Libraries of

Scandinavia Mitchell Berman

LIS 760

Summer 2015

About the RegionScandinavia is a northern region of Europe that encompasses Norway, Sweden, and Finland. I am also including Denmark in this presentation due to it’s proximity to Scandinavia.

Librarianship is very much a presence in these countries and on the next few slides you will see information about the libraries in these different countries.

Sweden

Facts about SwedenPopulation: 9.7 Million People

Capital City: Stockholm

Official language: Swedish

Interesting Fact: The word “Lagom” is the world most often used in Sweden. It means good enough or just right.

Libraries in SwedenThe National Library in Sweden is the hub of all libraries in Sweden. It even controls the public library system. The National Library contains over 18 million objects and people have to be over the age of 18 to borrow from the library, but anyone may visit the library. The library is located in Humlegården in central Stockholm and Gunilla Herdenberg is the National Librarian of Sweden.

Becoming a Librarian in Sweden

The main library school in Sweden is The Swedish School of Library and Information Science at Borås  University. It is the biggest Library and Information Science program in Sweden with a Bachelors, 3 Masters programs, and a PHD program.

There are a few levels of librarians in Sweden. Some started with a Bachelors degree (and still continue to work that way to this day), then there was a one year Master’s program, and now it has become a 2 year program, just like the U.S.

Their program covers three areas: Digital libraries, Information Practices, and Culture/Society/Library.

Norway

Facts about NorwayPopulation: 5.1 Million People

Capital City: Oslo

Official languages: Norwegian bokmål, Norwegian nynorsk and Sami

Interesting Fact: The sun does not set over the Summer in the Arctic Circle, so visitors in northern Norway get sun 24 hours a day!

Libraries in Norway National Library of Norway is the primary library in

Norway It is located in Oslo and Mo I Rana Prior to the existence of the National Library in 1989,

the library at the University of Oslo handled the tasks Norway has a Norwegian ISBN Agency which is

responsible for assigning ISBNS with prefix 82- and 978-82

The National Library is responsible for cash deposits made to library as well

The National Library is currently in the process for digitizing their entire collection-it started in 2005

List of public libraries in Norway http://www.lib-web.org/europe/scandinavia/norway/

Becoming a Librarian in

Norway The first library school was established as Norwegian School of

Librarians in 1940 and the training lasted 9 months. In 1994 it merged with the Oslo University College to created a

two years master’s program Today there is the Department of Archivistics, Library and

Information Science at Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences (HiOA) which offers one-year studies as well as bachelor’s and master’s studies in library and information science, a master’s degree in library management and one-year studies as well as a bachelor’s degree in archivistics and document management.

A PHD program is in process. The Norway Library Association is http://norskbibliotekforening.no/

Finland

Facts about Finland

Population: 5.2 Million People

Capital City: Helsinki

Official languages: Finnish

Interesting Fact: Finland has a wife carrying and air guitar contests.

Libraries in FinlandFinland is known for it’s comprehensive use of libraries-both public and academic

80% of Finns use the libraryFinns visit the library on average of 10 times per year

Each year Finns take out on average of 18 books, magazines, or discs on average

Library websites register over 57 million visits a year

The national library of Finland is located in Helsinki

Finland Library Association http://suomenkirjastoseura.fi

Becoming a Librarian in

FinlandÅbo Akademi University is one of the premier universities that offer a degree program in Library Science.

There are other tracks in librarianship in Finland that are classified as business school or polytechnic level type programs.

Librarianship in Finland is very similar to what is in the U.S. between the MLIS/MLS degrees and even the LTA degree to some extent.

Denmark

Facts about Denmark

Population: 5.6 Million People

Capital City: Copenhagen

Official language: Danish

Interesting Fact: It is known as the Kingdom of Denmark…being one of the world’s oldest monarchies.

Libraries in DenmarkThe Royal Library in Copenhagen is the national library of Denmark and the university library for the University of Copenhagen

It is the largest library in the Nordic regionThe first printed Dannish book from 1442 is housed there as well as other 17th century materials that were published in Denmark

There are 5 sites of the Royal Library todayThe first librarian of Denmark was Marcus Meibom from 1663-1671

Denmark library association website http://www.db.dk/english

Becoming a Librarian in Denmark

The main library school is the Royal School of Library and Information Science

It was established in 1956 replacing the Danish State Library School

There are two sites in Copenhagen and Aalborg.

The program offers a Bachelor’s in Library Science (Librarian IVA qaulification), a 2 years Masters program, and a PHD program

It also offers a post professional Masters of Library Science degree

Scandinavian Library Quarterly

There is a magazine called Scandinavia Library Quarterly that publishes information about the Library profession in Scandinavia and it is published four times a year. This is the snapshot of the current issue: http://slq.nu/

Their aim is to introduce current tendencies and strategies in Scandinavian libraries to the English-speaking world and create a forum for stimulating and constructive dialogue.

Works CitedDenmark Facts. Retrieved from web on July 21, 2015 from http://denmark.dk/en/quick-facts /

Denmark Library Facts. Retrrieved from web on July 21, 2015 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Library,_Denmark#The_Royal_Library_today

Finland Facts. Retrieved from the web on July 21, 2015 from http://www.infoplease.com/country/finland.html

Finland Library Facts. Retrieved from web on July 22, 2015 fromhttp://www.libraries.fi/en-GB/libraries/research_libraries /

Maps Courtesy of google images.

National Library of Sweden. Retrieved from web on July 22, 2015 from http://www.kb.se/english/

Norway Facts. Retrieved from web on July 21, 2015 from http://www.visitnorway.com/us/about-norway/facts-about-norway /

Works Cited Cont’d

National Library of Norway. Retrieved on July 20, 2015 from http://www.nb.no/English

Norway Librarian Facts. Retrieved on July 20, 2015 from http://slq.nu/?article=volume-45-no-3-2012-7

Scandinavia Library Quarterly. Retrieved on July 20, 2015 from http://slq.nu/?page_id=539

Sweden Librarian Facts. Retrieved from the web on July 22, 2015 from http://slq.nu/?article=volume-45-no-3-2012-5

Sweden Facts. Retrieved from the web on July 21, 2015 from https://studyinsweden.se/why-sweden/quick-facts-about-sweden/