The National and University Library of Iceland
As early as the 1950s it was decided to amalgamate the National Library of Iceland and the library of the University of Iceland - the prerequisite for this being the building of a new library near the university campus. After many years in construction, this building was finally completed in 1994, a...
| Published in: | Alexandria: The Journal of National and International Library and Information Issues |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
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SAGE Publications
1998
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/095574909801000205 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/095574909801000205 |
| Summary: | As early as the 1950s it was decided to amalgamate the National Library of Iceland and the library of the University of Iceland - the prerequisite for this being the building of a new library near the university campus. After many years in construction, this building was finally completed in 1994, and a new library with a dual function, the National and University Library (NUL), was opened on 1 December of that year, in the process becoming by far the largest and technically best equipped library in Iceland. The university appoints two of the five members of the Library Board and the National Librarian has a non-voting seat on the University Senate. Although there are difficulties in running a library with a dual function, it is the main concern in the coming years to remove as many disadvantages as possible and to allow both the general public and the university to enjoy the benefits of a large and well-equipped library. The library is intended to play a leading role among Icelandic libraries; and the Ministry of Education and Culture has established a working group to investigate and propose a new library system, suitable for all libraries in the country, which would create a common database, present a single use interface, and include digital formats. Projects have been initiated by the NUL as stages in a programme to create an Icelandic National Electronic Library. The first project, Maps of Iceland on the Internet, has been completed, and a much larger one, SagaNet, begun; this entails the digitization of images of the manuscripts of the Sagas of the Icelanders, along with published texts. A new legal deposit law is being drafted, to take account of electronic publication. |
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