Library

• New additions
• Genealogy
• Photographic archives
• AdamNet

For several decades the SAI has managed a library with a unique collection of the biggest variety of South African literature in Europe. Researchers, teachers and students but also people that have a general interest in South African literature are welcome at the SAI library. The biggest part of the collection is written in Afrikaans, English and Dutch. New additions to the library are listed in the magazine Zuid-Afrika and on our website.

The collection of the SAI library contains:

• About 43.000 titles;
• About 60 subscriptions to magazines and newspapers;
• About 550 titles of non-current magazines;
• Audiovisual materials;
• Archives of clippings about literature;
• NZAV photo collection (including many historical photos about the Anglo-Boer War);
• NZAV-archives (Archives about Dutch - South-African relations from ca. 1880).

The SAI library has an automatized catalogue and a copymachine available in the reading room. The books are open format, so you can look around at your own leisure. The collection of the library of the South African Institute can be consulted free of charge in the reading room. To borrow materials, membership (€ 16.00 per year, students € 6.00) is required.
Do you have any questions or should you require some information, send an e-mail to the librarian, Corine de Maijer: bibliotheek [at] zuidafrikahuis [dot] nl.

New additions

At regular intervals the SAI library has new additions. 
Do you have suggestions for new additions? Send an e-mail to Corine de Maijer: bibliotheek [at] zuidafrikahuis [dot] nl

Genealogy

More than a century ago, a Dutch company constructed a railway in South-Africa. Between 1887 and 1899 there were thousands of Dutch people, often with their families, working for these Dutch-South-African-Railway-Society (NZASM) and who also then immigrated to South Africa. For most of them their stay was only for a short time: in time of the Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902) half of the Dutch people in South Africa were sent out of the country by the British authorities. Some of them got work in of the then Dutch Indies. They could also have make a claim to receive financial help from the 'Support Fund for ex-NZASM personell'.

The South Africa House houses many treasures, most unknown, and contains biographical materials about these railway-poeple and their comings-and-goings after their return to the Netherlands. The files are a valuable resource for family-research, because they give a (sometimes very detailed) picture of the lives of these people in the Netherlands till 1940.

There is an alfabethical list of names of nearly 3000 employees who were working for the NZASM at the end of the nineteenth century or who have asked for help from the support fund. The list is made up from the archives at the Zuid-Afrika Huis, and can be ordered for € 12,00.

You can view the archives at the South Africa House, while members of the NZAV can read the archives for free. If you are not a member of the NZAV yet, we ask a for contribution of € 5,00.

Photographic archives

The NZAV has an extensive photo collection. This collection contains many unique photos with a historical character. The collection is an overview of the history of South Africa from the last 25 years, and also the Dutch-South-African part of the country's history. Special mention is reserved for the pictures of the Boer-republicans Transvaal and Oranje-Vrijstaat (1880-1902) and the Anglo-Boer War (1898-1902), and the portraits of the African literators and politicians.

The collection of photos can be made available for expositions and publication. Photos cannot be made available for loan (except for expositions), but can be copied on request, at cost to the user. Besides this we ask a contribution of € 25,00 for each photo used and oblige you to mention the NZAV photo-collection as a source.

AdamNet

The library of the South African Institute is connected to the Associated Amsterdam Libraries. Through this network, AdamNet, one can find millions of books, magazines, multimedia and information within Amsterdam and surroundings.

The Digitale Bibliotheek Amsterdam (DBA) (Digital Library Amsterdam) is a search engine for catalogues of AdamNet libraries. With one search action one can search simultaneously through ten catalogues. The search results are shown both per catalogue and in a combined list.  During 2008 the catalogue of the South-African Institute will be added to the DBA.