Oslo Public Library

History

The library opened on 12 January 1785 following an endowment from Carl Deichman, who also bequeathed 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 got its own premises. Under the leadership of Haakon Nyhuus, who was head librarian from 1898 to 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 visitors a day. The library now has a bust of Nyhuus.

Departments

The library has several specialised departments, such as a music department, and a department for children and youth (decorated by Tulla Blomberg Ranslet), a department for prison libraries and a library for patients at the Rikshospital. It previously also housed The Multilingual Library, which is now part of the National Library of Norway.

Building

The library's main building, Deichman Bjørvika, is in the Bjørvika district of Oslo, next to the Opera and the new Munch Museum, part of the Fjord City renewal project. It was designed by architectural firms Lundhagem and Atelier Oslo Deichman Bjørvika opened to the public on 18 June 2020. Deichman Bjørvika has won several awards, including the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions / Systematic Public Library of the Year award https://www.ifla.org/node/94089. The building will also hold manuscripts contributed to the Future Library project, among them texts by Margaret Atwood and David Mitchell. The building houses several busts, including one of Karen-Christine Friele. It featured as part of the introduction of the Norwegian finalist during Eurovision 2023 Contest.

References

References

1. John Ansteinsson, "The Library History of Norway", ''The Library Journal'' 45 (1920) 19-24, 57-62, [https://books.google.com/books?id=c8XgAAAAMAAJ&dq=Carl+Deichman&pg=PA22 p. 22].
2. "Welcome to Deichmanske bibliotek / Oslo Public Library". Oslo Public Library.
3. [https://lundhagem.no/work/deichman-library?view=all], Lundhagem. Retrieved 25 August 2021.