Bókasafnið - 01.01.2004, Side 35

Skipurit Landsbókasafns íslands - Háskólabókasafns
Summary
Knowledge Provider in the North : The National and
University Library facing the future
The National and University Library of Iceland is celebrating
its lOth anniversary in 2004. In 1994 it was formed after the
amalgamation of two older libraries, the National Library
and the Main Library of the University of Iceland, and
moved into a new and beautiful building. The Library has a
double role, one as the national library with all the obli-
gations related to deposit legislation and the preservation of
the national collections, and the other as a university library
providing information for teaching and research in all
subjects taught at the University of Iceland. The year 2002
saw the beginning of a series of changes with the arrival of
a new National Librarian and a new Board of Directors. The
work on a new strategy was initiated in 2002 and the
strategy for the period 2003-2006 was accepted by the Board
in March of 2003. In the strategy, the Library is defmed as a
knowledge provider, comparable to the providers of energy
and water that supply users with the required goods to their
homes, a strategy that calls for emphasis on electronic
services. The future vision is that Icelanders should have
easy access to knowledge and information that equals the
best in the world.
Following the strategy, a new organisational structure
was introduced in October of 2003 where three divisions
were created and all the activities of the Library were placed
under these divisions. These are: Division of Services,
Division of National Collections, and Division of Admini-
stration. The three new directors were all appointed from
within the Library staff. They are financially and professi-
onally responsible for the activities that have been placed
under each division, and along with the national librarian
and the deputy librarian, form the Executive Board that
meets weekly to coordinate activities, inform of new
development within each Division and make decisions. The
second main change in the new organisation is that pro-
fessional activities are now divided into sections and a
leader has been appointed to organise and lead the activi-
ties within each section. The purpose of these changes is to
involve professionals more in the day-to-day admini-
stration and at the same time give them the power of
decision-making that concerns their particular area.
BÓKASAFNIÐ 28. ÁRG. 2004
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