Introduction

The Academy Library - formerly part of the now defunct Library KNAW - contains the library collections of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences that were collected during the nineteenth century. The collection contains ca. 200,000 volumes and is accessible by the catalogue and search portal search.iisg.nl. The Academy Library is an important source for research in the history of science in the Netherlands and - because of many substantial and important gifts - a true treasure trove of rare and sometimes unique objects.

With the foundation of the Royal Institute of Sciences, Letters and Arts in Amsterdam by King Louis Napoleon in 1808, a library was established. From the very start the Library posessed a substantial collection, thanks to the donation of a collection of doubles from the National Library in Paris. Members of the Royal Institute donated parts of their own libraries. Substantial gifts were also received from outside the Royal Institute, notably from members of the Dutch Royal Family and the government. Since 1851, the library has been included in the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, the successor of the Royal Institute.

The library encompasses all scientific disciplines. It includes the private library of Admiral Jan Hendrik van Kinsbergen (1735-1819), manuscripts of poet and writer Constantijn Huygens (1596-1687) and scientist Christiaan Huygens (1629-1695) and the complete oeuvres of Dutch poets and writers Willem Bilderdijk (1756-1831) and Jacob van Lennep (1802-1868). The Academy Library contains over 700 early printings (1480-1600) and important series of periodicals from learned societies, travel and expedition accounts, manuscripts and pamphlets. A small part of the collection is given in permanent loan to other institutions in the Netherlands; however, the larger part of the collections is stored in the IISH-building in Amsterdam.

Collection presentations

•  Persia from the 17th and 18th century from a European perspective in a web exhibition Persia from a Western Perspective.
•  The man who knew everything. Life and work of Athanasius Kircher (1602-1680), a web presentation compiled by Frans van der Kolff. (in Dutch)
•  Prof.dr. André Hanou writes about the pamphlet Pantagruel zieltogende from 1690. You can read his article and view the details of the print. (in Dutch)
•  A Dozen Special Editions from the Academy Library shows twelve special editions from the Academy Library to illustrate the close connections between Academy Library and IISH collections and research.

Subcollections

The Webguide to the Academy Library consists of the following sections:

  •  Scholarly journals, annual reports, and other learned society scholarly publications
  •  Encyclopaedias
  •  Bibliography and library science
  •  History of the Netherlands
  •  General history and archaeology
  •  Literature
  •  Theology
  •  Law and political science
  •  Trade and shipping, agriculture and fisheries
  •  Hydrography
  •  Military science
  •  Philosophy
  •  Medical science
  •  Mathematics
  •  Astronomy
  •  Physics
  •  Chemistry
  •  Natural science
  •  Botany
  •  Zoology
  •  Arts
  •  Collection Willem Bilderdijk
  •  Collection Jacob van Lennep
  •  Collection Johannes Wertheim Salomonson
  •  Collection of fifteenth and sixteenth century printings
  •  Collection of travel accounts and expedition reports
  •  Collection of western manuscripts
  •  Collection of eastern manuscripts
  •  Collection of incunabulae
  •  Collection of variation linguistics and Dutch ethnology
  •  Collection of numismatics

The Academy Library in almost a hundred papers - in Dutch
  • History of the Academy Library
  • Collections
  • Topics
  • Special works
  • Collection preservation

Links to sources and research instruments - in Dutch