The NINO Near Eastern Library is curated by Leiden University Libraries (UBL). As part of this collaboration, which started in 2018, the library now operates with twice its previous acquisition budget for publications on the Ancient Near East and related subjects.
From 29 July 2024, the open-shelf collections of the NINO library are available to library users in the Middle Eastern Library (MEL) reading room, in the Herta Mohr building.
General information on the NINO Library Collection in the Middle Eastern Library (pdf).
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During exam periods, UBL reading rooms are busier than usual. Important: 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. Read more on this page. |
The NINO library, founded in 1939, is an academic research library. We welcome an average of 9,000 visitors yearly. The core collection is directly accessible for visitors and meant primarily for study purposes; these books cannot be borrowed. The NINO library collection contains an increasing number of digital resources.
The main fields of interest are Egyptology, Assyriology, archaeology, and the Ancient Near East in general. Other subjects are the Middle East, including Turkey, Iran, Islamic art and architecture, Hebrew studies and archaeological reports from the Levant area (F. Scholten collection). Since 2000 acquisition is mainly restricted to the fields of Egyptology, Assyriology and archaeology of the Near East.
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.
The collection, about 44,000 titles, consists of monographs and periodicals. The online catalogue is available via the search box (top of this page).
Read more on the collections of the MEL on this page. Follow @middleeasternlibraryleiden on Instagram and @MELibraryNL on Twitter for updates on Leiden University’s new Middle Eastern Library.
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 Ancient Egypt and the Ancient Near East. Please visit the RMO website for more information on opening hours and policy.
The reading room of the African Studies Centre library is directly adjacent to the Middle Eastern Library reading room.
The NINO Library is part of Leiden University Libraries’ Middle Eastern Library. The MEL Reading Room is located in the Herta Mohr Building (HMO). The main entrance of the MEL and African Library in HMO is open on weekdays from 9:00–17:00 hrs. During these hours the library desk is staffed.
The secondary entrance to MEL & AL is via the UB walkway between HMO and the main University Library building: enter through its main entrance and proceed to the walkway on the first floor. The secondary entrance is open on weekdays 9:00–23:00 hrs, on weekends 9:30–22:30 hrs.
A LU-Card (personal library account and card) is needed to enter the library and use on-site facilities (scanning and photocopying).
Leiden University Libraries’ reading rooms and services are closed during national holidays and during Leiden’s 3 October celebrations. National holidays are:
The NINO Library catalogue is part of Leiden University Libraries’ catalogue. Our collections have the following shelfmarks:
Use the search box above to search specifically in the NINO Library collection. Each item’s availability is indicated in the catalogue.
New books in the NINO Near Eastern Library are listed as New acquisitions on the Ancient Near East (incl. Egypt), part of Leiden University Libraries acquisitions lists.
For inclusion in the MEL/NINO library collections, academic publications on the Ancient Near East and Egypt may be sent to the following address:
NINO Library (MEL)
c/o Leiden University Libraries – MDA
Einsteinweg 2, P.O.Box 169
2300 AD Leiden
The Netherlands
T+31 (0)71-527 20 39
EAnita Keizers, Subject Librarian Ancient Near East
EMariëtte Keuken, Subject Librarian Egyptology
EOdile Hoogzaad, Library assistant
See also Staff (contact information).