IHLIA is the heritage organisation with a socially relevant and indispensable collection.
IHLIA is an independent organisation located in OBA Oosterdok in Amsterdam. IHLIA is continuously involved in collecting information about the LGBTIQ+ community and making it accessible. LGBTIQ+ stands for lesbian, gay, bi+, transgender, intersexe and queer persons. Anyone can turn to IHLIA for information about homosexuals, lesbians, bisexuals, transgender, intersexe and queer persons, and about their history, everyday life and culture.
IHLIA INFORMATION DESK CLOSED FROM DECEMBER 24 2025 TO JANUARY 4 2026
From December 24 2025, the IHLIA information desk will be closed for two weeks due to the holidays. During this period it will not be possible to schedule appointments with information service staff to view materials.
We wish everyone happy holidays and hope to see you again at (one of) our activities in the new year!
The (Un)documented exhibition remains accessible
Even while the information desk is closed, a visit to the exhibition on the IHLIA Plaza (3rd floor, OBA Oosterdok) is still possible. Please keep in mind that the OBA may have altered opening hours during the holiday season.
march 2026
IHLIA is the heritage organisation with a socially relevant and indispensable collection.
IHLIA is an independent organisation located in OBA Oosterdok in Amsterdam. IHLIA is continuously involved in collecting information about the LGBTIQ+ community and making it accessible. LGBTIQ+ stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersexe and queer persons. Anyone can turn to IHLIA for information about homosexuals, lesbians, bisexuals, transgender, interexe and queer persons, and about their history, everyday life and culture.
Due to the transfer of our new collection management system we cannot currently (yet) offer English translations of the labels and texts on the website, so that international visitors can navigate more easily. We apologise for any inconvenience
IHLIA PLAZA
The IHLIA plaza (3rd floor, OBA Oosterdok) has an exhibition space and an information desk.
ONLY AT OUR COLLECTION
The IHLIA collection contains rare documents. To safeguard the quality of our collection, you may peruse all the material, but only at our location. On your request, we prepare everything you need.
A small part of our collection is >accessible online. We are working hard to expand this in the future.
BOOK DEPARTMENT
The most recent and sought-after books in the collection are found in our book cabinets at the IHLIA plaza (3rd floor of the OBA in Amsterdam). We don’t lend out this material either, but feel free to grab a copy from the shelf and take a seat on a nice seat in the library. You’ll get a nice view of Amsterdam for free!
1978 saw the birth of the post-Stonewall international gay rights movement. Acting on a proposal by the Dutch organisation COC, some 30 individuals from nine countries and 17 organisations (meeting in Coventry in the margins of the annual conference...
For the project ‘The Europe that Gay Porn Built, 1945-2000’, volunteers are sought to participate in oral history interviews. Purpose of the research This project analyses the images and texts in gay erotica and porn magazines published between 1945...
On the IHLIA Research website, scholars and students regularly write about lhbti research. Read their contributions at our blog. This time a contribution by Ninnoc Jikke. De blog is Engelstalig. My name is Ninnoc, I am a history student at Utrecht...
IHLIA will begin working with a new collection management system beginning in mid-October that will also be linked to our website. This transition will also affect our customers and services. Therefore, we have listed all the information regarding...
How is the relation between sexuality and solidarity conceptualized in Queer and Transgender Studies, practiced by queer and trans movements historically and in the present, and recorded by LGBTQ+ and other specialized archives? Beeld: Coco Guzmán...
Last Thursday, in a celebration at the Tolhuistuin, in Amsterdam, Diego Galdo González was awarded the IHLIA Thesis Prize. Titled Descendants of Sodom: A History of Pleasure in Lima (1950-1982), Galdo González (University of Amsterdam) wrote a...
