News

The Writers’ Union of Iceland and the National and University Library of Iceland award a prize for a book of poetry published in 2017. The prize, called the May Star (Maístjarnan), was presented for the second time at a ceremony in Þjóðarbókhlaða, the library building at Arngrímsgata 3, today, 29 May. The May Star for…

  An exhibition on Guðrún Lárusdóttir opened in Þjóðarbókhlaða, the library building at Arngrímsgata 3, on Wednesday 9 May, with a large audience present. At the opening, addresses were given by National Librarian Ingibjörg Steinunn Sverrisdóttir, Dr María Ágústsdóttir on behalf of Guðrún’s descendants, and Málfríður Finnbogadóttir, who created the exhibition. The exhibition is part…

On Monday 7 May Ole Lokensgard visited the National and University Library of Iceland  and gave the Library a handmade book of his poems and pictures. The book was made in 100 copies with 17 watercolours. Ole’s father, Dr Paul Holbrook, was a visiting lecturer in American literature at the University of Iceland in 1957–58. …

On Thursday 3 May Einar Sigurðsson, former National Librarian, will give the talk “Merging the libraries and a new building” in the lecture series Tímanna safn (Collection of the Ages), held to mark the 200th anniversary of the National and University Library of Iceland. The abstract of the talk says: “The talk reviews the background…

On the last day of winter, 18 April, a large exhibition on the 200-year history of the National and University Library of Iceland opened, under the name Tímanna safn (Collection of the Ages). The exhibition traces the main stages in the Library’s history, from the original idea and the Library’s growth in its various homes, such…

On Thursday 5 April Pétur H. Ármannsson, architect and head of department at the Cultural Heritage Agency of Iceland, will give the talk “‘The most splendid and best-built stone house in this country’ – the Culture House from the viewpoint of Icelandic architectural history” in the lecture series Tímanna safn (Collection of the Ages), held…

  Stream of the Long Night Against Procrastination events in the lecture hall Long Night Against Procrastination 2018 ÞjóðarbókhlaðaThursday 22 March, 17:00–22:00 An evening of working on your assignments in good company – against procrastination and writer’s block A programme in Þjóðarbókhlaða for all University of Iceland students who have an assignment in progress, small…

On March 14th, an exhibition was opened at the National Library in collaboration with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra on the program of the Centenary of Icelandic independence and sovereignty. On March 23rd the Iceland Symphony Orchestra wiill premiere the oratory  Edda II by Jón Leifs. Árni Heimir Ingólfsson compiled the exhibition text and gave a…

At the Humanities Conference (Hugvísindaþing) on Saturday, staff of the Manuscript Collection and the Women’s History Archives will talk about the sources used in the project “R1918.” The project, run in cooperation with the Reykjavík Arts Festival and RÚV, consists mainly of readings from sources such as diaries and letters from 1918, kept at the…

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) – great poet and scientist   Félag um átjándu aldar fræði (the Icelandic Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies) is holding a symposium, originally planned for 10 February but postponed because of a bad weather forecast for that day, under the title   Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) – great poet and…

The National and University Library of Iceland is taking part in Museum Night: tonight, 2 February, 20:00–21:00, Gunnar Marel Hinriksson, specialist in the Manuscript Collection, will talk about Bishop Guðbrandur’s maps of Iceland and about magic manuscripts in the Culture House. Gunnar will be joined by other specialists from the museums and archives that have…

The private archive of the Nobel laureate Halldór Laxness is kept in the Manuscript Collection of the National and University Library of Iceland. Among other things, it holds many versions of his works, from the original manuscript to the final edition. In an interview with a University of Iceland student, Bragi Þorgrímur Ólafsson, head of…