Aside from our main collection, the IBFD library also maintains several special collections. These collections are mostly integrated in the regular library collection. They are highlighted here because of their special nature and/or origin. Our special collections are: the Adriani Collection, the Dissertations and Theses Collection, the Library Digital Archive, and the Library Treasures Collection, which are described below.
IBFD Library Digital Archive
Due to space issues, our former "storage" archive has been digitized and made accessible in a digital archive, also known as "Knowvation". This collection of journals, laws, brochures and IBFD publications spans almost 14 million pages.
Bibliographic descriptions for many of the documents in the digital archive have been included in the library collection. You can recognize them by their "current location" being "Electronic archive". For an increasing number of records an "Electronic acces" link to the document in the archive is provided; this link will only display to IBFD staff. When you need a publication from the archive and no link is provided, please ask the library staff and we will retrieve the document for you.
Bibliographic descriptions for many of the documents in the digital archive have been included in the library collection. You can recognize them by their "current location" being "Electronic archive". For an increasing number of records an "Electronic acces" link to the document in the archive is provided; this link will only display to IBFD staff. When you need a publication from the archive and no link is provided, please ask the library staff and we will retrieve the document for you.
IBFD Library Treasures
The Library Treasures project was started in 2022 as an effort to preserve the historic collection and make these older resources more accessible and easier to search.
At the library, we have a large physical archive of books, laws, private documents, letters, and pamphlets starting from 1811 which mostly originate from the collection of the IBFD’s first director, Professor Pieter Jakob Albert Adriani (1879-1974). We have over 100 books from the 19th century and early 20th century that touch on an array of topics regarding the history of taxation.
To make this collection more accessible, we reworked a part of our library portal to expand the available materials and make them easier to find. Scanned PDFs, photos, and metadata of every individual artifact are available in the “Archive” section of the page. For those of you who don’t yet know what historical documents would be interesting, we wrote a few short Stories that serve as general introductions to the covered topics.
At the library, we have a large physical archive of books, laws, private documents, letters, and pamphlets starting from 1811 which mostly originate from the collection of the IBFD’s first director, Professor Pieter Jakob Albert Adriani (1879-1974). We have over 100 books from the 19th century and early 20th century that touch on an array of topics regarding the history of taxation.
To make this collection more accessible, we reworked a part of our library portal to expand the available materials and make them easier to find. Scanned PDFs, photos, and metadata of every individual artifact are available in the “Archive” section of the page. For those of you who don’t yet know what historical documents would be interesting, we wrote a few short Stories that serve as general introductions to the covered topics.
Additional Resources
Interested the history of taxation? There are more resources to browse:- A large part of our digital archives (e-archive) of journals and other documentation will not (yet) be included in the Digital Collection - browse our catalogue to see our full archival collection. Find something you need access to? Fill out our scan order form or contact libinfo@ibfd.org for more details. You can also browse this collection onsite in the library.
- History of Tax Treaties
The History of Tax Treaties Data Base is a not-for-profit project of the OECD, Institute for Austrian and International Tax Law Vienna (WU), IBFD, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, IFA Canadian Branch, Canadian Tax Foundation and University of Sydney, Sydney Law School. The aim of the project is to open, at no charge to the public, all historic and official documents drafted in preparation of the text, not only of the OECD Model Convention of 1963, but also of the older convention drafted under the League of Nations. - Belasting & Douane Museum (Tax and Customs Museum)
Visit a selection of 500 objects, paintings and unique documents in the online collection (in Dutch) of the Tax and Cusoms Museum. - Check out our research guides on historical tax subjects, on the Research Guides page under "History of Taxation".
Adriani Collection
In honour of Professor Pieter Jakob Albert Adriani, the first Director of IBFD (1938-1954), the IBFD Library holds a special Adriani Collection consisting of books written or collected by Professor Adriani.
In 1938, the International Fiscal Association (IFA) was founded as an association under Dutch law. IFA’s Statutes provided for the founding of a “documentation bureau”, which was created in the form of a foundation, the International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation (IBFD).
