Become a friend
The Endowment Fund for Books and Literature is the joint association of friends of the Hendrik Conscience Heritage Library and the House of Literature. Joining is simple:
- Send an email to dotatiefonds@antwerpen.be
- with ‘I wish to become a friend’ in the subject line
- and giving your name, address and telephone number in the text.
- Pay the membership fee (40 euros per year) into account BE53 7330 1970 3053.
- Receive your membership card by post.
In exchange for your friendship, you will receive:
- free admission to all activities of the Endowment Fund for Books and Literature
- a 50% discount on all lectures at the Heritage Library and the House of Literature
- invitations to all activities at the Heritage Library and the House of Literature
- free admission to the permanent collections of all municipal museums in Antwerp
- a 15% discount in all city museum shops
Would you like some more information before joining? Phone 03/338.87.30.
Make a donation
Would you like to make a donation? You can do so by making a transfer into the bank account of vzw Antwerpen Kunstenstad (BE14 7350 3595 7783), with the words ‘Endowment Fund donation’ as the transaction description. You will receive a tax certificate for donations of 40 euros or more.
Support the library too
With the money raised through the Endowment Fund, our library can add to its superb collection and preserve and if necessary restore individual works, many of which are rare, in optimal fashion.
As an extra thank you for your support, when you first become a member you will be given a copy of Pierre Delsaerdt’s book about the origins of the Endowment Fund. The Fund started in 1905, when the City Library (as the Hendrik Conscience Heritage Library was formerly known) was keen to purchase the important collection of the Antwerp bibliophile and nobleman Gustave Van Havre. However, the auction price represented the whole of the City Library’s annual budget. Fortunately a handsome sum was raised by means of a press campaign. Together with money made available by the city authorities, this enabled a quarter of the collection to be purchased. The present Endowment Fund grew out of that successful public-private partnership.
You are thus following in a long tradition with your donation or membership. Any help is more than welcome.