Security guards replace librarians after 5 pm

Security guards will take over from librarians on the third and fourth floors of Iceland’s National and University Library during evenings and weekends, mbl.is reports.

The change took effect on Monday. The library has also introduced shorter opening hours, with its doors now opening at 9am instead of 8am.

mbl.is reported in May that the changes were prompted by the government’s demand for savings and its call for improved and more visible security.

Kamilla Einarsdóttir, a writer and librarian at the library, highlighted the changes in a Facebook post.

“Isn’t that great? Because obviously no one needs help finding books, research, documents or anything else boring library-related after five!” she wrote in English.

“A nation that has neither the interest nor the ambition to maintain a strong national library is probably not going to maintain a national language either. It is so expensive and old-fashioned, unless there is a way to make the security guards do it!” she added.

In May, National Librarian Örn Hrafnkelsson told mbl.is that he was not concerned that the changed staff composition would reduce service for library visitors. He said the library would try to keep the number of permanent employees unchanged, while part-time staff would be let go.