The National and University Library of Iceland is 200 years old this year: its official birthday is taken to be 28 August. This makes the Library one of the oldest institutions in the country. The anniversary is being celebrated all year, and the Library is holding a wide range of events, as well as taking part in events for the centenary of Iceland’s sovereignty.
On the anniversary the public was specially invited to come and see the Library and its building, and Örn Hrafnkelsson and Gunnar Marel Hinriksson gave guided tours of the exhibition Tímanna safn (Collection of the Ages), on the history of the Library. Films were also shown in the lecture hall: one on the National Library at Hverfisgata, made by Icelandic Television in 1968, and one on the University Library before the move to Þjóðarbókhlaða, the library building at Arngrímsgata 3, in 1994.
To mark the 200th anniversary, RÚV television news interviewed National Librarian Ingibjörg Steinunn Sverrisdóttir (see the interview, in Icelandic) and Bragi Þorgrímur Ólafsson, head of the Manuscript Collection (see the interview, in Icelandic), and Fréttablaðið published an interview with Örn Hrafnkelsson, Director of Preservation (see the interview, in Icelandic).