University Library

In many university towns and cities, “UB” is the common abbreviation for University Library, but in Tilburg the common name appears to be “bieb.” “Library” and “Library Building” are also in circulation on the website. The UB has a collection of well over 1,000,000 books, journals, images, old editions and manuscripts. Together with a sizeable and growing collection of e-books and e-journals, this represents a wealth of scientific information. The number of printed books in the library’s possession, of course, barely rises now, and with books being digitally available, the number of book loans goes down. The library also comprises several special collections, such the Brabant Collection, the Haaren Collection, a Capuchin Friars collection and a collection of children’s books.

Library of the future

In 1992, the library moved into a new building on campus, which was then called, with a bit of a brag, the High-Tech Digital Information and Communication Centre or HTDICC. This name, now obsolete, then meant to underscore the integration of classic library operations with contemporary information technologies. When it opened, it had a 900 seat capacity, with 250 of these being co-called integrated workplaces, where digitized materials could be consulted and processed. What swayed access to digitized journals was an agreement entered into with Elsevier on access to full-text academic journals. This publishing house saw Tilburg as an ideal testing ground, being relatively small scale, having a fast network of unparalleled speed and specializing in Arts and the Social Sciences, where there was still publication progress to be made.

New horizons

Another explanation for why such an advanced UB was built in Tilburg rather than, say, at one of the universities of technology, is that Tilburg, after several impending cutback rounds and faculty closures, was ready for enterprise and new horizons. This was fertile ground for collaboration between library staff and IT specialists to prosper. Led by Leo Wiërs, then, a visionary concept of a modern library arose, not only in a technological sense but also in the sense that this library was to embody the growth and democratization of higher education. In contrast with classic university libraries, this building was fully equipped for students. When it opened in 1992, the new UB was called the most modern library in the world. Until well into the 21st century, this library of the future was to be an inspiring example to every other university in the Netherlands and far beyond. In 2017, Pieter Siebers published his commemorative publication entitled Een kwart eeuw universiteitsbibliotheek van de toekomst – en wat daaraan vooraf ging (The University Library of the Future: A Quarter Century ‒ And What Came Before).