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.
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About the collection
The collection focuses on the Netherlands, Europe and the non-Western world and contains documents from about 150 countries: from Australia via England and Costa Rica to India and Lebanon.
There is also a great diversity of languages: from Dutch to Bahasa, via English and Slovenian to Vietnamese. In total, this involves more than sixty languages.
The oldest pieces in the IHLIA collection date from the seventeenth century. These are books about the allegedly gay French king Henri III and his mignons. But IHLIA also has just published magazines such as Gay News, Hello Gorgeous, the Gay & Lesbian Review or Transgender Studies Quarterly.
Via the project Open Up! the collection also devotes a great deal of attention to LGBTI emancipation and development, mainly in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe. In this region, LGBTI rights are lagging behind those of many other parts of Europe. The archives and history of these courageous movements contain unique documents.
Thanks to Open Up! More than 95,000 pages of gray literature, posters, magazines and other archive material have been collected and digitized from countries such as Poland, Turkey, Romania and Russia.
