Tag Archive for 'Netherlands'

National Library of the Netherlands

Published on September 6, 2010 in libraries and travel. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

After lecture today we took the Metro to The Hague to tour the Koninklijke Bibliotheek, the National Library of the Netherlands. It has more than 3.5 million items in its collection and adds more every day because it is required to keep a copy of every print item published in the Netherlands. It was very cool seeing the seemingly endless rows of books in the archive (there are more than 50 kilometers of books). Anyone can browse the library’s catalog, but it costs €15 annually for a library card that allows you to check out items.

I’m not quite sure how I feel about that €15 fee for a library card. Yes, libraries — especially archival libraries such as the National Library — are expensive to operate and maintain. And €15 a year is really cheap. However, the idea of limiting access with even so modest a fee kind of sticks. I’d really like for the National Library to be free. At least it’s free to look at the super-cool old books in the exhibition hall of the library.

Back on my fiets*

Published on August 31, 2010 in biking and travel. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

From the day I arrived in Rotterdam, I’ve been on a mission to buy a bicycle so I can get around using my preferred mode of transportation, which happens to be the same as many Dutch people’s. Yesterday Molly and I went to a bike shop near Rotterdam’s Centraal Station, but it was a bust. All the bikes were out of our price ranges, and the shop owner was arrogant, to boot.

After lecture today, we decided to try again. Jonathan found a bike yesterday at a shop on Niewe Binnenweg, so we thought we’d walk up the street and see if we could find something, too. Continue reading ‘Back on my fiets*’

NISV Hilversum

Published on August 26, 2010 in grad school and travel. 1 Comment Tags: , , , .

NISVThe Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision in Hilversum is amazing. The building in which the archives are housed is itself a marvel of Dutch design. Every detail was planned and executed to fit with the purpose and vision of the institute. The building is 96 meters from top to bottom; it stands 26 meters above ground and descends 70 meters underground. Part of the reason for building so much of the structure below ground level is because of building height restrictions in Hilversum. In addition, the underground temperature is a fairly constant 17 degrees Centigrade, making it easier to regulate the temperature of sensitive archived materials.

The building clearly is built for function, but it’s aesthetically brilliant, too. Continue reading ‘NISV Hilversum’

Guest lecture: Paul Wouters

Published on August 24, 2010 in grad school and travel. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Paul WoutersPaul Wouters, director of the Virtual Knowledge Studio in Amsterdam, was our inspiring guest lecturer today. He talked about a lot of really fascinating things, but one thing that really struck me was at the very beginning of the lecture. Paul mentioned how in the U.S., we use the term “information technology,” while Nederlanders use the term “information and communication technology” (ICT). Americans’ omission of “communication” in connection with technology seems pretty significant to me. After all, if it were not for communication, it would be nearly impossible for people to get information using the technology we currently have. (I could go off on the meaning of information here, but that’s best left for MLIS classes.)

Technology does, in fact, change the ways we communicate. Continue reading ‘Guest lecture: Paul Wouters’

Tall ships and fireworks

Published on August 22, 2010 in grad school and travel. 1 Comment Tags: , , , , .

Today was the first day of the UW iSchool’s Netherlands Exchange program. Almost everyone in the program arrived today, so people were tired. I came a week early to check out Copenhagen, however, so my inner clock had pretty much adjusted to the time difference; I was ready to play. Luckily, I talked a few people into going to see the ships that were here for Sail 2010. Pretty cool. There were ships, people singing sea shanties, and fireworks that we watched from behind the bow of a particularly humongous ship. By the end of the fireworks show, the smoke was so thick that the fireworks were almost completely obscured, but we still had a great time. It was a great start to my Netherlands experience.