In 2018 the National and University Library of Iceland celebrates 200 years since it was founded. To mark the occasion, the Library is holding a series of lunchtime lectures on its history and role.
The President of Iceland, Guðni Th. Jóhannesson, opened the lecture series with the talk “Documents make a nation: the National Library and the shaping of memory over two centuries” in the lecture hall of Þjóðarbókhlaða, the library building at Arngrímsgata 3, on 11 January.
The abstract of the talk says:
“There is no nation without history. There is no history without sources. They are fixed in people’s memory, written on vellum or paper. This talk will discuss the Icelanders: how they created a history for themselves and became a nation among nations, and how that work continues today amid the currents of globalisation and foreign influence. At the same time we will look around the halls of the National Library, mark its anniversary and stress the importance of the written word for a society on the path of progress.”
Watch a video of the lecture on the Library’s YouTube channel (in Icelandic).
