Open-Access Resources

Searchable online databases provide full-text access to both current and historical content. Some databases are freely available and others require a subscription. If you are unable to visit the Library, you may be able to access these resources through your local public or academic library. The Library's open-access databases are listed below as well as external links to resources, and research guides. The selection also includes relevant Webinars held at the Library of Congress.

Archives Portal Europe External This link opens in a new window

The Archives Portal Europe is one of the main milestones achieved by the participants of the APEnet Project supported by the European Commission in the eContentplus Programme. The project's consortium currently consists of twelve national archives/national archive administrations and five associate members: Archivos Estatales (Spain), Archiwa Państwowe (Poland), Arhiv Republike Slovenije (Slovenia), Bundesarchiv (Germany), Γενικά αρχεία του κράτους (Greece), Direcção-Geral de Arquivos (Portugal), Direction des Archives de France, Kansallisarkisto (Finland), Latvijas Arhīvi (Latvia), Nationaal Archief (The Netherlands), National Archives of Malta, Riksarkivet (Sweden), National Archives of Ireland, National Archives of Belgium, Държавна Агенция Арxиви (Bulgaria), Department of Archives Administration and Records Management of the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic, Rahvusarhiiv (Estonia)

Users can search across the holdings of 63 institutions with the aid of finding aids (detailed, hierarchically structured descriptions of the archival material in a specific institution's fonds and collections). Finding aids may include links to digitizations of the archival materials at the institutions' own websites. If users need to plan on-site visits to consult the original material, the Directory section--containing contact details and services offered by the different institutions--can be consulted. The directory not only includes those institutions already presenting their archival material in the Archives Portal Europe, but also other institutions from the participating countries whose content is not yet available in the portal.
Freely Accessible European Studies Online Resources This link opens in a new window

A collection of publicly available European studies online resources selected by Library of Congress staff.
Historical Social Conflict Database (HiSCoD) External This link opens in a new window

Provides detailed information on the occurrence of social conflict in France from the end of the Middle Ages to the 19th century; 16th to 19th century England, medieval Italy, and many more. The website, which was realised with the support of the Digital Cluster at University of Caen-Normandy, currently contains more than 20,000 episodes of social conflicts, such as food riots, fiscal riots, religious conflicts, and conflict against state authorities. It includes all the data collected by Jean Nicolas, with the support of numerous of French historians, in his masterwork on French rebellion: La Rébellion française, Mouvements populaires et conscience sociale (1661-1789).
The objective of the database is to centralise and harmonise existing research on historical social conflicts across Europe and beyond. Work is currently underway to include additional data on English riots collected by John Bohstedt and create new interactive visualisation tools. The current cartographic tool makes it possible to find the places where social conflicts have occurred and to access the individual files describing the event (date, place, type, number of participants, female participation, summary of the facts). The site is available in English and in French.
Holocaust Encyclopedia External This link opens in a new window

This multimedia encyclopedia of the Holocaust (Shoah) includes more than 300 articles on the history of the destruction of the Jews of Europe. Each topical or biographical entry deals with one aspect or person and is enhanced by photographs, documents, oral histories, ID cards, artifacts, animated or still maps, historical film footage, music, and/or individual life stories. Major topics covered include the history of the Holocaust, the Aftermath, Antisemitism, the Camp System, Children, Einsatzgruppen, Extermination Camps, Final Solution, Forced Labor, Ghettos, Jewish Resistance, Liberation of Nazi Camps, Mosaic of Victims, Non-Jewish Resistance, Pogroms, Racism, Refugees, Rescue, Third Reich, United States and the Holocaust, War Crimes Trials, Women, and World War II. Encyclopedia articles and materials are available in: English, French, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Turkish, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indonesian, Greek, Arabic, Farsi, and Urdu.
OpenEdition External This link opens in a new window
OpenEdition serves the humanities and social sciences research communities through four complementary publication and information platforms in the humanities and social sciences:
- Revues.org: founded in 1999, which today distributes more than 400 journals and 100,000 articles on immediate or deferred open access.
- Calenda: founded in 2000, which has already published 23,000 academic event announcements in all disciplines of the humanities and social sciences.
- Hypotheses: founded in 2008, which now hosts over 700 research blogs, containing 35,000 posts and articles relating to research in the humanities and social sciences.
- OpenEdition books: A platform inaugurated in 2013 with 1000 books in all fields of research in the HSS and in the majority of academic languages. 16,000 books will be online by 2020.
RERO DOC External This link opens in a new window

