About NINO Near Eastern Library
The NINO library is an academic research library. The main fields of interest are Egyptology (including Coptology), Assyriology (including Hittitology), Near Eastern archaeology and connected studies.
The NINO Near Eastern Library is curated by Leiden University Libraries (UBL) since 2018. Our core library collection is directly accessible for visitors at UBL’s Middle Eastern Library (MEL) reading room. The books in this open-shelf collection are meant primarily for study purposes, and cannot be borrowed. Reserved study places directly among the NINO library books are available for viewing and studying our books.
The NINO library collection contains an increasing number of digital resources.
The NINO Near Eastern Library collections have been fully integrated into UBL. A large part is on the shelves of UBL’s Middle Eastern Library reading room in the Herta Mohr building; other parts are in the open or closed stacks at the main university library building (next door; accessible via indoor walkway). Titles can be found through UBL’s online catalogue via the search box on the top of this page.
Note that a LU Card is necessary for physical access to all UBL reading rooms and other locations, for use of on-site facilities including making photocopies, for loaning books, and for requesting materials to be viewed in the Special Collections Reading Room. See also Access to digital publications.
Useful links
- General information on the NINO Library Collection in the Middle Eastern Library (pdf)
- UBL Subject Guides: Ancient Near East Studies: an overview of databases, reference works and websites for research in Ancient Near East Studies – curated by NINO’s Subject Librarians
- Collections of the MEL: information on collections brought together in the UBL's Middle Eastern Library
Overview
The NINO Library collections were initiated even before the official foundation of NINO in 1939. Since 2000 acquisition is mainly restricted to the fields of Egyptology, Assyriology and Near Eastern archaeology. Other subjects are the Middle East, including Turkey, Iran, Islamic art and architecture, Hebrew studies and archaeological reports from the Levant area (Frank Scholten collection).
The library includes special collections on travel literature and country descriptions, as well as the legacies of G.H. de Knegt (Egyptian art), R. Hoogland (Islamic art and architecture), D. van der Meulen (travel literature), and the Rudolph Said-Ruete/Seyyidah Salme collection (Near and Middle East). It also hosts an impressive collection of dynamic and static periodicals for all the categories available in the collection. Beside publications in western languages there are many publications in Hebrew, Arabic, Persian and Turkish and several other non-western languages.
As part of the collaboration with UBL, the NINO library operates since 2018 with twice its previous acquisition budget for publications on the Near East and related subjects.
In 2024, the collection comprised about 44,000 titles, consisting of monographs, collective volumes, and periodicals.
Other academic libraries in Leiden
The library of the National Museum of Antiquities (Rijksmuseum van Oudheden) is open to students and researchers. It holds more than 30,000 titles on the museum’s collecting areas, including Egypt & Nubia and the ancient Middle East. Visit the RMO website for more information on opening hours and policy, and to access the RMO library catalogue.
The reading room of the African Studies Centre library is directly adjacent to the Middle Eastern Library reading room.