History

Short history of the National Library of the Faroe Islands

Originally, the library was called "Føroya Amts Bókasavn" and was founded in 1828 under the influence of the Danish classicist Carl Christan Rafn. One of its founders, Jens Davidson (b. 1803), Secretary of the County and an avid collector of books and manuscripts, acted as librarian until he passed away in 1878.

After Davidson’s death in 1878, the library fell in to neglect and due to lack of funding, the library closed and books were packed and sealed. In 1920, M. A. Jacobsen (1891 – 1944), upon finishing formal education as librarian, took over the library. Jacobsen began cataloguing, reviving and building up the collection based on the ideology of the modern public library of the time. After that, a full-time librarian was appointed on permanent basis to oversee the library.

At the time, the library was housed at oman fyri Quilingsgarð until it was moved to Debesartrøð in 1931.

Following the enactment of the Home-Rule Law in 1948, library affairs where taken over by the Faroese Government and the Føroya Amts Bókasavn duly became the National Library of the Faroe Islands. The legislation and regulation on the Library from 1952 specified its role as a depository library.

On the 24. September 1980 the Library moved into its own app. 1.800 m2 (19.400 square-feet) building at J. C. Svabos gøta 16.

In 2011, the National Library and several other museums and archives in the Faroe Islands were administratively combined under the name Søvn Landsins, but in 2018, the Library once again was established as an independent institution under the Ministry of Culture.

Since 2016, the activities of Faroese Audio Book Service have formally been a part of the National Library.

The Parliamentary Law on Libraries of 2011 and subsequent amendments define the role of the National Library.

The roles include collecting and cataloguing, both printed, electronic and audio materials? The collection is made partly through receiving the legal deposit from publishers and partly through acquisitions and gifts.

The Library is the ISBN and ISSN national centre in the Faroe Islands. It is also the national centre for interlibrary loans.

The Library provides information and library service to the general public. It supports the needs of teaching and research at the University of the Faroe Islands. In doing so the library manages subscriptions to scientific databases and electronic journals for the university and administers the office for national access to bibliographic databases and electronic journals, Efeingi.fo, jointly financed by the Faroese state, the National Library, the University and a consortium of research institutions and companies.

The library is very popular with both student and general public alike. The information provision in electronic form has grown every year along with visits and book loans.

National Librarians (and Managers) 1828–Today*

1828 – 1878 Jens Davidson
1878 – 1903 Louis Bergh
1906 – 1920 E. A. Traber
1920 – 1944 M. A. Jacobsen
1944 – 1968 Sverri Fon
1968 – 1989 Sverri Egholm
1989 – 2007 Martin Næs
2008 – 2010 Marjun Patursson
2011 – 2016 Erhard Jacobsen
2011 – 2017 Andras Mortensen (Søvn Landsins)
2017 – Annika Smith

* Temporary managers are not included in the overview

References:

Jacobsen, M. A. (1929). Føroya Amts Bókasavn 1828 – 1928: minningarrit. Tórshavn: Fram.

Simonsen, Kim. (2015). Before the library : a wave in European cultural history: Lyngbye, Davidsen and Rafn 1817-1828. Syðrugøta: Network for European Travel Writing to the Romantic Far North 1800-1900.