Flanders Heritage Library Explained

Vlaamse Erfgoedbibliotheek or Flanders Heritage Library is a library consortium in the Flemish Region of Belgium bringing together six institutions with considerable holdings of manuscripts and old printed books.^[1] The network was founded in 2008,^[2] and was authorised as a heritage organisation for Flanders in 2012.^[3]

Members

The libraries associated in the network are:

• Hendrik Conscience Heritage Library in Antwerp
• Antwerp University Library
• Bruges Public Library^[4]
• Ghent University Library
• Hasselt Limburg Library (the former provincial library for Limburg)
• KU Leuven University Library

Databases

The consortium is involved in building and maintaining a number of databases, most importantly:

• Abraham Catalogue of Belgian Newspapers, an online catalogue of historic Belgian newspapers (1830–1950), with many partner libraries across Flanders and Brussels
• Flandrica.be, an online repository of material from and about the area that is now Flanders, partnering with the libraries of the Antwerp Museum for Diamonds, Jewellery and Silver and the Plantin-Moretus Museum
• Short Title Catalogue Flanders (STCV), which aims to create a short-title catalogue of everything printed in the Southern Netherlands before 1801

The Flanders Heritage Library is also a partner of the Digital Library for Dutch Literature.

Notes and References

1. Web site: De Vlaamse Erfgoedbibliotheek. vvbad.be. Vlaamse Vereniging voor Bibliotheek, Archief & Documentatie. 2020-05-02. 2018-03-31. https://web.archive.org/web/20180331040519/https://www.vvbad.be/ledennetwerk/erfgoedbibliotheken/de-vlaamse-erfgoedbibliotheek. dead.
2. Steven Van Impe, "Kroniek van de Antwerpse erfgoedbibliotheken (2008–2015)", HistoriANT: Jaarboek voor Antwerpse geschiedenis, 4 (2016), pp. 175-190.
3. Web site: Decreet houdende het Vlaams cultureel-erfgoedbeleid. Flemish Government. nl. 6 July 2012. Belgisch Staatsblad.
4. News: Openbare Bib Brugge blijft erkende erfgoedbibliotheek. Krant van West-Vlaanderen/Brugsch Handelsblad. 30 June 2017. 28.