Oslo Public Library

Historie

Oslo Public Library, is the municipal public library serving Oslo, Norway and is the country's first and largest library. It employs over 300 people and has over 20 branches throughout the city. Registered users may use the library every day, even when it is not staffed, from 7am to 11pm. It is also possible to borrow and return books when the library is not staffed. One of the most prized books in the library's collection is the Vulgate bible of Aslak Bolt, Norway's only preserved liturgical handwritten manuscript from medieval times. The book itself is estimated to have been written around 1250. The head of the library from 2014 to 2016 was Kristin Danielsen.HistoryThe library opened on 12 January 1785, following an endowment from Carl Deichman who also bequethed 7,000 books and 150 manuscripts which formed the basis of the library's collection.From the start the library was open to all citizens. At the time most lending libraries charged a membership fee, making it impossible for poorer people to access them. However, the initial collection was largely made up of texts in German, French, Latin and Danish and was therefore largely only of interest to members of the educated upper class. In 1802 it was decided to move the library to the Oslo Cathedral School and to merge it with the school's collection. Jacob Rosted was both librarian of the Deichman Library and rector of the school. The library remained part of the school until the mid 1800s, when it go its own premises. Under the leadership of Haakon Nyhuus, who was head librarian from 1898-1913, the library became a model for public libraries throughout the Nordic region. Nyhuus modernised the library along American lines, having spent eight years in America and been inspired by Carnegie libraries. Among his innovations were the introduction of reading rooms and the addition of books for children and young people. During Nyhuus' time as librarian, the collection tripled in size and the borrowing of books increased by 25 times. The library had an estimated 4000 visitors a day. The library now has a bust of Nyhuus.