Writers urge Reykjavik to protect its public library from cuts

The board of the Writers’ Association of Iceland has warned that services at Reykjavik City Library could be cut, and urged city authorities to strengthen the library and its branches, mbl.is reports.

The warning follows a proposal by the majority of Reykjavik’s Culture Council, submitted on October 15, to commission a comprehensive review of the library’s operations, activities and future structure. The review would also consider ways to improve efficiency, use funds more effectively and enhance services, including examining costs per visitor and per loan.

The writers’ association criticised the focus on efficiency, saying the library had already faced an annual one per cent efficiency requirement in staffing in recent years. The board said it feared further cuts. It also noted that branches had taken turns closing during the summer, when children are on school holiday and adults are on vacation, and said people may have an even greater need for access to books then.

The board said Reykjavik has been a UNESCO City of Literature since 2011 and that strong public libraries are one condition for cities receiving the designation. It cited the Deichman Library in Oslo and Oodi Library in Helsinki as examples of libraries that have become centres of community and culture.

Reykjavik City Library’s main branch is housed in a former warehouse in Grófin, where staff and managers have built up its services and collection, the board said. Other branches are also in buildings originally built for different purposes, with the exception of Sólheimar Library, which was designed and built as a library in 1963.

The association also pointed to Icelandic students’ weak reading-comprehension results in the PISA survey. It said the results should prompt investment in libraries, more branches, better access for schools and preschools, and more events. The board called on Reykjavik City Council to protect and further develop the library and the city’s wider literary life.