Southeast Asia Research Guide: Libraries & Organizations

The Southeast Asia Microform Project (SEAM) provides subscribing institutions with better coverage of research materials related to the study of Southeast Asia. SEAM will film or acquire films of such research materials and make them readily available to subscribers to the project.

The KITLV / Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies has specialized in collecting information and advancing research on the present and former Dutch colonies and their surroundings since 1851. Today it is an authoritative research institute focusing on Southeast Asia, in particular Indonesia, and the Caribbean, especially Suriname, the Dutch Antilles and Aruba. Our collections, publications and research encompass the humanities and the social sciences, ranging from colonial history to present-day social issues. KITLV houses sizeable and diverse collections, a leading publishing unit, and changing research projects.

The Asian Library holds the largest collection on Indonesia worldwide, and some of the foremost collections on South and Southeast Asia, China, Japan and Korea.

With more than 70 faculty members, the Center represents the largest concentration of Southeast Asia specialists in the United States. The Center’s Southeast Asia Working Papers series, established in 1972, now has more than forty titles, while the Center’s Southeast Asia Papers series, established in 2000, has two edited volumes. The Center’s most recent publication is Chronicles of Chiang Khaeng: a Tai Lu Principlaity of the Upper Mekong, by Volker Grabowsky and Renoo Wichasin.

The East-West Center promotes better relations and understanding among the people and nations of the United States, Asia, and the Pacific through cooperative study, research, and dialogue. Established by the U.S. Congress in 1960, the Center serves as a resource for information and analysis on critical issues of common concern, bringing people together to exchange views, build expertise, and develop policy options.

The Asia Research Institute (ARI) was established as a university-level institute in July 2001 as one of the strategic initiatives of the National University of Singapore (NUS). Its mission is to provide a world-class focus and resource for research on the Asian region, located at one of its communication hubs.

ARI engages the humanities and social sciences broadly defined, and especially interdisciplinary frontiers between and beyond disciplines.

the largest society of its kind, with approximately 7,000 members worldwide—is a scholarly, non-political, non-profit professional association open to all persons interested in Asia. Through its publications, online resources, regional conferences, and annual meeting, the AAS provides its members with a unique and invaluable professional network.

CSEAS, formally known as Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University, a pioneer in area studies, was founded in 1963. Since then, the center has come to embrace not only the humanities and social sciences, but also other disciplines such as agronomy, ecology, medicine and the natural sciences. CSEAS combines both field sciences, the humanities and sciences to offer an interdisciplinary joint research center, a unique feature which makes it stand out from other area studies institutions and facilities around the world.

Our teaching and research focuses on five of the major languages of the region - Burmese, Indonesian/Malay, Thai, Vietnamese and Khmer - and in their literatures, cinemas and associated cultures.

Singapore-based regional research centre for scholars and other specialists concerned with modern Southeast Asia and its wider geo-strategic and economic environment.

The International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS) is a postdoctoral research centre based in Leiden and Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Its objective is to encourage the interdisciplinary and comparative study of Asia and promote national and international cooperation. The institute focuses on the human and social sciences and on their interaction with other sciences.

APEC is the primary regional vehicle for promoting open trade and practical economic co-operation. Its goal is to advance Asia-Pacific economic dynamism and sense of community.

ADB is a multilateral development finance institution, headquartered in Manila, dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific.

ASEAN was established on 8 August 1967 in Bangkok by the five original Member Countries, namely, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. Brunei Darussalam joined on 8 January 1984, Vietnam on 28 July 1995, Laos and Myanmar on 23 July 1997, and Cambodia on 30 April 1999. The objectives of ASEAN is to accelerate the economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region and to promote regional peace and stability.