Research activities of the royal library of belgium: projects, partnerships, digital humanities

The purpose of the article is to analyze the research activities of the Royal Library of Belgium as a federal scientific institution. The research methodology is based on the integrated application of the socio-cultural approach in combination with the systemic, socio-communicative and informational approach. The complex of research methods consists of methods of system analysis, content analysis of scientific publications and resources of websites of institutions and projects, generalization. Scientific novelty. In Ukrainian library science, the experience of research activities of the Royal Library of Belgium is analyzed for the first time. In the scientific and practica lplane, it is unique in the context of the development and use of digital humanities toolsin the field of written heritage and early printed books, which is confirmed by thevimplementation of a number of collaborative historical, cultural, socio-communication and technological projects. Conclusions. The Royal Library of Belgium, as a federal scientific institution, in cooperation with other scientific institutions and cultural heritage institutions, successfully carries out a number of research projects aimed at revealing the content of its valuable and rare collections, digitizing collections, creating and using digital humanities tools. Some of the projects are of national and European importance. The scientific and practical experience of Royal Library of Belgium in terms of implementing research projects for the development and use of digital humanities toolsin the field of written heritage and early printed books is unique. An important component of this success is the effective partnership of the library with other institutions within the framework of the implementation of the federal scientific policy. Another important component of Royal Library of Belgium success is its focus on participating in international scientific and information projects. Some Royal Library of Belgium projects, such as the Observatory of Written Heritage, are multi-level and reach the level of global international interaction. The prospect of researching the international project Biblissima by Ukrainian researchers in the field of digital humanities is outlined.