Icelandic National Collection
The role of the Iceland National Collection is:
To collect everything that has been printed in Iceland since its beginning. Also foreign printed material concerning Iceland and Icelanders. The collection is subject to Legal deposit, which means that it receives copies of all Icelandic material.
To preserve the nation's cultural heritage that is kept in the library and provide it with the best possible care.
To make cultural heritage accessible to those who work on research in fields related to Iceland and Icelanders or who want to enjoy Icelandic books as relics and cultural phenomena.
Reception and information service
Those who need publications from the Icelandic National Collection should contact the librarian at the counter in the foyer. Publications are not borrowed from the Icelandic National Collection, but only accessible in the reading room, so it is always possible to ensure that they are accessible.
On weekdays, the basement storage is not accessed after 4:00 p.m. Emphasis is placed on assisting visitors with any kind of source research on Icelandic issues and facilitating their access to printed publications.
Inquiries are also answered by phone and email. Guests are kindly requested to sign the guest book, store coats on the coat rack and bags in the lockers in the foyer.
Reading room
Visitors to the Icelandic National Collection are offered work facilities in a reading room that is shared with the manuscript collection. The reading room has about 50 work tables, 4 of which have computers that provide access to the library's information system. It is also possible to work on your own computer at all tables. The selection of reference books in the room is mainly focused on Icelandic studies; publications on literature, history and local history, ethnography, genealogy, dictionaries, general reference books and various Icelandic and foreign journals. Also Supreme Court judgments, Alþingis- and Stjórnartíðindi. Work tables must be empty when the room is vacated. Publications can be stored in locked cabinets in the foyer of the Icelandic National Collection for the next few days if requested.