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Stillness (Or: The reopening of libraries across The Netherlands)
During the national press conference on 6 May, Prime Minister Rutte said that libraries would be able to re-open from 11 May provided visitors follow social distancing rules and limit the number of...
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Time to return those library books (Or: No more garbage bins)
It seems as more time goes by that the coronavirus restrictions are being relaxed. The same is true of the Centraal library here in The Hague – you no longer need a pass to enter the library, although...
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Bring out your gold (Or: Inspection house in the Binnenhof)
One or the lesser known sites of the Binnenhof is the Goudsmids Keurhuis, which is a fancy way of saying Goldsmith inspection house. The building was built in the first part of the 17th century (Dutch...
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Dwarsligger? (Or: I call them mini books)
Here is something I don’t think you find often in America: mini books with the text parallel to the spine instead of perpendicular. The Dutch call them dwarsliggers, which the English Wikipedia...
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Standing before closed doors (Or: The Hague library in corona times)
Libraries (and museums, theaters, cinemas, etc.) are currently closed in the Netherlands. It is part of an additional set of corona measures that the Dutch government has taken to lower the number of...
View ArticleLibrary services during the lockdown (Or: Delivery and pickup)
The Hague’s library system has limited options for alternative service during the lockdown which will last until (at least) 19 January. Patrons who are aged 70 or older can request a one-off delivery...
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The Central Library (Or: At least stuffed animals can visit)
The Central Library of The Hague (English website) is currently closed due to the lockdown. They are a bit more pragmatic than my hairdressers – they at least use terms like “closed until further...
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Books and coffee (Or: 5 months later)
More than 5 months after the Netherlands went into a lockdown in mid-December (government.nl, in English) I was finally able to return the two books that I still had on my account when the lockdown...
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Libraries will open again soon! (Or: Probably… Hopefully…)
The news outlets reported some really good news last night. During the corona debate, the prime minister agreed that it was unfair that you could buy a book from a bookstore but not loan one from a...
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A new Dutch reading board (Or: This one is a bit tastier)
At some point last month Marco and I were at a store and spotted a different type of reading board. Dutch reading boards have been used for over a century to teach kids how to read. It shows all of...
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