Digital Library for Dutch Literature

The Digital Library for Dutch Literature (Dutch: Digitale Bibliotheek voor de Nederlandse Letteren [ˌdiɣiˈtaːlə ˌbiblijoːˈteːk voːr də ˈneːdərlɑntsə ˈlɛtərə(n)] or DBNL [deːbeːʔɛnˈɛl]) is a website (showing the abbreviation as dbnl) about Dutch language and Dutch literature. It contains thousands of literary texts, secondary literature and additional information, like biographies, portrayals etcetera, and hyperlinks. The DBNL is an initiative by the DBNL foundation that was founded in 1999 by the Society of Dutch Literature (Dutch: Maatschappij der Nederlandse Letterkunde).^[1]

Digital Library for Dutch Literature

Available in	Dutch
Owner	Maatschappij der Nederlandse Letterkunde
URL	www.dbnl.org
Launched	1999
Current status	Online

Building of the DNBL was made possible by donations, among others, from the Dutch Organization for Scientific Research (Dutch: Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek or NWO) and the Nederlandse Taalunie. From 2008 to 2012, the editor was René van Stipriaan [nl].^[2] The work is done by eight people in Leiden (as of 2013: The Hague), 20 students, and 50 people in the Philippines who scan and type the texts.^[2]

As of 2020,^[update] the library is being maintained by a collaboration of the Taalunie, Vlaamse Erfgoedbibliotheek (Flemish Libraries), and the Royal Library of the Netherlands.^[3]

Basic library: 1,000 key texts

The DBNL provides the Basic Library of Dutch Literature, containing 1,000 works of fundamental importance to Dutch and Flemish cultural history.^[2] The chairperson of the committee that selected the 1,000 key texts was Paul Schnabel.^[2] Nevertheless, some classic texts of Dutch literature, like Gerard Reve's 1947 novel The Evenings (Dutch: De avonden) and Willem Frederik Hermans' 1966 novel Beyond Sleep (Dutch: Nooit meer slapen) are absent for copyright reasons.^[2]

Reliability

Questions have been raised as to the reliability of the information contained in this database by both authors and testators alike. The DBNL lacks a confirmation procedure as well as a complaints procedure.^[4]