Special Collections - Maastricht University Library

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Special Collections - Maastricht University Library The Maastricht University’s Special Collections. Delve into Philosophy, History, Literature and more.

16/10/2026

Anyone can paint along with Bob Ross nowadays, however, way back in the day you needed to survive reading up on Het Schilder-Boeck! 🎨

Now it’s World Student Day! To celebrate, here’s a book about education that got burned in public!Published in 1762, Jea...
15/10/2026

Now it’s World Student Day! To celebrate, here’s a book about education that got burned in public!

Published in 1762, Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s “Émile; ou, De l’éducation” is basically the foundational text of modern, student-centered learning.

Instead of memorising Latin under strict discipline, Rousseau argued that education should be tailored to the child's natural development by encouraging independent thought, practical experience, and learning through doing. (Sound a bit like UM’s Problem-Based Learning? 🤔)

Rousseau also included a section arguing that religion should be a personal, reasoned choice rather than state-enforced dogma. The Parliament of Paris was so outraged by this part that they banned the book, ordered public burnings of it and issued an arrest warrant for Rousseau - forcing him to escape to Switzerland.

It’s kind of funny that a treatise advocating for students to learn at their own pace was seen as a threat to national security, but rethinking how to teach has always been a high-stakes business.

14/10/2026

Soms begint geschiedenis niet met een belangrijke datum, maar met een herinnering. 💭

Aan dat ene gebouw voordat het onderdeel werd van de UM. Een bijzondere ontmoeting met een student of medewerker. Een traditie, verandering of alledaags moment dat je nooit bent vergeten.

Tijdens de UM50 History Clinic verzamelen we de persoonlijke verhalen achter 50 jaar Maastricht University. Ook foto’s, documenten en voorwerpen met een verhaal zijn welkom, maar iets meenemen hoeft niet.

Je hoeft niet aan de UM te hebben gestudeerd of gewerkt. Iedereen met een herinnering aan de universiteit is welkom.

📍 4, 5, 17 en 19 november
🗣️ Nederlands of Engels
🔗 Bekijk alle tijdsloten en meld je aan via umlib.nl/UM50-HC

Het aantal plaatsen is beperkt.

Ken je iemand met een verhaal dat niet verloren mag gaan? Stuur deze oproep dan door.

What if you owned a wooden horse that could fly? ✨In The Magic Horse, a story from One Thousand and One Nights, an extra...
13/10/2026

What if you owned a wooden horse that could fly? ✨

In The Magic Horse, a story from One Thousand and One Nights, an extraordinary horse made of ivory and ebony can rise into the air and travel vast distances. Its power makes remarkable journeys possible, but it is also driven by human desires and ambitions. At the end of the story, the horse is destroyed.

Artist Caroline Jansen imagined a different ending. In her interpretation, the horse is no longer ridden or used. It is given a place of honour and allowed simply to exist in peace.

Using traditional goldwork embroidery techniques, silk threads and beads, Caroline created a richly detailed work that reflects on how we treat the technologies and creations entrusted to us.

See Caroline’s work alongside the historical book that inspired it in Books, Tales & Tiny Worlds.

📅 On view until 23 October 2026
📍 Wellbeing Room, Inner City Library
🎟 Free admission
🗓 Open on weekdays

More information: umlib.nl/bttw

09/10/2026

You know those liminal spaces from horror games and uncanny internet lore that look like you clipped out of reality?

The depot late in the afternoon is basically that. Endless rows of shelving, buzzing fluorescent lights and complete silence…

Did you know that the emperor was unaware of the most celebrated treasure in his own empire?In Hans Christian Andersen’s...
08/10/2026

Did you know that the emperor was unaware of the most celebrated treasure in his own empire?

In Hans Christian Andersen’s The Nightingale, travellers from around the world admire the emperor’s magnificent palace and gardens. Yet what moves them most is the song of a small nightingale living nearby. The emperor only learns about the bird after reading what others have written about it.

Artist Petra Poolen was inspired by the story’s reflections on power, vulnerability and selfless friendship. For Books, Tales & Tiny Worlds, she created a richly detailed miniature world using handmade paper, printing, embroidery, textiles and wood.

Discover Petra’s work alongside the beautifully illustrated historical book that inspired it, as well as contemporary interpretations of two other fairy tales from Maastricht University Special Collections.

📅 On view until 23 October 2026
📍 Wellbeing Room, Inner City Library
🎟 Free admission, no registration required
🗓 Open on weekdays

More information: umlib.nl/bttw

07/10/2026

Mapping biblical travels - 1600s style! 🐫🗺️

Heinrich Bünting mapped biblical journeys so 17th-century readers could navigate the ancient world. We hold two copies in our depot from 1605 & 1614.

Welke herinnering heb jij aan Maastricht University?Misschien studeerde of werkte je bij de UM. Misschien zag je als inw...
06/10/2026

Welke herinnering heb jij aan Maastricht University?

Misschien studeerde of werkte je bij de UM. Misschien zag je als inwoner van Maastricht de universiteit groeien, kreeg een bekend gebouw een nieuwe bestemming of ontmoette je studenten en medewerkers via je buurt, vereniging of werk.

Ter gelegenheid van het 50-jarig bestaan van de UM verzamelt de UM50 History Clinic persoonlijke herinneringen, anekdotes, foto’s, documenten en voorwerpen. We zijn vooral benieuwd naar de verhalen die niet in officiële archieven of historische overzichten terechtkomen.

Iedereen met een herinnering aan de UM is welkom. Je mag iets meenemen dat bij je verhaal hoort, maar dat hoeft niet. De gesprekken kunnen in het Nederlands of Engels plaatsvinden.

Het aantal plaatsen is beperkt, dus meld je vooraf aan.

Bekijk alle data en tijdsloten via:
👉 umlib.nl/UM50-HC

Ken je iemand met een bijzonder UM-verhaal? Tag diegene hieronder of deel dit bericht.

On - and as Maastricht University celebrates its 50th anniversary - we look back at the document that started a revolu...
05/10/2026

On - and as Maastricht University celebrates its 50th anniversary - we look back at the document that started a revolution in higher education at UM: the Basisfilosofie Rijksuniversiteit Limburg from way back in 1972.

Before Maastricht University officially opened its doors in 1976, educators and founders drafted a radical vision. They dared to ask: what if we stopped lecturing at students all the time and started letting them learn through real-world problem solving instead?

That vision became Problem-Based Learning (PBL) - an approach that redefined the role of the teacher from a traditional lecturer to a facilitator of active, self-directed and collaborative learning.

What began in 1972 as a philosophy on paper (admittedly not the prettiest piece in the depot) became the cornerstone of our university across every discipline.

Today, we celebrate the thinkers, visionaries and educators who took a leap of faith 50 years ago - and the teachers who continue to inspire, challenge and guide our students every single day. 🎓

Nothing beats a good colour palette 🌈Even before modern publishing, historic bookbindings brought their own incredible c...
02/10/2026

Nothing beats a good colour palette 🌈

Even before modern publishing, historic bookbindings brought their own incredible colour combinations - from marbled endpapers to rich leathers, pigskin and gilded details. Our Special Collections is full of centuries-old colour inspiration.

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