Artis Bibliotheek (English: Artis Library) is a nineteenth-century

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vi ...

located at Plantage Middenlaan 45 in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

. Since 2005, the Artis Bibliotheek has been part of the Special Collections at the

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, nl, Universiteit van Amsterdam) is a public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The UvA is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in the city, the other bein ...

History

In 1838, Zoological Society

Natura Artis Magistra Natura Artis Magistra (Latin for "Nature is the teacher of the arts"), commonly known just as Artis (), is a zoo and botanical garden in the centre of Amsterdam. It is the oldest zoo in the Netherlands and fifth oldest zoo in the world. In addi ...

was founded by a number of

notables, including bookseller and bird lover (1807-1890). The aim was "to promote the knowledge of natural history." This was done by founding the Artis Zoo and a

zoological Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and d ...

museum and a library. The society immediately received donations (including one from Westerman) for the library. With these donations, the library was able to stock its shelves. In 1881, librarian Gilles Janse compiled a catalogue of the Artis Bibliotheek’s collection holding 4,381 items. The Artis Bibliotheek grew to include more than 16,000 titles. From 1848 to 1995, the Zoological Society

published the journal ''Contributions to Zoology''. All issues of this journal are now in the Artis Bibliotheek collection.

Building

Amsterdam - Artis Bibliotheek (30184892552)

Initially, Westerman kept many of the library’s items in his home; the collection, however, has been housed in its own building at the zoo since 1859. In 1868 the collection was moved to the building on the Plantage Middenlaan. This building was designed by the Amsterdam architect GB Salm (1831-1897). Between 1868 and 1872, the building was expanded to accommodate zoological collections. In 1885, two galleries were included to accommodate the Museum voor de Nederlandsche Fauna (English: Museum of the Netherlands Fauna). Stables were constructed on the ground floor. Until 1920 the collection included zebras. In 1883, the last

quagga The quagga ( or ) (''Equus quagga quagga'') is a subspecies of the plains zebra that was endemic to South Africa until it was hunted to extinction in the late 19th century. It was long thought to be a distinct species, but early genetic ...

died. These various zoological collections are dispersed throughout several buildings in the neighbourhood in

as well as at

Naturalis Naturalis Biodiversity Center ( nl, Nederlands Centrum voor Biodiversiteit Naturalis) is a national museum of natural history and a research center on biodiversity in Leiden, Netherlands. It was named the European Museum of the Year 2021. Alt ...

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wit ...

. The library, however, remains in the same location.

Research

From the establishment of the Municipal University of Amsterdam (later the

), the Artis Bibliotheek collection was used for education and research. Many biologists came to consult the collection with their students, including

Max Weber Maximilian Karl Emil Weber (; ; 21 April 186414 June 1920) was a German Sociology, sociologist, historian, jurist and political economy, political economist, who is regarded as among the most important theorists of the development of Modernity, ...

, and

Tijs Goldschmidt Paul-Tijs (Tijs) Goldschmidt (born 30 January 1953 in Amsterdam) is a Dutch writer and evolutionary biologist. Since 1 March 2012, Goldschmidt is writer in residence of the Artis Bibliotheek, which is part of the University of Amsterdam (UvA). ...

Collections

The Artis Bibliotheek collection covers the following subjects: natural history, the Artis Zoo, nature, agriculture,

evolutionary theory Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation te ...

(

Darwiniana ''Darwiniana: Essays and Reviews Pertaining to Darwinism'' is a collection of essays by botanist Asa Gray, first published in 1876. These widely read essays both defended the theory of evolution from the standpoint of botany and sought reconciliat ...

), and

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, ...

( Linnaeana).

Conservators/Librarians

* Gerardus Frederik Westerman (1843-1890) * Pieter H. Witkamp * Robert T. Maitland * Gilles Janse (1876-1912) * Johanna Scholten (1912-1920) * G.A. Jonges-van de Heyde (1920-1926) * Johanna Scheffer (1926-1954) * Johan J. Frieswijk (1961-1964) * Piet Tuijn (1964-1969) * Peter van Bree * Florence F.J.M. Pieters (1969-2000) * Jaap de Visser (2000-2006) *

Piet Verkruijsse Piet may refer to: People * Piet (given name), a common name in the Netherlands and South Africa * Henri Piet (1888–1915), French lightweight boxer * Tony Piet (1906–1981), American Major League Baseball player Schools * Purushottam Institut ...

(2006-2011) * Hans Mulder (2011–present)

References

* Hans Mulder en Erik Zevenhuizen (red.), De natuur op papier. 175 jaar Artis Bibliotheek, Amsterdam 2013. * Aap, vis, boek. Linnaeus in de Artis Bibliotheek, Amsterdam 2007. * C.P. Krabbe, “Natuurlijke verwantschap: de gebouwen van het genootschap Natura Artis Magistra”. In: Amsterdam. Monumenten & archeologie. Jaarboek 10, p. 71-87. * F.F.J.M. Pieters, “De Artis Bibliotheek in Amsterdam”. In: De Boekenwereld, jrg. 6, nr. 3 (maart 1990). * H.E. Coomans, “Van Draak tot Engel. Korte geschiedenis van het Zoölogisch Museum”. In: Ons Amsterdam, jrg. 40 (1988), p. 117-122.

External link

{{Authority control Museums in Amsterdam Libraries in Amsterdam