16 Oct New unique expertise centre on Asia for Leiden University

Leiden University is to have a unique expertise centre on Asia. This centre, the Asian Library, will hold extremely rare Asian collections and offer new opportunities for teaching and research.

The Asian Library clearly signals the University Library’s intention of becoming the world’s top expertise centre on Asia. ‘Leiden has the world’s most extensive collection on Indonesia and is one of the major Asian libraries in the Western world,’ comments Chief Librarian Kurt de Belder. ‘With the combination of top research and teaching on Asia at Leiden University, the extensive Asian collections, the close collaboration with cultural heritage institutions and the international network of Leiden University and the University Libraries, we are truly an international hub on Asia.’ De Belder expects that the Asian Library, to be constructed on top of the existing library building, will be in use by early 2017. The book depository will be ready earlier, at the start of 2016.

The development of this Asian Library is a result of the merger between the collections of the Royal Tropical Institute (KIT), KITLV and the Asian collections of Leiden University Libraries.

For more information in English, click here. For more information in Dutch, click here.