As of today, a number of study places in the Middle Eastern Library (MEL) Reading Room is permanently reserved for those who are actively using the NINO library collections: students, staff members and guests studying and researching in Egyptology, Assyriology and Near Eastern Archaeology. At Leiden University these are the studies ONOS, CAC, and Archaeology of the relevant areas. At other universities in the Netherlands and abroad these studies may be differently named.
The MEL-NINO study places have been set aside to ensure that all students, staff, Visiting Research Fellows and guests studying and conducting research in NINO’s fields of interest will have a seat in the vicinity of the NINO library collections. These study places are labelled with the NINO logo in red (see floor plan).
The Reading Room of the MEL – in which the NINO library collections have been included – opened shortly before the start of the 2024-2025 academic year as part of Leiden University Libraries (UBL). As in other UBL reading rooms, a study place reservation system was initially adapted (SharedDesk; OKKU.io). Evaluation after the first exam period clearly indicated that reservations were insufficient to ensure seats for all those using NINO collection items among the NINO collections in the reading room. A number of MEL study places are now unavailable in the UBL reservation system. The decision to permanently reserve these seats for use of the NINO library collections has been made in consultation between UBL and NINO, on the basis of complaints received from students, concerns of the NINO library committee, and observations of NINO staff members.
NINO and UBL encourage all students and scholars of Ancient Near Eastern studies to use the reserved seats among the NINO collections. Library visitors from other fields of study may be referred to the seats available in the study place reservation system (SharedDesk; OKKU.io).
N.B.: NINO study places may be used by other library visitors as long as they are unoccupied by NINO users. Study places for general use are available elsewhere in the MEL Reading Room, and in other UBL reading rooms. LU students and staff may make reservations for available study spots at UBL locations through the reservation system.
