- Address: Arngrímsgata 3, 107 Reykjavík, Iceland;
- Official page: landsbokasafn.is;
- Phone: +354 525 5600;
- Working hours: пн.-чт. - from 8:15 to 22:00, Fri. - from 8:15 to 19:00, Sat, Sun. - from 10:00 to 17:00.
Iceland has great respect for its history and cultural heritage, and therefore the National Library of Iceland, which is located in the capital city of the city of Reykjavik, is a true treasure trove of knowledge, experience and achievements of the entire nation of the island nation.
Perhaps, this is one of the main cultural attractions of the country. In addition, the most northern National Library in the world. It also works as the University Library.
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History of creation
It was founded in 1818. Seven years later, its funds were transferred to the Cathedral, the reconstruction of which was recently completed. After a while - in 1881 - the library was again transferred. Now she is assigned part of the building of the Parliament of Iceland. And only in 1908 for her was given a separate room - the House of Culture.
Another significant date was December 1, 1994 - then it was decided to unite the University and National libraries. The funds moved to a new building, which was under construction for 16 years!
Library funds
Today, the collections in the library are divided into thematic collections, each of which has at least one million copies of books.
So, the reference collection includes: biographies and autobiographies, almanacs, encyclopaedic publications, reference publications, etc.
The national collection is constantly replenished - most often due to "donations" of owners of private collections of books.
Particularly noteworthy are the manuscripts - today in the collections of the library there are already more than fifteen thousand. And the oldest were written around 1100!
In the academic collection collected editions in the overwhelming majority written by the staff of the local University.
And the library's latest collection of funds is audiovisual. As you might guess, it includes: a variety of recordings, both in video and in audio format, movies, TV shows, etc.
It is interesting that some of the book collections today are available not only in print, but also in electronic form.
Note that students have free and completely free access to the library collections. Other interested persons are obliged to buy an additional card, the value of which, however, is symbolic.
How to get there?
The National Library of Iceland is located in the heart of Reykjavik at Arngrímsgata, 3. Nearby there are public transport routes - you need to get off at the stop of Þjóðarbókhlaðan, which is on Birkimelur Street.