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Knowledge & collection

Library & archive

Museum Maluku brings together publications and archive sources on the Moluccas and Moluccan communities. The library can be consulted at Malib by appointment; a growing part of the archive is already online.

The library is not yet searchable online and the physical archives are currently not accessible for research visits.

Available today

What can you do now?

  1. Search digitised archive records

    A growing part of the archive can be found online: archive descriptions, records and individual documents. Not everything is digitised or fully described.

    Doorzoek de Online Collectie

  2. Explore the collection groups

    Collection groups and their context pages show how archives, objects and publications relate to one another.

    Bekijk deelcollecties

  3. Consult the library at Malib

    The publications can be seen at Malib (Maluku Library) by appointment. There is no online catalogue yet, so say in your email what you are looking for.

    Zo maak je een afspraak

  4. Put a specific question to us

    If what you need is not online, a focused research question is the way in. We look at which sources or expertise may be relevant.

    Start met onderzoek

Where the library is

Malib in Amsterdam

The library holds books, journals and other publications on the Moluccas and Moluccan communities. The collection belongs to Museum Maluku; Malib (Maluku Library) is where you can consult it.

That works by appointment. There is no online catalogue yet, so it helps to say straight away what you are looking for, then Malib can see what is there before you come.

There is no website yet. What is going on, and when Malib is open, is shared on Instagram @malib_____.

Seeing publications works by appointment, you can search digitised archive records yourself, and for anything beyond that the research question is the way in.

Email Malib for an appointment

Describing and digitising is the work

Numbered archive boxes on shelves in Museum Maluku's collection depot
Archive boxes in the depot. What is described and digitised is what can be found online.
A Museum Maluku staff member examining material among the archive collection
Identifying and describing material is slow work, and it decides what becomes accessible next.

Where things stand

What is and is not available

Available

  • Public descriptions of archives and archive records
  • A growing number of digitised records in the Online Collection
  • Collection groups and their context
  • Consulting the library at Malib, by appointment
  • Focused research questions
  • Suggesting a publication for the library

Not yet available

  • An online library catalogue
  • Borrowing publications
  • Walking in without an appointment
  • Research visits to the physical archives

Where to look

Looking for something specific?

Help the library grow

Contribute knowledge, material or support

  1. Suggest a publication

    Tell us about a relevant book, journal, catalogue, thesis or other publication. We review every suggestion before deciding whether and how it fits the collection.

    Dien een publicatietip in

  2. Offer physical material

    Would you like to offer a book, archive, photograph, document or other material? Use the collection offer process; do not bring or send original material without prior consultation.

    Bied materiaal aan de collectie aan

  3. Support Museum Maluku

    Financial support helps Museum Maluku preserve and share Moluccan heritage. The current donation route does not guarantee that a contribution is reserved specifically for the library.

    Bekijk manieren om ons te steunen

  4. Discuss space or collaboration

    Organisations with a serious proposal for housing, knowledge exchange, cataloguing or digitisation can use the existing partnership route.

    Bespreek een partnerschap

Publication tip

What should the library know about?

Share enough information to recognise and assess the publication.

Would you like to offer a physical copy? Use Donations & acquisitions instead.

Bijvoorbeeld: onderwerp, personen, plaats, periode of verbinding met een Molukse gemeenschap.

Fields marked with * are required.

Thank you for your publication tip

We will review the suggestion. This confirmation does not mean that the publication has been or will be added to the library.

After a tip

What happens to your suggestion?

  1. 01

    Receipt

    The tip reaches Museum Maluku through the existing request workflow.

  2. 02

    Assessment

    We identify the publication and assess its relevance and its relation to the library.

  3. 03

    Follow-up where needed

    We may ask for more information. A suggestion is not automatically acquired, catalogued or published online.

The next phase

A library needs more than a place

With Malib, consulting the collection is arranged, and that was the part missing longest. A set of publications only becomes a source of knowledge if it is also kept well and described consistently; Museum Maluku is still working on that.

That means: cataloguing that makes publications findable, even when you do not know what you are looking for, conservation of fragile material, and in time a catalogue. Until then, an appointment and the digital routes above are what we can offer.

There is no catalogue yet and no lending, and the physical archives are not the same thing as the library: they are not accessible for research visits.