Icelandic National Collection

The role of the National Collection is:

To collect everything that has been printed in Iceland from the beginning. Also, to collect foreign printed material that deals with Iceland and Icelandic people. The Library is a deposit library which means that it receives a copy of everything that is printed in the country.

It shall preserve the Icelandic cultural heritage which has been arranged in the Library and provide the best possible care of the material.

It shall make the cultural heritage accessible to those that work on research in fields related to Iceland and Icelanders or wish to enjoy Icelandic books as memorabilia and cultural phenomenon.

General services and reference services

Those that need access to items from the Icelandic National Collection must turn to a librarian at the service desk in the entrance hall. Works from the Icelandic National Collection are not for circulation, so that it is guaranteed that they are always accessible. To borrow a book, the user must fill out a request/or copy an entry from Gegnir/Leitir. Material in storages is not collected after four o‘clock on weedays. Emphasis is laid on helping the users in any type of information searching on Icelandic topics and facilitate their access to printed works. Questions are also received by telephone and email. Guests are asked to sign a guestbook, store they overcoats in the wardrobe and bags in closets in the entrance hall.

Reading Room

Users of the Iceland National Collection can borrow a working place in the Reading Room which is common with the Manuscript Department. The Reading Room holds 50 working table including four with computers. One can also work on a computer at each of the working tables. The reference collection of the Reading Room is in particular aimed at Icelandic studies; books on literature, history and local history, folklore, genealogy, dictionaries, general reference works and several Icelandic and foreign journals. Also, there are the Supreme Court Rulings (Hæstaréttardómar), Parliamentary records (Alþingistíðindi) and Official Government Proceedings (Stjórnartíðindi).

The working tables should be empty when users leave the Room. It is possible to have material stored in lockers in the entrance hall of the Icelandic National Collection for a few days upon request.