History

National and University Library of Iceland

The first index to the Icelandic national library, the National Library of Iceland, was created in 1818 at the suggestion of the Danish antiquarian Carl Christian Rafn. Initially, the library was called the "Church Library". It was placed in the attic of Reykjavík Cathedral. Jón Árnason, a folklore collector, was appointed librarian of the library in 1848.

The library collection in those years was 5-6 thousand printed publications. In 1846, the museum acquired the manuscript collection of Bishop Steingrímur Jónsson, and in 1877, the Alþing purchased for the museum the book and manuscript collection of President Jón Sigurðsson.

In 1881, the library was moved to the newly built Alþingishús and was then named the National Library of Iceland. At that time, the number of printed books and manuscripts in the library was about 19 thousand. In 1886, Icelandic printers were required to deliver two copies of all printed matter to the library. At the turn of the century, the manuscript collection of the Icelandic Literary Society was purchased for the library. At that time, a permanent librarian was also appointed to work full-time at the library.

The National Library moved to a new building, the Museum Building on Hverfisgata, in 1909. The Museum Building was then one of the largest and most impressive buildings in the country. The National Library was housed there for 85 years, co-located with the National Archives of Iceland and, for part of the time, also with the National Museum of Iceland and the Natural History Museum of Iceland.

University Library

The University Library was formally established in 1940, but its history stretches back almost a century, to the establishment of the Presbyterian School in 1847. Both it and the School of Medicine (established in 1876) and the School of Law (established in 1908) established libraries that became the property of their respective university departments after the University of Iceland was founded in 1911. The Faculty of Philosophy, which was established at the same time as the university, also soon acquired some book collection. When the Main Building was opened in the spring of 1940, the libraries of the departments were merged into one University Library, which was given part of the back wing of the building and was opened on 1 November of that year.

The library's book collection then numbered about 30,000 volumes. In 1941, it was enacted that the library would receive one copy of all material printed in the country. Until 1964, the university librarian was the only permanent employee of the library, but the number of employees gradually increased and when the library merged with the National Library of Iceland in 1994, there were over twenty. At that time, the number of volumes in the library was about 345,000.

Collaboration and integration

Discussions about the merger of the National Library of Iceland and the University Library began in the 1950s. In 1956, a committee was appointed to prepare for the merger, and in 1978, construction began on the National Library, which was to house a new combined collection. The designers of the new building were Manfreð Vilhjálmsson and Þorvaldur S. Þorvaldsson.

In early 1990, an electronic library system was purchased for both libraries. The system was also used by other libraries in the country. It was officially put into use in December 1991 under the name Gegnir (now Leitir.is).

A new combined library, the National Library of Iceland – University Library, was opened at a ceremony in the National Library on Thursday, December 1, 1994. This created a large and powerful library with good working facilities for employees and students of the University of Iceland, as well as the general public.

The National Library of Iceland – University Library Act of 1994 stipulates the library's role. It is intended to be both a national library and a library of the University of Iceland, and as a research library it is responsible for providing information services in the fields of science and scholarship, administration and business.

Since its opening, the museum has enjoyed great popularity and has been well-attended. The share of electronic media has grown year by year, and the museum now maintains many websites where the collection is shared in one way or another. Among them, timarit.is is worth mentioning, which has been one of the most popular websites in the country for years.