgement’. The definition at Oxford University is somewhat more extensive: ‘Plagiarism is presenting someone else’s work or ideas…

The collection of maps and atlases consists of approximately 100,000 map sheets (including c. 3,000 manuscript maps), 3,500 atlases and 25,000 topographical prints and drawings.

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.

CDS staff cooperate with colleagues from Leiden and other universities and libraries in giving training sessions, workshops and presentations. They (co)authored a diverse set of publications dealing with Digital Scholarship.

In 2022, Leiden was European City of Science. During this year, Leiden presented a public programme brimming with science, knowledge, arts, and skills for anyone with a curious mind. Leiden University Libraries (UBL) organised an extensive programme of activities on the theme of Leiden European City…

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 Van de Sande Fellow conducts research in the Special Collections of Leiden University Libraries, preferably in one of the areas of interest of the Van de Sande Foundation: the history of pharmacy, botany, medicine. In exceptional cases the fellowship is also available to researchers in the field…

Need a book or journal the library doesn’t own?

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

Course reserve shelves are a convenient way to temporarily group library materials together, for use inside the library.

A review article provides a summary of the state of affairs in a particular field. Review articles are written by experts based on extensive literature research. Reading a review quickly provides insight into a field or subject.

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…

From time to time, manuscripts that have remained hidden for centuries turn up in library collections and archives. In the archives of the 17th-century Bibliotheca Thysiana at the Rapenburg in Leiden, kept in the Leiden University Library, Rotterdam researcher Erik-Jan Bos discovered a hitherto unknown…