RERO DOC is the digital library of RERO, the Library Network of Western Switzerland, an institutional repository providing free access to the publication output of participating members of the RERO organization. Its collections include hundreds of books, journals, newspapers, theses, dissertations and partitions (sheet music), maps, and multimedia products. Users can select a site, a domain, an institution, a specific collection or a document type. Documents are in a number of different languages, the most dominant being French, followed by English. The site interface is available in English, French, German, and Italian.

Links to Belgian Resources

ARTFL Public Databases External
The following databases have been developed at ARTFL for free public use.
Association of College and Research Libraries: Guide to Dutch Studies External
Scholarly resources in Dutch Studies, including the Netherlands and Belgium for Flemish resources. The resources organized here are all freely available and have undergone a selection and evaluation process. This guide is a list of scholarly resources intended primarily for librarians. It is curated and managed by members of the European Studies Section (ESS) of the Association of College & Research Libraries. Users are free to copy and edit content from this guide for their own purposes.
Belgica Digital Library of KBR External
Digital resources of the Royal Library of Belgium. Belgica allows for full-text searching of all of KBR's digitized collections, which include items from: Manuscripts, Contemporary printed books, Maps and plans, Rare books, Coins and medals, Music, and Prints and drawings. BelgicaPress allows users full-text searching of Belgian newspapers published between 1814 and 1970. The Belgica Periodicals portal gives users access to over 30 journals and periodicals published from 1813 to the present day, where full-text searches can be performed.
Belgica Periodicals External
The Belgica Periodicals portal gives users access to over 30 journals and periodicals published from 1813 to the present day, where full-text searches can be performed.
Belgica Press External
Belgica Press allows users full-text searching of Belgian newspapers published between 1814 and 1970.
Calames External
Searchable online catalogue of archives and manuscripts in French University and Research libraries.
CIFNAL: Finding French and Francophone Collections External
Many institutions in the US and Canada have very strong French and Francophone collections. In 2017, CRL’s Collaborative Initiative for French Language Collections (CIFNAL) Collection Development Working Group had the pleasure to work with an intern from ENSSIB, who created a database and map of these collections. Click on the Collections menu above to see a list of collections with detailed descriptions in English. Click on the Map menu to visualize the locations of the many institutions represented in the database. We are grateful to Anne-Charlotte Pivot for her fast and professional work on this project. Anne-Charlotte also prepared a detailed explanation of the rationale behind the project and how to best use the database, which is available in both English and French. The CIFNAL Collection Development Working Group has also created and is sustaining a LibGuide that compiles a number of French and Francophone Digital Humanities projects from around the world.
Dictionnaires d'autrefois External
French dictionaries of the 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. Helpful reference resource for understanding historical texts. Includes Nicot’s Thresor de la langue francaise (1606), Feraud’s Dictionnaire critique de la langue francaise (1787-88), Littre’s Dictionnaire de la langue francaise (1872-77), and the Dictionnaire de l’Academie francaise 1st (1694), 4th (1762), 5th (1798), 6th (1835), and 8th (1932-5) editions.
Europeana External
Collaborative project between thousands of European archives, libraries, and museums, to promote a broader European project for cultural heritage. Searchable by theme, language, country, institution, or media.
The European Library External
Offers access to the resources of the national libraries of Europe, including over 16 million French items, searchable by collection or media. Resources can be both digital (books, posters, maps, sound recordings, videos, etc.) and bibliographic.
European Literature Network External
EU-funded English network aiming to promote European literature in the UK. Publishes book reviews, including French, produces translations, and sponsors literary competitions.
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https://www.eurolitnetwork.com/?fbclid=IwAR2_XF7kiKHmOzQ1qUQjO7eSDhcra_0yIYj1oPZN4t5lJtVMMDn3N0_cpGM
European Union External
This official website of the European Union is searchable by Topic, Documents and Publications and has sections on EU Law, Life and Business in the EU and contact information. Available in multiple languages.
