Original Name
Internationaal Instituut voor Sociale Geschiedenis (IISG)

Institution Type
Research Center

Country
Netherlands

Address
Cruquiusweg 31 1019AT Amsterdam The Netherlands

Telephone
+31 20 668 58 66

Fax
+31 20 665 41 81

Email
info@iisg.nl

Website
http://www.iisg.nl

Description
General: The International Institute of Social History (IISH) was officially established on November 25, 1935, but its history goes back to the Netherlands Economic History Archiv, Netherlands, set up by Nicolaas W. Posthumus (1880-1960), a pioneer of modern economic history, in 1914. The institute is one of the world's largest documentary and research institutions in the field of social history in general and the history of the labor movement in particular. Most of the collections are open to the public.

The IISH holds over 2,700 archival collections, some 1 million printed volumes and about as many audio-visual items. The available collections are accessible through an online catalogue, an online index of archives and inventories. Other electronic facilities include webguides, current bibliographies, discussion lists, and a news service. The IISH is home to a number of other documentary institutions, most notably the Netherlands Economic History Archive (NEHA) and the Press Museum. Both offer supplementary collections and services. Their materials are included in the IISH catalogue.

The Institute publishes research results through international academic publishers and its own in-house publishing unit. The International Review of Social History is published for the Institute by Cambridge University Press and appears three times a year, plus one supplement.

The center's publications include articles from a wide range of periodicals and books as well as videos, occasional publications and series.

Specific: The Intsitute's collection includes the Archives of the International Secretariat of Amnesty International. It contains a number of samizdat books. In the finding aids, most samizdat titles start with the keyword "USSR": information on samizdat literature and dissidents can be found there. One sample item is a samizdat book on Soviet Psychiatry (115/547 EUR 46/36/77 15A/234), 1977.

ISRA Affiliation Level
founding member