Archive Jan de Groot

Brief overview

Name of the archive: Archive Jan de Groot, about the history of publisher Wolters-Noordhoff

Provenance: donation

Dated: 1836-2000         

Size: 7 archive boxes

Language of the materials: Dutch, English, German

Summary:

Archive of Jan de Groot (1930-2008), sociologist who studied at the University of Groningen and went on to work for the educational publisher Wolters-Noordhoff. He wrote several booklets about reading and the publishing industry. This archive contains materials about the history of educational publisher Wolters-Noordhoff.

Archive number: UBG082

Institute: University of Groningen

Retainer: University Library Groningen

Provenance and acquisition

Biography

Jan de Groot was born 20 January 1930. Growing up, de Groot had a lot of socialist influences. His family were social democrats and he was raised in the socialist neighbourhood ‘De Hoogte’ in the north of Groningen.

In the 1950s, he started working for the publishing company Wolters-Noordhoff. At the time, he was their youngest employee. His dedication, precision, practicality and all-round knowledge meant he would soon work his way up the ranks.

In 1972, de Groot became the director of Wolters-Noordhoff. It was the crown on his years of hard work. As a leading voice in the company, he could make his ideas about didactic approaches and different ways of studying heard and he found that they were implemented much more successfully. De Groot’s was a strong believer in the idea that learning materials not only influenced the didactic skills of the student but also their socio-cultural skills.

He held several different roles both within the company and in the wider world of educational publishing.   For instance, he was an advisor to the board of the publisher Jacob Dijkstra and a member and director of the educational publishing branch of the Dutch society for printers and publishers.

Acquisition

The archive was donated.

Future additions

No future additions to the archive are expected.

Contents and collation

This archive contains correspondence, catalogues for the different series of books sold by Wolters-Noordhoff, other administrative documents, index cards and a series of Bosatlassen, an atlas published by Wolters-Noordhoff. De Groot’s original system of organization has been kept.

Instructions for users of the archive

Accessibility

The archive is accessible for research purposes. To look at the archive, a University Library Access Pass is required.

Limitations to use

The materials in this archive are available for viewing only. They cannot be borrowed. When consulting these materials, the rules set out in the Reglement voor de gebruikers van de Bibliotheek der Rijksuniversiteit Groningen apply. Reproductions, insofar as they are allowed, are to be made in line with the rules set out in the Tarieven en diensten Bibliotheek der Rijksuniversiteit Groningen.

Accessing the archive

An inventory of the archive is available.  

Citations

When referencing (materials from) this archive, the following information must be provided in full at least once. After this, an abbreviated citation suffices.

• Archive: University Library Groningen, Archive De Groot

• Individual items: Groningen, UB, De Groot [UBG082]

Requests

The materials in this archive can be requested by sending a mail to the Special Collections department.