Gallica: Presse artistique External
Sélection de titres de presse artistique disponibles sur Gallica, sur une période allant du début du 19e siècle à la première moitié du 20e siècle.
Gallica External
Digitization project of the Bibliotheque nationale de France focusing on the cultural history of France and French-speaking areas throughout the world. Contains numerous electronic texts, images, maps, animation, and sound files of French and other publications in history, literature, science, philosophy, law, economics, and political science.
Homegrown Plus Premiere: WÖR’s Folk and Early Music from Belgium
The American Folklife Center is continuing the Homegrown Plus Premiere series with WÖR, a band of five musicians from Belgium whose curiosity and passion lead them to research old Flemish music and present it in vibrant contemporary arrangements. As is usual for the series, this blog post includes an embedded concert video, an interview video, and a set of related links to explore!
KBR: Koninklijke Bibliotheek van België/ Bibliothèque royale External
KBR is the national scientific library and collects all Belgian publications. The institution preserves manages and studies more than 8 million documents, a rich cultural and historical heritage. KBR provides access to all information in its collections, facilitates research and offers a broad cultural experience. Historically, KBR is a contraction of two names in two different languages: Koninklijke Bibliotheek and Bibliothèque royale. In the past, a number of different names have been used to denote KBR: Albertine, La Royale, BR, KBR, KB, Royal Library and so on. With KBR as the name of the brand, we resolve the naming problem in all languages and clear up any uncertainty about the structure (KBR is more than just a library).
The National Libraries of Europe External
Europe’s national libraries are as varied and diverse as the nations whose memories they hold. CENL, the Conference of European National Librarians, brings these great institutions together to celebrate and promote the importance of national libraries across the continent, creating opportunities to meet and work together to exchange knowledge, foster professional excellence and build mutual understanding.
Persee External
Established by the Ministry of State Education, Higher Education and Research, PERSEE provides free access to journals, books, conference proceedings, serials, primary sources, and a range of research tools. Journals include Annales, Bibliothèque de l’Ecole des Chartes, L’Homme, Revue française de science politique.
Project Gutenberg Online Book Catalog External
The oldest digital library, offering over 50,000 e-books to download, including a significant number of French titles. Works are in the public domain and consist primarily of fiction, classics, and reference works.
Reseau francophone numerique External
Online network of French sources, sponsored by the Organisation international de la francophonie. Preservation of French-language materials from libraries in a diverse selection of countries.
University of Chicago: Early Printed Books of Belgium External
This page focuses on the French language, and covers some major collections in France and the French-speaking region of Belgium. The Library of Geneva is included here, but please see the Germany, Austria & Switzerland page for other libraries in Switzerland.
University of Oxford Legal Resources: Belgium External
This guide is intended for students and researchers studying the law and legal systems of the countries of continental Europe and Scandinavia at the University of Oxford, although students and researchers from any field may find it useful. Use this guide to find out about sources and commentary for European and Scandinavian jurisdictions, including ebooks, ejournals, and databases.

Webinars and Presentations Related to Belgium at the Library of Congress

Homegrown Plus Premiere: WÖR’s Folk and Early Music from Belgium by American Folklife Specialist Stephen Winick.

"Occupy Rousseau:Inequality & Social Justice" was an international panel discussion presented by the Embassy of Switzerland and the European Division. It was held at the Library of Congress on March 27th, 2012 and included the scholars, Dr. Guillaume Chenevière, Dr. Michael O'Dea and Dr. James Swensen. Dr. Carol Armbruster, former French Area Specialist at the Library of Congress, presented each speaker.

Foreign Legal Specialist Nicolas Boring discusses the Napoleonic Code's history, evolution, and legacy. This presentation touches not only on French law, but also the Civil Code's impact on other countries around the world, from Belgium to Haiti.

Belgium & Belgian Collections at the Library of Congress

Open-Access Resources

Links to Belgian Resources

Webinars and Presentations Related to Belgium at the Library of Congress