Books and serials

The IISH Library holds about one million records. Next to scholarly journals and monographs in the field of social and economic history, the original publications of social movements, e.g. periodicals and brochures are abundantly present.

All these printed materials are available for research and can be retrieved through different types of searches in the IISH catalogue.

The scope of the library collections extends considerably beyond the boundaries of social history. This is thanks to the inclusion of specialized libraries and subject-based collections of books, leaflets, pamphlets, and periodicals.

The following collections deserve special mention:

IISH Library Guides | Photo by International Institute of Social History

Academy Library

The library of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences contains early printings, periodicals from learned societies, travel accounts, and pamphlets of all disciplines.

KNAW Academy Library

Queen Juliana and NRMW-chairman F.H. Landman at the 50th anniversary of the NRMW | Photo by: Collectie / Archief : Fotocollectie Elsevier

Library NRMW

The library of the Dutch National Council for Social Well-being (NRMW) contains hundreds of publications in the field of crime, well-being, and care.

IISH Collections | Portrait Petr Lavrovič Lavrov

Lavrov-Goc library

The Lavrov-Goc library, the library of the Russian Socialist-Revolutionary Party (PSR) contains approximately 10,000 titles, including Marx's Russian books with his personal remarks.

IISH Collections | Poster announcing Bund meeting | Photo by IISH

Library of the Bund

the library of the Bund, the Algemeyner Yidisher Arbeiterbund in Lite Polyn un Rusland, a collection comprising 20,000 leaflets and pamphlets

Library of the Bund

Staatsarchief

Two special collections in the library, Staatsarchief and CSD contain many flyers as well as image and sound and printed materials from the anarchist squatters and action scene of the 1970s-1990s

Staatsarchief

Kashnor collection

The Kashnor collection, named after an antiquarian in London, comprises nearly 4000 publications (1650-1880), ranging from laws promulgated by Oliver Cromwell to discussions on the Corn Law, and colonial issues.