If you can't find an answer to your question, please go to Enquiries.
General
- Can I conduct research at the IISG / NEHA / Persmuseum?
- Do I have to pay for services?
- Must I be a member to use the library?
- Do I need to show my identity card?
- What are your opening hours?
- How can I get to the IISH's offices in Amsterdam?
Search
- How can I find ..?
- I'm looking for a newspaper from a specific year. How can I find out if you have it?
- Do you have a subject index of articles?
- Which archival collections are held by the IISH?
- Do you have any photographs / posters in your collections?
Consulting
- Is it possible to reserve material in advance?
- I found some interesting documents; is it possible to read them online?
- Are all collections accessible without restrictions?
- I notice there is restricted access for viewing some papers I would like to research - how do I get such access?
Delivery
- Can I borrow books?
- Can I borrow issues of journals to take home?
- Can I photocopy pages from books and journals?
- Can I photocopy archival documents?
Order
- Can I order digital scans of books or periodicals?
- How can I order digital scans of archival documents?
- Can I buy posters depicted on your website?
- Can I purchase records listed on your website?
- I ordered photocopies; how do I pay for them?
- Can I request that someone at the IISH do some research for me?
- Are your photographs / posters copyright protected?
Other
- My grandfather fought in the Spanish Civil War. Can you find any information about him in your collections?
- I found an old life insurance policy/ funeral documents. How can I tell if it is still valid?
- How can I trace information about a (former) Dutch pension fund?
- I have another question ...
General
- Can I conduct research at the IISG / NEHA / Persmuseum?
Anyone who wants to engage in research in archival collections and use the library of the International Institute of Social History, Netherlands Economic History Archive (NEHA), and Persmuseum is welcome to the Reading Room.
- Do I have to pay for services?
Access to the Reading Room and consulting the collection is free of charge. Answering simple written queries is also part of this service.
- Must I be a member to use the library?
On each visit researchers are asked to sign our guestbook.
We do not provide general library passes.
Anyone who wants to use the library of the IISH, NEHA, and Persmuseum is welcome to the Reading Room.
- Do I have to submit my identity card?
Preregistration is not necessary.
Anyone who wants to engage in research in archival collections of the IISH, NEHA, and Persmuseum is welcome to the Reading Room.
- What are your opening hours?
The Reading Room is open on Monday from 10:00 to 17:00; Tuesday through Friday from 9.00 to 17.00.
No requests for material from stacks will be handled after 4 p.m.
The Institute is closed on Dutch public holidays and memorial days.
How can I get to the IISH?
See How to get there for how to get here by public transport or car.
Search
- How can I find .....
You find yourself now in the IISH corporate website, which contains general information about all IISH activities. Among other things you can search for keywords in the search block on the homepage. Are you looking for a book, an archive, a poster or a periodical? Please go to our IISH catalogue. It holds records of all books, booklets, and periodicals in the libraries of the IISH, NEHA, and Persmuseum. All documents, books, periodicals, and archival collections are stored in closed-access stacks and cannot be browsed by the public.
Books, brochures, and serials can be requested online.
- I'm looking for a newspaper of a specific year. Do you hold it?
The library holds an extensive collection of newspapers.
Please check the IISH catalogue to see if the newspaper you're looking for is available.
For reasons of conservation some journals and periodicals are only available on films or microfiches. Reading, printing, and scanning equipment for consulting films and microfiches is available.
- Do you have a subject index of articles?
Journal articles and chapters in books are not listed in the catalogue. To access these, you will need to use an index or database to explore the content of journals or books, and search the catalogue for the journal or book in which the article appears.
Online available databases are Labour History Serials Service (serials in the field of labour history); Viva Database (contains records describing articles published on women's history).
- Which archival collections are held by the IISH?
Use the catalogue to find archives and collections kept by the Institute. Over 1,200 lists and inventories of archival collections are currently available on-line.
At the Reading Room you can also research collections of the NEHA and Persmuseum.
See Special collections of NEHA.
See archival collections of Persmuseum.
For reasons of conservation some archival documents are only available on films and microfiches. Reading, printing, and scanning equipment can be used in the Reading Room.
- Do you have any photographs / posters in your collections?
In the collection guide to the Image and Sound Collections you will find a survey of the image and sound collections held by the IISH.
Most of the image and sound collections are accessible through IISH catalogue and can be searched by organization, date, location, or subject. An overview of the keywords can be found in the thesaurus, see Image & Sound Collections.
Digitized copies, low resolution scans only, of visual documents can be viewed by using the IISH catalogue. In some cases it is possible to consult original documents, after consultation with the reading room staff and by appointment only.
Consulting
- Is it possible to reserve material in advance?
Books, brochures, and serials can be requested online.
Prior to your visit it is possible to request archival materials by e-mail. Send an e-mail (at least 24 hours before your visit) to ask@iisg.nl containing your name, name of the archive, inventory numbers, and date of your visit. You can request up to 3 items.
