Bókasafnið - 01.11.1985, Síða 35

Abstracts in English
Bókasafnið, vol. 9,
no. 1, September 1985
A semi-annual journal published by the
lcelandic Library Association, the Associa-
tion of Professional Librarians, and the
Director of Public and School libraries.
Address: Bókasafnid
c/oThjónustumidstöd bókasafna
Borgartúni 17
105 Reykjavík
lceland
• 4-8
Helgi Magnússon:
The 15th Nordic Library Conference,
Reykjavík, 24-27 June 1984
The Nordic Líbrary Conference has been
held every 4 years since 1926, except the
years during World War 2. No general
Nordic federation of library associations
exist; only the Union of Research Librari-
ans. The library associations in the 5
Nordic countries nominate their repres-
entatives on a Nordic committee con-
cerned with matters such as the planning
of the programme, but a committee re-
presenting the library associations in the
country, where the conference is being
held, prepares the conference and does
the executive work at the conference.
The conference was heid for the first
time in lceland in the summer of 1984. At
the 14th conference in Sweden in August
1980, the chairman of the lcelandic Library
Association invited Nordic librarians to
lceland for the 15th conference in 1984.
Shortly after the board of the association
commenced the preparation of the con-
ference.
The lcelandic committee, consisting of
6 members, had its first meeting in the
spring of 1981, but the total number of its
formal meetings was ca 35. The Nordic
committee (ISPLAN ‘84) consisted of 10
members, i.e. 2 from each of the 5 Nordic
countries. This time one of these two was
from the public library sector, the other
from the research library sector. The
chairman of the committees was Ms. Elfa-
Björk Gunnarsdóttir, Director of The
Reykjavík City Library.
It was obvious from the start that the
conference would be an expensive under-
taking, for the lcelandic Library Associa-
tion as well as for the participants visiting
lceland. The financial plan was under
continous revision, occupying most of the
time of the lcelandic committee during the
3 years of preparation. The Nordic Cult-
ural Fund, NORDINFO (Nordic Council
for Scientific Information and Research
Libraries), and the lcelandic Ministry of
Culture and Education supported the con-
ference financially.
At the first meeting of the ISPLAN-com-
mittee in Reykjavík in March 1982 the
programme was drafted. The Nordic
Council had decided to devote the year
1984 to literature, and therefore the main
emphasis in the draft was laid on the role
of the libraries in promoting culture,
especially literature. The programme in its
final form had changed for various reas-
ons. At a meeting of the ISPLAN-com-
mittee in Oslo in September 1983, de-
cisions on some important matters were
made, i.a. the quota of participants from
each country, the date of the conference,
etc.
Early in 1981 it was decided to use the
service of the Conference Department of
the lceland Tourist Bureau concerning
registration of participants, reservations
of hotelrooms, provision of premises for
the conference, etc. Participation forms
were sent abroad to members of the
Nordic library associations at the end of
1983, but to the lcelandic members early
in 1984. The number of foreign particip-
ants was smaller than expected, but the
larger of the lcelandic ones. The total
number was 428, of which 293 were from
abroad.
Papers on various matters were read
by 57 lecturers, but 2 og 3 items were on
the programme at the same time. The top-
ics of the conference were concerned with
the role of libraries in Nordic culture, the
cooperation of Nordic libraries, the impact
of new technology, library economy, and
the individual types of libraries.
A day before the conference a course
on public library legislation in the Nordic
countries was held in Reykjavík (see
Scandinavian Public Library Quarterly
vol. 18, no. 3,1984). Thegeneral meeting
of the Union of Nordic Research Librari-
ans was held during the conference. 3
exhibitions were opened on its occasion.
Scandinavian Public Library Quarterly
vol. 16, no. 4,1983, containing articles on
lceland and lcelandic libraries by lce-
landic authors, was distributed to the
guests.
The conference was held on the cam-
pus of the University of lceland, but was
opened in the National Theatre.
(VG)
• 9-14
Libraries in new housing
Last year 6 iibraries, at least, opened in
new premises. Here are abstracts from
articles on 2 of these libraries, a new one
and an older one which has extended its
services.
Helga Ólafsdóttir:
The lcelandic Library for the Blind and
Visually handicapped
The lcelandic Library for the Blind and
Visually handicapped was founded early
in 1983, but the laws for the library passed
the lcelandic Parliament (Althingi) in
1982. The roots of the library go back as
far as to the year 1975, when the City
Library in Reykjavík established in one of
its branches a special lending division to
serve the blind, the visually handicapped
and other handicapped people as well.
The Society of the Blind and the City
Library in Reykjavík had contracted at
that time, that the Society of the Blind
produced the talking books and the City
Library took care of their technical pro-
cessing and distribution. The Library for
the Blind and Visually handicapped
opened in February 1984 in a 320 m2
housing, which belongs to the Society of
the Blind. The library is divided into three
departments: technical department,
educational department and ciruculation
and information department. There are 6
full time employees and 2-3 part time
ones. The total bookstock of the library is
4.000 volumes, there of 200 braille books.
The titles are 1.500. In the year 1984 the
circulation was 21.712 to about 1.000
users. (VG/ÞTÞ)
Óli J. Blöndal:
The Bjarni Collection and the Muni-
cipal Archives of Siglufjördur
On August 18th 1984 a music department
was opened at the Siglufjördur Public
Library, which is located in a small town
with 2.000 inhabitants in the northern part
of lceland. The music department is
named after the composer, the folk song
collector and the pastor Bjarni Thorsteins-
son (1861-1938); his personal belong-
ings are kept in one of the rooms, a.o. an
organ. That very day the Municipal Arch-
ives of Siglufjördur was opened too.
Various original records concerning the
history of Siglufjördur are kept there, e.g.
commercial books and documents from
the town authorities. The Music Depart-
ment and the Municipal Archives of Siglu-
fjördur are located in the town hall. The
renovation of the housing was financed by
a contribution from the town and by funds
raised by institutions and firms there.
(VG/ÞTÞ)
• 15-18
Jóna Thorsteinsdóttir:
Local historical archives in public
libraries
This is a paper written by a student at the
School of Librarianship, Faculty of Social
Sciences, University of lceland.
In the introduction the author mentions
the growing interest for genealogy and the
environment in the recent years. In lce-
land this is embodied in lively publication
of genealogies and biographies, family
meetings, restoration of old houses, and
preservation of old objects.
The conclusion of the author is that
radical social changes, which can be
traced to industrialization, urbanization,
new laws on local government, etc, have
stimulated people’s interest for the local
community.
Public libraries in lceland have not had
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