On Friday, May 2, 2014, the exhibition Nordic Bookbinding 2013 was opened at the National Library. At the opening of the exhibition, addresses were given by Svanur Jóhannesson and Ingibjörg Steinunn Sverrisdóttir, National Librarian. The JAM group behind the exhibition was founded in 1989 after a course in artistic bookbinding held by the Bookbinders' Association at the Reykjavík Industrial School. The Danish bookbinders Arne Møller Pedersen and Jakob Lund were the instructors. The group later named itself after their initials. This was a major boost for the bookbinding profession and led to six bookbinders participating in the Nordic Bookbinding Competition the following year. After that, there was a break in Nordic exhibitions for 14 years, and it is said that there was a generational change in the profession. In 1998, it was decided to try to revive this Nordic collaboration, and in 2001, rules were finalized for a new arrangement for Nordic bookbinding exhibitions. A special jury of selected people judges the bookbinding and selects 25% of the books for a special honor category. The first competition under these new rules took place in 2004 and there were 81 participants, of which 14 were from Iceland. The competition is held every 5 years. This time there are 80 participants, of which 13 are Icelanders, and two of them receive honorary recognition, Hrefna Ársælsdóttir and Ragnar Gylfi Einarsson.

Exhibition catalogue PDF.