Amsab - Instituut voor Sociale Geschiedenis

Amsab-ISH is an officially recognized Flemish cultural heritage institution engaged in archiving documents and other items of progressive social movements and persons. It was founded in 1980 by Herman Balthazar and Wouter Steenhaut. Both of them were employed at the Department of Modern History at the University of Ghent at that time. Amsab-Institute of Social History became an officially recognized Flemish cultural institution in 1985. Since the establishment of Amsab Institute of Social History, research has been one of its core activities. As a cultural heritage institution, research is conducted in concert with Amsab’s collection management and public services. Scientific research supports and provides direction to the institute’s acquisition and collection accessibility policies, as well as inspiring activities in the field of public history, popularising research and community service. This provides a clear added value for the global profile of the institute and permits Amsab- distinguish itself from purely academic research entities. The institute has a preference for research topics that fit the thematic pillars underpinning our collection policy, in particular: • labor movement • new social movements • ecological movements • migration history For more information about the history of the institution, please consult [its website](http://www.amsab.be/) 

It is possible to order reproductions from Amsab's picture archive, provided that copyright is respected and a number of conditions are met. For more details on these conditions, see [here](http://www.amsab.be/images/pdf/vraag/foto_nederlands.pdf) Prices - Scan: 5 euro - Publication fee: 25 euro - Administrative fee: 2,50 euro 

Amsab preserves and collects records from the 19th century onwards. Materials are related to the history of socialist organisations, radical left-wing organisations, new social movements and groups involved in action for peace, women, the Third World, a different globalization, gay and lesbian rights, migrant rights, etc. Amsab-ISH has also become the archive of the green movement. Geographically the institute's collections focus on Flanders / Belgium and, if relevant, on the international context. 

Collection material can be reserved in advance via the online catalogue. For this purpose, you create a (one-time) account. After reserving, you will be contacted by e-mail to set up a reading room appointment. Due to our limited staff, priority is given to urgent research. In order to provide a suitable solution for everyone, please indicate the purpose of your consultation (paper, thesis, doctorate, publication, etc.) and any deadlines. You have not finished your application on the day of your appointment and would like to continue with your consultation? Tell the person in charge of the reading room which days you want to drop by or mail to leeszaal@amsab.be to make a follow-up appointment. You want to consult archives? Archives can only be requested at the file level. When requesting larger archive parts, please indicate this in the reservation request or by sending an e-mail to leeszaal@amsab.be. Please note: written permission from the archive creator is required for consultation of some archives. This is done in consultation with an archivist. Do you want to consult magazines? When reserving periodicals and series, please indicate the desired volumes and/or issues in the reservation request. Documents of which a digital version is available (online or in the reading room) cannot be consulted on paper. This applies to image documents, digitised periodicals, archive files,.... Digital documents that cannot be published online for legal reasons can only be consulted in the reading room. Borrowing documents is not possible, with the exception of loans for exhibitions. https://www.amsab.be/en/vraag/bezoek-onze-leeszaal