Royal Library of Belgium

The Royal Library of Belgium (Koninklijke Bibliotheek België in Dutch, Bibliothèque royale de Belgique in French, abbreviated KBR and sometimes nicknamed Albertina) is one of the most important cultural institutions in Belgium. The library has a history that goes back to the age of the Dukes of Burgundy. In the second half of the 20th century, a new building was constructed on the Kunstberg (Mont des Arts in French) in downtown Brussels, near the Central Station. The library owns several collections of historical importance, like the famous Fétis archives, and is the depository for all books ever published in Belgium or abroad by Belgian authors.

The library also houses the Center for American Studies, a new institute of higher learning established by the University of Antwerp, the Free University of Brussels, the University of Ghent, and the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, which is internationally accredited for delivering Master of Arts degrees in American Studies.

The Royal Library of Belgium

The tower of the old Royal Library of Brussels on the site of the modern building of the Albertina (drawing by Léon van Dievoet)

Directors

• 1837-1850 : Frédéric de Reiffenberg
• 1850-1887 : Louis-Joseph Alvin
• 1887-1904 : Edouard Fétis
• 1904-1909 : Henri Hymans
• 1909-1912 : Joseph Van Den Gheyn, S.J.
• 1913-1914 : Dom Ursmer Berlière O.S.B.
• 1919-1929 : Louis Paris
• 1929-1943 : Victor Tourneur
• 1944-1953 : Frédéric Lyna
• 1953-1955 : Marcel Hoc
• 1956-1973 : Herman Liebaers
• 1973-1990 : Martin Wittek
• 1990-1991 : Denise De Weerdt
• 1992  : Josiane Roelants-Abraham
• 1992-2002 : Pierre Cockshaw
• 2002-2005 : Raphaël De Smedt
• 2005-  : Patrick Lefèvre

See also

• Academia Belgica
• Belgian Federal Science Policy Office (BELSPO)
• Center for Historical Research and Documentation on War and Contemporary Society
• National and Provincial State Archives
• National Library of the Netherlands

External links

• Official website (Dutch) (French)
• Official Website of the Center for American Studies (English)
• Floorplan of the Library

Coordinates: 50°50′40″N 4°21′23″E / 50.84444°N 4.35639°E / 50.84444; 4.35639