Search – find – evaluate
An online course in information literacy. Learn to search for, find and evaluate sources.
From vellum manuscript to final thesis
The National and University Library of Iceland keeps and preserves everything that has been published in Iceland. As the university library, it gives access to scholarly publications and databases for university study and research.
What would you like to find?
Starting at the University of Iceland?
A library card is included in the tuition fees. You get it at the service desk on the 2nd floor by showing ID.
Later in your studies: help with information searching, instruction for groups and printing and scanning.
Not every part of the building is silent. It is divided into areas for quiet work, low-voiced conversation and group work.
Online databases
E-journals, e-books and databases subscribed to by the University of Iceland and/or the Library.
Guides
Subject guides, guides to working with sources and other practical instructions.
Request instruction or an introduction
The Library offers instruction that aims to strengthen information literacy and academic skills.
Books
Printed books from the Library's collections, both older and recent editions.
Journals and newspapers
Icelandic and foreign journals, newspapers and other serials.
Maps
Maps, aerial photographs and other geographical material from the collections.
Icelandic Web Archive
Preserving Icelandic websites and digital material from the internet
From the nation's holdings
Highlight of the month
Every month we choose one item from the collections and tell its story: a manuscript, photograph, map, poster or letter that has lain untouched for decades. Some of them are well known; others have never been shown in public.
Anna Sigurðardóttir’s honorary doctorate from the University of Iceland
The Icelandic Women’s History Archives was founded on New Year’s Day 1975 at the home of Anna Sigurðardóttir (December 5, 1908 – January 1996) at Hjarðarhagi 26. She was the first director of the Archives for about 20 years and…
View the highlight: Anna Sigurðardóttir’s honorary doctorate from the University of IcelandAll highlights
The Library's educational websites
The Women's History Archives share knowledge of women's history and research and help with finding sources.
The Theatre Museum preserves and shares knowledge of the history of the performing arts in Iceland.
An archive and a research and educational institution in the field of oral history.
A museum of Icelandic music, musical culture and musical heritage.
News
READ JAPAN PROJECT 2025 donates books to the Library
On 9 September, a donation of books to the National and University Library of Iceland was presented on behalf of READ JAPAN…
Natasha S. receives the May Star Poetry Award for Mara kemur í heimsókn
The poet Natasha S. has received the May Star Poetry Award, the poetry prize of the Writers’ Union of Iceland and the…
180 years since the founding of the Manuscript Collection
Today it is 180 years since a manuscript collection was established within the National Library, today the National and University Library of…
Exhibitions
Jón Jónsson Borgfirðingur
A small exhibition on the book collector, scholar and police officer Jón Jónsson Borgfirðingur (1826–1912) has opened on the 1st floor of…
Women in the Performing Arts
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the International Women’s Year a small exhibition called “Women in the Performing Arts” has opened on…
Translations of Icelandic literature by four women
A micro-exhibition of translations of Icelandic literature by four women has been opened at the Library. Tatjana Latinović has translated into Serbian…