Provenance research in the Conscience Library

Some books contain traces of earlier owners or users. These provenance marks can be used to research the way a book or text functioned in society, or to reconstruct the reading behaviour or book ownership of a person or a group of people.

Porn, pulp & literature

Online exhibit

In December 2019, the Hendrik Conscience Heritage Library presented an unknown and long-hidden part of Flemish literature and cultural history: pornographic literature with the exhibition "Porn, pulp & literature". View the online exhibition here.

Expo 'The Antwerp Songbook'

The Nottebohm Room is open to individual visitors

From 19 June to 30 August 2026

This summer, the Nottebohm Room is opening its doors once again for the public to enjoy.

Travel grant to Antwerp for two international researchers

Since 2018, the Heritage Library Hendrik Conscience and Museum Plantin-Moretus, with the support of the Nottebohm Foundation and the Book and Literature Endowment Fund, have offered an annual travel grant to encourage research on the history of the printed book in Antwerp. Two foreign researchers will receive financial support to carry out several weeks of research in their collections.

Consult digital publications at home

Request temporary access for research

Users who want to consult copyright-protected publications from our digital collections for research or education purposes can now do so at home. A new application in our digital library makes this possible.

Conditions of sale

Conditions of sale when purchasing an online ticket

Travel grant brings Ashley Gonik (Harvard University) to Antwerp

Three research vlogs

In 2019, Ashley Gonik received a travel grant from the Nottebohm Foundation to conduct research on the collections of the Hendrik Conscience Heritage Library and the Plantin-Moretus Museum. Are you curious about the life of an American researcher in Antwerp? In three short research vlogs she tells about her journey, research and experiences.

The Nottebohm Room

De Nottebohmzaal is een verborgen parel. Hier worden de eerste 150.000 boeken van de bibliotheek bewaard in een historische en adembenemende setting. De deuren van de zaal zwaaien alleen open voor tentoonstellingen, lezingen, concerten of rondleidingen. En als ze dat doen, vliegt de magie je tegemoet.

Treasures of the Nottebohm Room

For groups

Visit one of the most beautiful and prestigious library spaces with your association or group. A guide will take you through the history of the building and explain the special books kept there.