Bergen Public Library () is a

library A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...

building and

public library A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil servic ...

institution in

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. Founded in 1872, it is the second largest public library in Norway. In addition to the main building in Bergen's city centre, Bergen Public Library operates nine branch offices and the library service in Bergen's two

prisons A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where people are imprisoned under the authority of the state, usually as punishment for various cr ...

History

In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, Bergen and

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...

were the main centres of literature in Norway,

monasteries A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which m ...

and

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

es containing the majority of books and libraries. St Mary's Church in Bergen possessed a large book collection that was open to the public. In 1766, vicar David Schønfeldt donated a large amount of books and money to the collection, allowing the church to construct a separate building to contain the library. Open two hours a day, this was the predecessor of the current library. In 1876, the church's collection was handed over to Bergen Public Library, where it was kept until the collection was deposited in the University Library of Bergen about a century later. In 1869, university

librarian A librarian is a person who professionally works managing information. Librarians' common activities include providing access to information, conducting research, creating and managing information systems, creating, leading, and evaluating educat ...

Paul Botten-Hansen put his book collection, consisting of 12,000 volumes, for sale. A newly founded association decided to found a public library in Bergen, based on Botten-Hansen's collection. After the purchase of the collection in 1871, the association offered Bergen municipality to acquire the collection, on condition that it would cover the costs of operating a library. The first library building was located on

Torgallmenningen Torgallmenningen, previously written Torvalmenningen, (General public square) is the main square of Bergen, Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Nort ...

, in a former brewery. This building would soon prove itself too small, however, and the library moved to the meat bazar, located along the inner harbour of the bay of Vågen. In 1910, Arne Kildal became chief librarian, and continued the effort to provide the library with its own, modern building. The current building, built in the

neo-Romanesque Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended t ...

style, is designed by architect

Olaf Nordhagen Johan Olaf Brochmann Nordhagen (16 March 1883 – 6 November 1925) was a Norway, Norwegian educator, architect, engineer and artist. He is most commonly associated with his restoration designs for Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim (city), Trondheim, ...

and was erected in 1917, after he won the 1906 architect competition. Bergen Library Interior Panorama

References

Om biblioteket
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External links

Bergen Offentlige Bibliotek

{{Authority control Libraries in Norway 1872 establishments in Norway Library buildings completed in 1917 Buildings and structures in Bergen Education in Bergen Libraries established in 1872

History

References

Further reading

External links