Abdullahi Abdulrahman Abdalla, University Lecturer International and European Law, Erasmus School of Law
My first visit to the Peace Palace Library was on a gray morning in mid-April 2017. Since I then just moved to The Hague, I was looking forward to visit the Peace Palace Library and to see what it had to offer.
I work as a lecturer at Erasmus University School of Law where I teach and coordinate a course on European criminal and migration law. My visits to the Peace Palace Library are usually to look for new materials or to work on the modules and lectures for my course. What I appreciate about the Peace Palace Library is that it allows its visitors to access the Library’s extensive catalogues and collection. This offers me the opportunity to not only find and work with the classics within my field of law, but also with its most recent publications.
I have experienced the Peace Palace Library as a place with an approachable and friendly atmosphere. The library staff is welcoming and provides excellent service. Moreover, as you visit the Peace Palace Library regularly you start to recognize and get to know the regulars of the Library. I have had the opportunity to meet new people, learn about their fascinating projects and ambitions, while also receiving useful recommendations for new materials. For me, it is these small interactions with the staff, my fellow-visitors, and with the security personnel which make my visits to the Peace Palace Library even more worthwhile.
In addition, each visit to the Peace Palace offers a new experience. Some visits might be on those rainy autumn days with deadlines due for work. Other days, however, allow me to stroll to the Library, passing by the hares that are running up and down the grass fields of the Peace Palace, while behind me the visitors at the gates are lining up for the start of their tour. During those sunny days- albeit rare in The Netherlands- you can enjoy your lunch at the park benches just outside the gates of the Peace Palace, with the sun set high above the towers of the Peace Palace. Each visit offers the opportunity to discover new elements of this astonishing building. While it seems as if every other week sees a new event within the corridors of the Peace Palace Library, the golden fountain on the garden side of Library remains as radiant as ever.