Newspapers and journals
Printed newspapers and journals are on the 3rd floor of Þjóðarbókhlaða, the library building at Arngrímsgata 3.
The National and University Library of Iceland gives access to a great many journals and newspapers, in print and online. The Library subscribes to foreign journals in a range of subject areas, and as the national library it receives every printed Icelandic journal and newspaper through legal deposit (publishers must deliver copies to the Library by law). That includes newsletters, yearbooks, school magazines and newspapers.
Course reserves
Teachers can have material from the Library’s collections set aside, have material bought or obtained from elsewhere, and/or place material from their own collection in the course reserves for a particular course. Photocopied material for a course can also be kept in the course reserves. While the course runs, the items are either for use in the Library or lent out for one to fourteen days.
As with all loans, you need to show a library card to borrow from the course reserves. Students and teachers at the University of Iceland get a library card free of charge.
The course reserves guide has more about the course reserves and the lists of reserved books for each course.
E-mail namsbokasafn (at) landsbokasafn.is for more information or to request the service.
Final theses of University of Iceland students
Until the end of 2015 the Library received a printed copy of every final thesis by a University of Iceland student for preservation. The theses are kept in a closed area on the 3rd floor; some have to be fetched from storage. They are not lent out and may only be used in the building. Photocopying from a thesis is not allowed without the author’s permission.
Theses written before 1990 have been moved to the National Archives of Iceland (Þjóðskjalasafn Íslands), where they are preserved as part of the University of Iceland’s archive. In future these theses can be consulted in the National Archives’ reading room.
Since 2016 students submit only an electronic copy of their thesis, to the repository Skemman, where the final theses of University of Iceland students have been stored as far as possible since 2008.
You can search for the University’s students’ theses on leitir.is, lbs.leitir.is and in the digital repository of the Icelandic universities, skemman.is
Quiet work
The 3rd floor has many study carrels, 8 carrels with computers for University of Iceland students, a few group tables and one group study room. In Þjóðarbókhlaða the Library sets out to protect visitors’ peace to work and gives each area its own noise level. The 3rd floor is a “silent floor”: it is for undisturbed work, and complete silence is expected.
Computers and internet
In the study areas:
For University of Iceland students and staff with a username and password for the University Network. The University’s Division of Information Technology looks after these computers.
In front of the service desk:
Access to the Library’s electronic journals, Tímarit.is and the article archive of the newspaper Morgunblaðið.
Þjóðarbókhlaða has a wireless network (LBS-HotSpot) that anyone can join with their own laptop or mobile device.
Printing and photocopying
You can print from the database computers on the 3rd floor and collect the printout from staff at the desk. Printouts are handed out at the loans desk (see fees). University of Iceland students get their username and password from the Student Registration office (Nemendaskrá) in the University’s Main Building. Buying a printing quota.
There is a photocopier on the 2nd floor of the building. It is a self-service machine, and cards for it are sold on the 2nd floor (see fees).