Amsterdam University Library
The Library at Singel
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| Country | The Netherlands |
|---|---|
| Type | Academic library |
| Established | 1578 |
| Location | Singel, Amsterdam |
| Collection | |
| Size | 4 million volumes |
| Other information | |
| Director | Maria Heijne |
| Website | www.uba.uva.nl/en |
Amsterdam University Library is the library of the University of Amsterdam (UvA) and the Academic Medical Centre (AMC). The central complex of the Library is in the town centre at Singel, close to Heiligeweg and Koningsplein. The Library's Special Collections are housed nearby at Oude Turfmarkt, next to UvA's Allard Pierson Museum. The Library also has a large book depot in the grounds of the AMC, with over 40.5 kilometers of books and other materials. The foundation Friends of the Library of the University of Amsterdam regularly donates special manuscripts or rare editions to the library collection.
The origins of the library can be traced to 1578, when after the Alteratie (Alteration) books and manuscripts from Roman Catholic institutions in Amsterdam were gathered into a library open to one and all. This City Library was first housed in the Nieuwe Kerk and then moved to the attics of the Agnietenkapel at the founding of the Athenaeum Illustre in 1632. It was not until 1877, when the Athenaeum Illustre became the Municipal University, that the original City Library officially became the University Library.
In the 19th century, the collection had become so large (and the Agnietenkapel so derelict) that the books were housed at several other locations, until 1881 when the library moved to the Handboogdoelen at Singel 421, the former home of the Long-bow militia. During restoration works in 1968, much of the original 16th-century building reappeared and it turned out that the Library probably contains some of the oldest masonry in town and the only fireplace with a late medieval mantelpiece. The buildings at Handboogstraat 16 and 18 were added in 1919, and during World War II also the building at Singel 423, which has a façade from 1609 by Hendrick de Keyser. This was originally the town arsenal and later served as the royal stables. Queen Wilhelmina, who had fled to London at the outbreak of the war, gave her written permission to add the building to the Library.
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