University and student life
During the year 2021 and 2022 Leiden University Libraries illuminated the rich past of its university and its students by organising the thematic programme "University and Student life". Several online exhibitions, boekensalons and public lectures were organised around this theme, especially for the interested public. Various blogs, videos and podcasts were published on items from the Leiden Special Collections.
The thematic program University and Student life draws upon a rich source. UBL holds the Leiden University Archives, going back to its founding in 1575, and archives of professors and study- and student societies. Moreover, the collections hold handwritten lecture notes, prints by early university printers, portraits of professors, historical photographs featuring students and many other documents on the Leiden academic community.
Activities
During the thematic programme, several different activities were organised. A diverse selection of online exhibitions was presented, for example, on the occasion of Carel Stolker's retirement as Rector Magnificus and photography exhibitions showing student life now and in the past. Also, various boekensalons were held, like a book salon on the occasion of the publication of the fourth part in Willem Otterspeer's book series Groepsportret met dame, a history of Leiden University. A number of blogs were published on a wide selection of items from the Special Collections, alongside videos with UBL curators and podcasts with Leiden University researchers. A thematic edition of the magazine De Boekenwereld was published in the end of 2020, extensively covering a selection of Leiden items and collections in this theme.
