The activities that have been carried out by the Icelandic Music Museum in Kópavogur and its collection will be transferred to the National Museum of Iceland and the National Library of Iceland – University Library on the basis of an agreement between the City of Kópavogur, the museums and the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports.

In addition to the Music Museum's collection and projects being transferred to the above-mentioned museums, the agreement also stipulates that the development of Ísmús, a database on Icelandic musical and cultural heritage, will be continued in collaboration with the National Library of Iceland - University Library and the Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies.

The museums have already established cooperation with each other, but with the transfer of the Music Museum's operations to the National Library of Iceland - University Library, it is hoped that the merger will further strengthen professional work in this field and thus ensure that the preservation of sources related to Icelandic musical heritage will be as optimal as possible.

In accordance with the provisions of the Museums Act and the charter of the Icelandic Music Museum, the National Museum of Iceland will take over the Music Museum's collection that is not directly related to the museum's projects that are being transferred to the National Library of Iceland - University Library.

To ensure continuity of operations during these changes, employees of the Icelandic Music Museum will work on the transfer of projects between museums that the agreement entails.

The Icelandic Music Museum was founded by the City of Kópavogur in 2006 and since 2009 its activities have benefited from grants from the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports on the basis of relevant agreements. Following discussions requested by the City of Kópavogur with the National Library of Iceland – University Library as well as the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports and the National Museum, the conclusion was that there was a great deal of overlap in the activities of the Icelandic Music Museum with the responsibilities of the National Library in preserving the musical heritage, and therefore the merger could further strengthen professional work in this field and the preservation of sources related to Icelandic musical heritage would be more comprehensive than otherwise.

In the picture are from left: Ingibjörg S. Sverrisdóttir, National Librarian, Ármann Kr. Ólafsson, Mayor of Kópavogur, Kristján Þór Júlíusson, Minister of Education and Culture, and Anna Guðný Ásgeirsdóttir, Director General of the National Museum of Iceland.

(Press release from the Municipality of Kópavogur, the National and University Library of Iceland, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports, and the National Museum of Iceland).