Professor Pieter Jakob Albert Adriani became the IBFD’s first director. Surprisingly enough, he never took his law degree. In order to be admitted to a law faculty of a Dutch university, one had to graduate from a “Gymnasium”, i.e. a secondary school where Latin and Greek were taught, or one had to pass a special examination to show that one had sufficient knowledge of Latin, because it was necessary that one had to be able to study Roman law in Latin, since Roman law lay at the root of the Dutch law system, as was the case with many other Continental law systems.
Professor Adriani, however, graduated from another type of secondary school, the so-called HBS, and in 1902 he passed the examination for notary public and again in 1903 the examination to be admitted in the position of “supernumerary” (“surnumérair”) to the Service of Registration and Public Property (Registratie en Domeinen), a division of the Dutch Tax Administration.
Through his many academic publications, Professor Adriani achieved great fame in the Netherlands and became one of the most esteemed scholars in taxation at the time. Since he had not graduated as a lawyer he could not acquire a doctorate. In 1932, however, he was awarded the title “Doctor Honoris Causa” by the University of Amsterdam in recognition for the work he had done in the field of law. In 1938, he was appointed the first full Professor in Tax Law at the University and he would teach in this capacity reaching the age of 70 in 1949.
He was also the first tax law professor in the Netherlands and may be considered the founder of Dutch tax science in the Netherlands. In 1950, he published his magnum opus, a work of three volumes on the fundamentals and development of Dutch tax law.
As the IBFD’s first director (from 1938 until 1954), Professor Adriani was not only a visionary, but he was also the shining beacon that would light the way for the new-founded organization on the road to worldwide recognition in the field of international taxation.
About Professor Pieter Jakob Albert Adriani (1879-1974)
In 1938, the International Fiscal Association (IFA) was founded as an association under Dutch law. IFA’s Statutes provided for the founding of a “documentation bureau”, which was created in the form of a foundation, the International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation (IBFD).Professor Pieter Jakob Albert Adriani became the IBFD’s first director. Surprisingly enough, he never took his law degree. In order to be admitted to a law faculty of a Dutch university, one had to graduate from a “Gymnasium”, i.e. a secondary school where Latin and Greek were taught, or one had to pass a special examination to show that one had sufficient knowledge of Latin, because it was necessary that one had to be able to study Roman law in Latin, since Roman law lay at the root of the Dutch law system, as was the case with many other Continental law systems.
Professor Adriani, however, graduated from another type of secondary school, the so-called HBS, and in 1902 he passed the examination for notary public and again in 1903 the examination to be admitted in the position of “supernumerary” (“surnumérair”) to the Service of Registration and Public Property (Registratie en Domeinen), a division of the Dutch Tax Administration.
Through his many academic publications, Professor Adriani achieved great fame in the Netherlands and became one of the most esteemed scholars in taxation at the time. Since he had not graduated as a lawyer he could not acquire a doctorate. In 1932, however, he was awarded the title “Doctor Honoris Causa” by the University of Amsterdam in recognition for the work he had done in the field of law. In 1938, he was appointed the first full Professor in Tax Law at the University and he would teach in this capacity reaching the age of 70 in 1949.
He was also the first tax law professor in the Netherlands and may be considered the founder of Dutch tax science in the Netherlands. In 1950, he published his magnum opus, a work of three volumes on the fundamentals and development of Dutch tax law.
As the IBFD’s first director (from 1938 until 1954), Professor Adriani was not only a visionary, but he was also the shining beacon that would light the way for the new-founded organization on the road to worldwide recognition in the field of international taxation.
Dissertations and Theses Collection
The IBFD Library and Information Centre is proud to promote and include outstanding dissertations and theses as part of its overall collection. In principle, any dissertation or thesis published in the field of international taxation can be included in our library portal. All other details (bibliographic information, access modes etc.) will be determined on a case-by-case basis.