Lögberg-Heimskringla - 28.07.2000, Side 6

6 « Lögberg-Heimskringla • Special Issue ♦ Friday 28 July 2000
Your guide to the new home of the Icelandic Collection
Library space nearly doubled
Ken Howard
WELCOME TO THE NEW HOME of
the priceless Icelandic
Collection at the University of
Manitoba. The doors won’t actually open
until October 20, but please join me on a
preview tour of the new facilities.
The library space at the time of
writing is in a state of transition. Sigrid
Johnson, Librarian and Head, Icelandic
Collection, works out of her usual lim-
ited and cramped area, but eagerly
looks forward to the near future when
dreams of expanded library space,
replete with state-of-the art computer
capabilities, subject to successful fund-
ing, will be reality.
Sigrid guided me through the area
now under renovation, where the
Icelandic Collection will be housed,
and where safety-helmeted tradespeo-
ple are now transforming this section of
the third floor of the Elizabeth Dafoe
Library into a twenty-first century
library showpiece. The functional areas
are framed, with studs in place but no
walls yet. I readily visualized the well-
coordinated flow of scholarly pursuits
as Sigrid adopted a tour guide role.
The Foyer
Visitors will enter through a very
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Floor planfor the new home ofthe Icelandic Collection at the University of Manitoba. niusimiion courtesy of Sixrid Johnson
inviting foyer, the grand entrance into
the Collection. On the hallway on the
outside will be a donor wall and a space
for advertising different events to occur
in the Collection, the university, or the
community.
The Dr. P.H.T. Thorlakson Gallery
To the left of the foyer will be the
Dr. P.H.T. Thorlakson Gallery. The
exhibition area will present artworks
the Collection currently owns and exhi-
bitions of library materials in specially
designed exhibition cases. The first
exhibition will be “Living and Reliving
the Icelandic Sagas,”—jointly curated
by the National Library of Iceland, the
Library of Congress, Cornell University
and University of Manitoba Libraries -
specifically the Icelandic Collection.
On October, 20, 2000, David
Oddsson, Prime Minister of Iceland,
will officiate in the opening of both the
Icelandic Collection space and the exhi-
bition.
The Board Room
To the right is the Board Room,
with entrances both from the reception
area and from the outside corridor so it
can be used after hours. The space is
intended both for use of the Library and
the Department of Iceiandic if they
want to bring classes over for special
presentations, or if community groups
wish to do so.
The Iceland Reading Room
Named for the people of Iceland
and their generous gift to the VIP
Millennium Campaign through the
Government of Iceland, Eimskip, and
the Eimskip University Fund, the
Reading Room area will be equipped
with five reading tables, each seating up
to four people comfortably. In addition,
three individual study computer carrels
wired for the Internet will be assignable
for research. Under excellent reading
lights, users will be able to plug in a
laptop, and, if they wish, place their
belongings in a closet. Two separate
rooms will be available for use by
researchers, for example, academics
from other universities in Canada, the
United States, or Iceland, who need
some place to call their own while they
are here. The offices will be like their
own—wired for computer, with space
to spread out work materials, in privacy
and quiet.
Multimedia Room
The multimedia room will house
audio equipment, videos, and a comput-
er work station with CD-ROM tower
dedicated to the Collection’s holding of
CD-ROMs. Many, such as language.
study CDs, are interactive. Researchers
will be able to close the door while
examining microfilm material, and have
immediate access to a microfilm reader
printer.
Lounge Area
Three lounge areas welcome visi-
tors. One is directly outside the librari-
an’s olfice, where people can sit and
read newspapers and periodicals from
Iceland and on topics related to Iceland.
Another is close to the reference collec-
tion and the third is in the corner hous-
ing the personal libraries of Guttormur
J. Guttormsson and Stephan G.
Stephanson. A special bookcase witb
glass doors is being built to accommo-
date Guttormsson’s collection. His desk
will be displayed in the same areá.
The new facility will provide well
ventilated, adequate work and storage
space designed to ensure the preserva-
tion of library materials. Overall, the
facility will provide almost double the
current space, with 25% more space
than is now available for book stacks.
There will be an office for the Head of
the Collection, a staff work room, and a
storage room.
The entire area will be wired for
voice and data to meet needs of the
twenty-first century. Sigrid commented,
“We plan on having the most up-to-date
computer equipment that we can obtain
so that we can keep up with current
developments including publication of
materials in CD-ROM format and all
developments on the Internet.”
Donald K. Johnson, Vice-
Chairman, BMO Nesbitt Burns visited
Please see Library on page 17
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