- I found some interesting documents, can I read them online?
Several dozens of archives can be consulted online. The IISH holds over 3,000 archives and collections, all together over 14 kilometer of paper; it is not possible to put all these documents online, they can only be consulted in the Reading Room.
Often it is possible to order photocopies of documents.
- Are all collections accessible without restrictions?
Most archives are accessible without any restrictions for research.
Donors and owners of material on loan to the Institute may, however, impose certain restrictions about accessing, copying, and publishing these collections or parts of collections, including a requirement for expressly requesting permission of the donor or owner.
To find out if access to a collection is limited, see the brief descriptions of the relevant archives.
- Consultation of papers I would like to research is restricted - how do I get access
The Institute intermediates in requiring permission from the archive creator to get access to collections with limited or restricted access.
For requesting permission to consult such a collection, please submit a written request stating the nature of your study. This may be done using the Restricted Access Archives form.
When permission is granted you are welcome to the Reading Room to consult the documents.
Delivery
- Can I borrow books?
In general, all items of the library should be available at all times to each visitor of the Reading Room. This means we do not lend out any publications.
- Can I take journals home?
Journals and newspapers can not be borrowed; it is often possible to make scans, or order them.
- Can I photocopy books and journals?
All standard sized (up to size A4) library material in good condition can be photgraphed, scanned, or copied on a self-service photocopier in the Reading Room.
You can also order digital reproductions directly through the online catalogue. You will find the button ‘Request Reproduction’ next to the call number on the item description page. You will be able to pay directly and the scans will be delivered with WeTransfer. You can consult our rates beforehand.
- Can I photocopy archival documents?
For preservation reasons it is not allowed to make photocopies of archive and manuscript materials by yourself. Scanning or photographing archival documents is in most cases allowed.
You can also request scans through our online catalogue. For more information, see below.
Order
- Can I order digital scans of books or periodicals?
You can order (pdf-)scans directly through the online catalogue. You will find the button ‘Request Reproduction’ next to the call number on the item description page. You will be able to request an offer first, or pay directly. The scans will be delivered with WeTransfer.
- How can I order digital scans of archival documents?
You can request digital reproductions (in pdf) of archival documents, for research purposes only, trough the online catalogue. See the button 'Request Reproduction' on the 'Collection Summary' page.
Please always specify which inventory numbers you wish to order scans of. You can consult our rates beforehand.
Please note: Before ordering reproductions of archival documents, please check the available online finding aids of archival collections. See Index of Archives. Access to some archival collections may be restricted.
- Can I buy posters depicted on your website?
IISH is a documentary institute with a library and an archive - we don't sell from our collections.
However, it is possible to order high resolution scans of posters- see Services.
- Can I buy records listed on your website?
We do not sell from our collections, however, it is possible to order reproductions - see for more information Services and Collections.
- Can I ask you to do research for me?
Public Services is responsible for library and archival collections services at the International Institute of Social History (IISH), the Netherlands Economic History Archive (NEHA), and Persmuseum [Dutch press museum]. We do not carry out research. However, the Institute has contact with historians who know the collections and can do research for a fee. For inquiries, please contact the Reading Room at ask@iisg.nl.
Everyone is welcome to conduct research in the Reading Room.
- Are your photographs / posters copyright protected?
The Institute is the safe keeper of collections and does not intermediate in questions about copyrights held by third parties. The Institute accepts no liability whatsoever arising from the use of its materials. Users are responsible for conforming to all relevant statutory provisions concerning copyright.
See IISH copyright statement.
Other
- My grandfather fought in the Spanish Civil War - can you find any information about him in your collections?
A Guide to the Spanish Civil War Collections provides a survey of all primary source materials on the Spanish Civil War at the IISH. This guide is an index to collections consisting of hundreds of files and thousands of documents. Unfortunately, due to a lack of personnel, the IISH Reading Room staff is in no position to search for personal information or documentation about individuals. If you wish to consult the archival materials you're welcome in the Reading Room. If, after consulting the inventories, you've found documents of interest, it is possible to order some reproductions, for research purposes only. See FAQ no. 21 for procedure and rates. The inventory to Confederación Nacional del Trabajo papers is online available. It is a large collection and holds no index on names. Unfortunately, we lack the staff to search for these documents.
The CNT papers have been microfilmed, the originals are very fragile. You're welcome to consult the archive in the Reading Room and make copies yourself from films.
If your relatives are Dutch, try https://spanjestrijders.nl/ - I have found an old life insurance / funeral policy - is it still valid?
Information on Dutch insurers can be found at the website of the Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) - see info.dnb.nl/categorie/verzekeren (in Dutch).
- How can I trace information about (former) Dutch pension funds?
At the site of the Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) you'll find information on Dutch pension funds - see info.dnb.nl/categorie/pensioen (in Dutch).
- I have another question ...
Please go to the contact form for questions about the collections of the IISH, NEHA and related subjects. If we do not have an answer to your question, we will try to refer you to another institution or specialist.