The National and University Library of Iceland is located in the building Þjóðarbókhlaða at Arngrímsgata 3 in Reykjavík. The library offers good facilities for study and research and easy access to the library collections.
Study facilities are on all floors of the building, about 430 individual seats. On 3rd and 4th floor are also tables where up to four people can sit together. It is not permitted to reserve those, but users can leave the tables up to one hour without losing the reservation, by setting a clock which is located at most tables. During examination periods, the students of the University of Iceland hold priority of signed tables on 3rd and 4th floor.
Tables in the reference area on the 2nd floor are for those using handbooks and reference works, but those works are only for use in the Library. There are also circular tables which are meant for group work. In this area conversation is permitted. The study tables in the Manuscript Department and Icelandic National Collection are intended for those that are using the material in those collections.
On 1st floor:
Reading Room of Icelandic National Collection: Access to the Internet and Office programmes.
On 2nd floor:
Opposite to the service desk: Access to the Internet and Office programmes. Password from the service desk.
On 3rd floor:
In reading areas: For students and staff of the University of Iceland with access and passwords to the University Network. The computers are under the supervision of the Information Technology Section of the University.
On 4th floor:
In reading areas: For students and staff of the University of Iceland with access and passwords to the University Network. The computers are under the supervision of the Information Technology Section of the University.
In the National Library there is a wireless connection (LBS-HotSpot) which everybody can link to with own computer or smart-phones.
On the 3rd and 4th floor there are 26 study rooms which are mainly intended for scholars, students working on advanced university degrees or others that are working on special assignments and need to use the material in the Library. Five rooms have computers with access to word-processing, the Internet, etc. One can apply for a study room on special forms available from the Library’s web. (see rules on Allocations and fees). A reading room for disabled people in no. 28 on the 4th floor.
Three group study rooms are in the Library, one on the 3rd floor and two on the 4th floor. The rooms take 3-10 people. One can reserve a group study room through the reservation web of the Library
General users, who wish to print their documents, can do so from the computers of the Library on a printer that is located at the service desk. Printed documents are delivered from the service desk of circulation (see Charges and fees). Students of the University of Iceland receive an access number and a password from the University’s Student Register located in the University Main building. Printing quotas can be purchased at the Student Register.
Copying machines are located on 2nd, 3rd and 4th floor of the Library. These are automatic copying machines and cards for their use are sold on 2nd floor (see Charges and fees). On the 1st floor, the staff of the Icelandic National Collection make copies for the users who pay for each page.
Find out about the rules related to copying from works of others, according to a contract with Fjölíss and the Ministry of Education.
Readers to read and print out material from microfilm are located on 3rd floor and in the Reading Room on the 1st floor. A part of the Icelandic newspapers and journals are preserved on film.
There are 150 lockers in the library, for use for guests to store their working material. Keys to the lockers are handed to users at the service desk on the 2nd floor upon the demonstration of a library card and payment of a safety deposit (see Charges and fee). It is not permitted to store library material in lockers, unless it has already been checked out through the library system. Works that are for use in the Library cannot be stored in lockers. Food should never be stored in the lockers.
Library users are encouraged to conduct themselves properly in the Library and follow normal rules of behaviour. Use of food or drinks is forbidden in the reading areas and the staircases of the Library as well as all use of food and drink in open containers. It is, however, permitted to carry water in transparent contents in reading areas on 2nd, 3rd and 4th floor. Please do not let your mobile telephone ring and do not talk on the phone in the reading areas of the Library. Do not carry on conversation unnecessarily or in defined quiet areas.
It is not permitted to reserve a study table. If a study table is unused for an hour or more, the staff has the right to empty the table. Register circulated material in your name and respect the due dates. Do not lock unregistered material in the study rooms or lockers. Take good care of the library material and all the objects belonging to the Library. Underlining and other scribbles in books and journals are not permitted. Do not leave your garments or weak window shelters of the Library. Use the back of a chair or the wardrobe on the 2nd floor. See also the rules on the Reading Room on the 1st floor.
The National Library Building (Þjóðarbókhlaða) is supplied with security system to prevent that books are carried out of the building without permission. Survey cameras are located in many places in the Library.
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