The origins of the library can be traced to 1578, when after the Alteratie books and manuscripts from Roman Catholic institutions in Amsterdam were gathered into a library open to one and all. This City Library was first housed in the Nieuwe Kerk and then moved to the attics of the Agnietenkapel at the founding of the Athenaeum Illustre in 1632. It was not until 1877, when the Athenaeum Illustre became the Municipal University, that the original City Library officially became the University Library. In the 19th century, the collection had become so large that the books were housed at several other locations, until 1881 when the library moved to the Handboogdoelen at Singel 421, the former home of the Long-bow militia. During restoration works in 1968, much of the original 16th-century building reappeared and it turned out that the Library probably contains some of the oldest masonry in town and the only fireplace with a late medieval mantelpiece. The buildings at Handboogstraat 16 and 18 were added in 1919, and during World War II also the building at Singel 423, which has a façade from 1609 by Hendrick de Keyser. This was originally the town arsenal and later served as the royal stables. Queen Wilhelmina, who had fled to London at the outbreak of the war, gave her written permission to add the building to the Library. The main building at Singel 425 is from the 1960s. Here were originally the premises of the Arbalest Militia, and later the 19th-century Catholic St Catherine’s church. In 1939 the church was demolished and the plot left vacant until the second half of the Sixties, when the new building by architect :nl:Jan Leupen|Jan Leupen was built. This modern building is considered a typical example of 1960s architecture. The Special Collections at Oude Turfmarkt are housed in two adjacent buildings: one from 1642, designed by Philips Vingboons, the other from 1842-1843 is the former St Bernardus mental home. The restoration work on the buildings started in 2004, and the Special Collections library was officially opened in May 2007 by Queen Beatrix.
Collections
In the course of its long history the Library has received many important collections, such as the library of Leeser Rosenthal, now called the Bibliotheca Rosenthaliana, on Jewish Cultural History. During the Second World War the Bibliotheca Rosenthaliana was confiscated and transported to Germany, but some of its most valuable items were hidden in the recently acquired Artis Library of the Amsterdam zoo Natura Artis Magistra. By a miracle this valuable collection was returned virtually undamaged after the war. There is also an impressive map collection, collections on the history of the book trade, on graphic design and typography, and on church history. Special Collections have an image database where objects from its collections or even whole books can be viewed.
