NINO was independently founded in 1939 and housed at Noordeindsplein 4a in Leiden on the initiative of
Arie Kampman, closely linked to the Dutch oriental society "
Ex Oriente Lux". Its first co-directors were
Frans de Liagre Böhl and
Adriaan de Buck, professors of
Assyriology and
Egyptology, respectively, at
Leiden University. The
Online Egyptological Bibliography was edited at NINO 1947–2009. In 1955 Kampman was appointed director. The institute maintained close ties to
Leiden University, moving into the Faculty of Humanities' newly built Witte Singel complex in 1982. An agreement for close cooperation, effective 2018, with Leiden University and the
National Museum of Antiquities (Leiden) was signed, integrating NINO into the University's Faculty of Humanities. As part of its transformation, the institute started a funding programme (a.o. mobility grants, conference subsidies). In 2024 the offices and library of NINO moved into the newly renovated Herta Mohr building of Leiden University's Faculty of Humanities. == Library ==