History

A short history of the National and University Library of Iceland

The National Library of Iceland

The first beginnings of an Icelandic national library, Landsbókasafn Íslands, go back to 1818, at the proposal of the Danish antiquarian Carl Christian Rafn. At first the library was called “Stiftsbókasafnið”. It was housed in the loft of the Cathedral in Reykjavík. Jón Árnason, the collector of folk tales, was appointed its librarian in 1848.

In those years the collection numbered 5–6 thousand printed works. In 1846 the library acquired the manuscript collection of Bishop Steingrímur Jónsson, and in 1877 Alþingi, the Icelandic parliament, bought for it the books and manuscripts of Jón Sigurðsson, the independence leader.

In 1881 the library moved into the newly built parliament house and was given the name Landsbókasafn Íslands, the National Library of Iceland. It then held about 19 thousand printed books and manuscripts. In 1886 Icelandic printers were required to deliver two copies of all printed matter to the library. Around 1900 the manuscript collection of the Icelandic Literary Society was bought for the library, and a permanent full-time librarian was appointed.

In 1909 the National Library moved into a new building, the Culture House (Safnahúsið) at Hverfisgata. At the time it was one of the largest and finest buildings in the country. The National Library was housed there for 85 years, sharing the building with the National Archives of Iceland and, for part of the time, also with the National Museum of Iceland and the Icelandic Museum of Natural History.

The University Library

The University Library was formally founded in 1940, but its history goes back almost a century further, to the founding of the Theological Seminary in 1847. It, the Medical School (founded 1876) and the Law School (founded 1908) all built up libraries, which became the property of the corresponding faculties after the University of Iceland was founded in 1911. The Faculty of Philosophy, founded with the University, also soon acquired a collection of books. When the University’s Main Building came into use in the spring of 1940, the faculty libraries were merged into one University Library, which was given part of the building’s rear wing and opened on 1 November that year.

Its collection was then about 30 thousand volumes. In 1941 it was laid down in law that the library should receive one copy of everything printed in the country. Until 1964 the University Librarian was the library’s only permanent member of staff, but the staff grew gradually, and when the library merged with the National Library of Iceland in 1994 there were just over twenty. The library then held about 345 thousand volumes.

Cooperation and merger

Discussion of merging the National Library of Iceland and the University Library began in the 1940s. In 1956 a committee was appointed to prepare a merger, and in 1978 construction began on Þjóðarbókhlaða, the building that was to house the new merged library. The building was designed by Manfreð Vilhjálmsson and Þorvaldur S. Þorvaldsson.

Early in 1990 a computerised library system was bought for both libraries. Other libraries in the country used it too. It was formally brought into use in December 1991 under the name Gegnir (now Leitir.is).

The new merged library, Landsbókasafn Íslands – Háskólabókasafn, the National and University Library of Iceland, opened with a ceremony in Þjóðarbókhlaða on Thursday 1 December 1994. This created a large and strong library with good study facilities for the staff and students of the University of Iceland and for the general public.

The Act on the National and University Library of Iceland of 1994 set out the Library’s role: to be at once the national library and the library of the University of Iceland, and as a research library to provide information services in the fields of science and scholarship, public administration and business.

Since it opened, the Library has been popular and well used. Electronic services have grown year by year, and the Library now runs many websites that give access to its collections in one way or another. The best known is timarit.is, for years one of the most visited websites in Iceland.

National Librarians and University Librarians

National Librarians 1848–1994

1848–1887 Jón Árnason
1887–1906 Hallgrímur Melsted
1908–1924 Jón Jacobson
1924–1943 Guðmundur Finnbogason
1943–1944 Þorkell Jóhannesson
1944–1964 Finnur Sigmundsson
1964–1994 Finnbogi Guðmundsson
1994 Nanna Bjarnadóttir (September to November)

University Librarians 1940–1994

1940–1945 Einar Ólafur Sveinsson
1945–1974 Björn Sigfússon
1974–1994 Einar Sigurðsson

National Librarians since 1994

1994–2002 Einar Sigurðsson
2002–2007 Sigrún Klara Hannesdóttir
2007–2025 Ingibjörg Steinunn Sverrisdóttir
2025– Örn Hrafnkelsson