Day-long Tour 16: Haarlem and Leiden

Libraries: De Bibliotheek Zuid-Kennemerland, Leiden University Libraries (UBL), African Studies Centre Leiden (ASCL)

Type of Library: academic, public

Total Distance Return Trip: 300 km

Meeting Point: Ahoy Rotterdam

Price per Person: € 25

De Bibliotheek Zuid-Kennemerland

De Bibliotheek Zuid-Kennemerland is the public library in five municipalities with 9 locations: Bloemendaal, Haarlem, Heemstede, Hillegom and Zandvoort. The mission of our library is to be an accessible place for inspiration, development and encounters. We want to contribute to the possibilities of the inhabitants to participate in society. All locations have their own local identity, look and feel.

More and more people know where to find the library in Zuid-Kennemerland. Of course to borrow books, but also to quietly read a newspaper, study, participate in an activity or to meet each other. De Bibliotheek Zuid-Kennemerland is changing, our place in society plays an increasingly important role in this. We are the living room of society where everyone is welcome and where you can ‘be yourself, together’. We also are a place where you can find answers to your questions and where you can develop yourself.

The library Haarlem Schalkwijk is located outside the center and you will find there a another vibe. We started in 2020 the “Meemaakpodium”. This is a place where local communities meet and organize all kinds of activities. For example Berber New Year, hiphop-lessons, making podcasts and creative activities for children. It’s a place where you can experience, participate and think along. What’s very important for this development is the change of acting that it causes in the total organisation of the library. Everyone is working with this new concept: our colleagues in the library itself, colleagues from facility, communications, finance etc. How are we achieving this organisation-innovation in our libraries? The next two years we want to develop the “Meemaakpodium” in eight other libraries in our region. We made a short movie about the results of the “Meemaakpodium” in Schalkwijk of the last two years. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVs7B-o6TEM&ab_channel=deBibliotheekZuid-Kennemerland

Leiden University Libraries

Leiden University Libraries (UBL) consists of multiple libraries under the umbrella of a single organisation, including the Asian Library, the Law Library, the Science Library, and the Medical Library. Together, these libraries collectively own more than 5,2 million printed books and over 5 million e-books, half a million digitized objects in its Digital Collections service, more than 70.000 e-journals, and hundreds of databases and electronic reference works. UBL manages the Scholarly Repository of Leiden University and provides advice and trainings on Open Access publishing, data management and information literacy. UBL’s Special Collections are world renowned and consist of vast collections of early printed books, manuscripts, old prints, engravings, photographs, maps and other, often unique material from all around the world.
The core business of UBL is providing information to staff and students at Leiden University and the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) for their educational and research tasks. Through partnerships and open access policies, UBL also provides information and collection services to global audiences. UBL is an active partner of other libraries and cultural heritage institutes on a local, national and international level.

The African Studies Centre Leiden

The African Studies Centre Leiden (ASCL) is a knowledge institute that undertakes research and is involved in teaching about Africa. It aims to promote the dissemination of knowledge and better understanding of African societies in the wider public sphere. Its library has a prominent place amongst African studies libraries in the world. The collection is extensive and caters to a wide variety of research needs, from historical primary sources and rare books to modern African literature, scientific publications and African films. The library is also open to the general public.
The ASCL Library is not housed in a fancy building, but you can expect to meet library staff eager to present the services and products they are most proud of. The ASCL Library is especially dedicated to the decolonization of knowledge and the promotion of open access. A warm welcome to the ASCL library!