Gunnerus Library
The Gunnerus Library in Trondheim is Norway's oldest academic library. It was founded in 1768 as the library of The Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences (DKNVS) . The library is named after Bishop Johan Ernst Gunnerus .
Due to its significant historical holdings from the 18th century , the Gunnerus Library is one of the most important academic libraries in Scandinavia. The Gunnerus Library, which is part of the NTNU University Library, has its specialist focus on archeology and natural and cultural history. The library also has a large stock of genealogy and local history, which is set up in the publicly accessible area of the library and is used intensively by local historians. However, the library is mainly visited by researchers and students from NTNU.
The Gunnerus Library is located in the Kalvskinnet district . There it can be found in the premises of the DKNVS from 1866 and an extension from 1939 as well as in an extension from 1975.
The library collection includes photographs, maps and manuscripts in the special collections section. The holdings also include the subject areas of the Museum of Natural History and Archeology , Archeology, Biology, Zoology and History, as well as an impressive collection of books from the 15th century and ongoing. In addition, the library has an extensive collection of books derived from Norwegian legal deposit and revised materials from the past hundred years.
history
The year 1768 is considered the year of foundation . The Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences (DKNVS) hired Peter Daniel Baade as a librarian . This should convey the book collection of the DKNVS to the outside world. Baade's employment was short-lived. Just a month after his call, he was called to Sjælland , Denmark , as parish priest. For this reason, Johan Ernst Gunnerus , the Society's co-founder, became the Society's librarian, a position he held until his death in 1773 . At that time the library was in Gunnerus' house on Dronningens gate.
The Society's early statutes stipulated that those who were elected members of the Society had to either pay 10 Reichstaler to buy books or give 2 books of the same value to the library. In this way a book collection was started. Also bequests, such as those of Gerhard Schøning and Christopher Hammer, led to the expansion of the library holdings.
At the beginning the library was a research library for the members of the DKNVS, but gradually it could also be used by non-members. Until 1874 , when building up the inventory, emphasis was placed on general scientific literature, but this changed after a reform of society in that year. From then on, the collection concentrated on literature from the fields of botany , zoology , archeology and history .
The history of the library is closely linked to the museum, which is now the Museum of Natural History and Archeology. Both became part of the University of Trondheim in 1968 . The community library for The Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences, the Museum and the Norwegian Teachers College was established in 1974.
As part of the legal deposit regulation, the library was granted requisition rights for Norwegian prints in 1939 . This right meant that The Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences in Trondheim and the library of the Bergen Museum each had the right to request a copy of each book from a Norwegian publisher. With a new law on compulsory deposit in 1989, this was extended to all university libraries, including the Gunnerus library.
From 2007 onwards, not all deposit copies will be accepted. These will now be distributed to the various branch libraries of the NTNU University Library with their specific subject areas.
Surname
Starting in 1768, the library was named The Library of the Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences . In 1974 the Gunnerus Library and the library of the Norwegian Teachers' College merged. This was named the Community Library for The Royal Society of Sciences, the Museum and the Norwegian Teachers' College . In 1984 this was officially named University Library in Trondheim.
When the Norwegian University of Science and Technology was founded in 1996 , the University Library became part of it in January 1997. The old library of the Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences became a section library and was named Gunnerus Library.
Collection growth
| year | growth | Book inventory |
|---|---|---|
| 1768 | 500 | |
| 1779 | 2600 | |
| 1781 | Schønings Collection 12000 | |
| 1783 | 15000 | |
| 1801 | Hammers Collection 2000 | 23,000 |
| 1869 | 31500 | |
| 1902 | Boeck's collection 31500 | |
| 1904 | 162000 | |
| 1929 | 176000 | |
| 1960 | NLHT's collection 9000 | |
| 1990 | Kleist's Collection 1407 | |
| 1993 | approx. 1,000,000 |
literature
Til Opplysning: Universitetsbiblioteket i Trondheim 1768-1993 (Tapir forlag, 1993) ISBN 82-519-14671