Artis Library

The collecting area covers all fields of natural history: zoology, botany, geology and palaeontology. Modern subjects such as ecology and nature conservation have since been added.

The library can be visited by appointment only for:

• Use of the collection for teaching and research
• Short visits (approx. 15 minutes)
• Group presentations (max. 15 persons)

To make an appointment, please send an e-mail to curator Myriam van der Hoek.

The library’s reading room is not a general reading room.

The Artis Library began its existence as the library of the Royal Zoological Society ‘Natura Artis Magistra’ in 1838. The library moved to a specially designed building located at Plantage Middenlaan 45 near Artis Zoo in 1868. It was designed by the well-known Dutch architect Gerlof Bartholomaeus Salm in the so-called ‘eclectic style’, a style that strove for an optimum blend of styles or motifs. In 1869 and the 1870s, a major expansion of the Artis Library building was undertaken in two stages to accommodate the Society's various collections. It was named Fauna Building (called Plantage Library until September 2005), the right section of which is still occupied by the Artis Library today.

In 1939, the Royal Zoological Society ‘Natura Artis Magistra’  was saved from bankruptcy by the transfer of all its assets, except the livestock, to the municipality of Amsterdam. From then on, the Society's library and ‘inanimate’ zoological collections were incorporated into the collections of the University of Amsterdam.

A remarkable detail about the building are the light-coloured imitation marble slabs on both sides in the facade, with names inlaid in gold. They are the names of 36 famous scientists (including only one woman: Maria Sibylla Merian) whose works are present in the Artis Library. In 1952, sgrafitti (incised decorations) of animals were applied by Jan Groenestein, condoned by Monumentenzorg, the city’s department of monuments . They fit wonderfully into the eclectic ensemble.