National Library of Denmark. Royal Library of Denmark in Copenhagen

You won’t believe it, the libraries of Copenhagen (Denmark) and Malmö (Sweden) gave me an incredible feeling of freedom, liberation and the feeling of being a full-fledged person.
Thanks to the Nordic Council of Ministers, I was able to join a delegation of Kaliningrad librarians who went to learn from their Scandinavian neighbors. I assure you, these were the best 3 days of this year.
If you think you know everything about libraries, then after reading this post, I hope you will make at least one discovery for yourself, expand your ideas about what is possible.

Our first destination was Royal Library Copenhagen, where everything is stored printed publications, produced in the country since the 17th century. The National Library should look royal, although, looking at the “Black Diamond” (1999), made in high-tech style, you don’t think about royal luxury, unless you know, of course, that no expense was spared in its construction: black granite and marble were brought from Africa, processed in Italy, glass was made in Germany.
The first thing that catches your eye is, of course, great amount parked bicycles at the entrance to the building, but, as you know, you quickly get used to good things, so then you are not at all surprised that even at the Copenhagen Parliament there is a concentration of not cars, but bicycles.

Walking inside, I wanted to gasp. Window! From floor to ceiling on several floors. Incredible beauty is revealed to the eye, and at this time, the usual Danish student is calmly sipping coffee, sitting on the ground floor at a table in a cafe. Another was able to find a cozy place, shielding himself from the sounds of the outside world with headphones, on a glass walkway above the road connecting the two library buildings.

We were incredibly lucky that one of the employees kindly invited us to look into the book depository; the feeling of being part of something great was complemented by his words that, for example, today he was holding in his hands a book worth 70 million Danish kroner. Thanks to Wikipedia I also found out. that around the 70s of the last century one of the largest thefts occurred in the library. Missing 3200 history books totaling $20 million, including manuscripts of Martin Luther, first editions of Immanuel Kant, Thomas More and John Milton.

Every year the library fund is replenished by 15 book kilometers, and periodicals- 3 km.
The next picture reminds me of the movie “Moscow Doesn’t Believe in Tears,” where one of the heroines says that the best place for meeting men - smoking room Lenin Library. Of course, we didn’t see the smoking room, but the hall somehow vaguely evoked the academic atmosphere of Leninka. By the way, photography is prohibited in this room; I had to “peep” through the glass doors.

Among other things, the library has concert hall and a small shop, but we hurried to the exhibition hall, for the decoration of which they invited just anyone, but Russian designer Andrey Bartenev. (By the way, I noticed that the Danes react very positively to the Russians.)
The fact is that the library really wanted to please visitors with its treasures in the form of ancient books, but at the same time, the staff understood that if they were displayed in a boring manner, the books would not attract the attention they deserve, so they turned to the help of a Russian creative.

When you enter the hall, you are immediately lost from the abundance of colors, so the first thing you pay attention to is the figure of a man (although it is difficult to recognize the figure there), standing in white shorts, in front of which stands a menacing-looking man with his mouth open polar bear, on whose bottom hangs a book that serves as a screen for showing b/w animation. The librarians are shocked and discuss this art object with particular fervor. No matter what they say, whether it’s good or bad, the author achieved his goal, the audience did not leave for 15 - 20 minutes and studied which books framed such a strange composition.

Pale busts of writers function as screens, and Andersen appears to come to life by having a video feed of a library director speaking onto his face, a stunning effect.

On the same day, from the center of Copenhagen we moved to a disadvantaged area of ​​​​the city where a large number of refugees and migrants. We dubbed it Baltrayon, although, of course, our Baltic region can only dream of such a library, but in comparison with the Royal one, it certainly looked contrasting. Rentemesterwei Library.

The first thing that catches your eye is, of course, the funny readers depicted in graphite on the walls of the building, both inside and outside. These pictures were made specifically for the library street artist, known in Denmark and other countries under the pseudonym HuskMitNavn (English: "Remember my name", Russian: "Remember my name"). Graffiti artists do not disclose their real names due to the fact that their “rock” art is prosecuted by law.

The tour of the library was interesting, except for the nuance that the employee conducting it did not find answers to most of the questions. For example, who painted the library courtyard: with the consent of the library itself, or is this an unauthorized illegal invasion? I was surprised that the employee had no ideas for the proposal; was he really not interested in this issue himself? The spirit of Baltrayon was constantly in the air...

But despite various misunderstandings, I always work in the library various services, helping to find answers to all sorts of questions (for example, legal) and help immigrants adapt. Volunteers help these children with their homework. received at school. The library also offers passports, driver's licenses, and social security cards.

In this library, as in all others, it is possible to order the necessary literature on the Internet. Books are put aside at a special order stand, and the reader can come and pick them up at any time, while serving himself using a computer by recording books on his electronic card.

As you have probably already noticed, each library in Denmark has its own feature, it is individual and unique in its own way, and has a mark of the place, area in which it is located. There was no exception Thornby library, located in the private sector of Copenhagen. Children's and adults' rooms are cleverly combined here, offering the opportunity to visit the library with the whole family. But, again, I’ll start with what first catches your eye. Undoubtedly this is a hall with a glass dome where you can eat.

There are no boundaries between the adult and children's rooms, so free and comfortable movement is possible throughout the library. At the same time, no one bothers each other. The library has special sensors that monitor noise levels. As soon as the norm is exceeded, a red light immediately lights up, which gives a signal to the violator to correct it.

Let's leave the libraries of Denmark for a while and go to Sweden, to the town of Malmö, where we were presented with the central library and one located on the outskirts.

Let's start with Library Garage, located in a disadvantaged area of ​​Malmö, like the Rentemestervei library in Copenhagen, filled with immigrants.

Until the 90s of the last century, the premises housed a depot for electric trains, which by that time had been disbanded. The district administration began to think about what could be organized in this building. To get an answer to this question, we turned to the residents of the area for ideas. Most of them saw a library there.

We arrived at a not very good time, during renovations, but we still appreciated all the delights. Bookshelves have wheels, so they can be easily moved to any point, this allows the library to perform its functions during the day, and in the evening transform into a stage for performances and various events. Events are held third parties almost every evening, admission is free. Besides social function, educational, the library also carries cultural. At the same time, anyone can rent library premises free of charge, but according to the terms of the contract, all things must be put in their places by the next morning. There is a lot of trust in our own readers, despite the fact that the area is disadvantaged. In case of damage to property, everything is always compensated by those who caused the damage.

Malmö City Library reminiscent in its functions of the Royal Library of Copenhagen, it also has an academic spirit and presence large number students, however, in my opinion, it seemed more comfortable.

My perfectly white socks did not change their shade at all after traveling around the hall with them, and it was incredibly pleasant to feel the softness of the grass-like carpet through them.

Before the opening, we actively collaborated with the nearby shopping center, where every resident of the area was invited to take a photograph, and then a collage was created from the collected photographs to decorate the entrance of the library. And you really do feel at home.

On the shelves with books there are computers with which you can find any book of interest. This makes it possible to feel free and does not impose mandatory communication with the librarian. Also in the library in different points There are computers with maps; by clicking on a specific point of interest, you can find out about all the events that took place in a particular place, while viewing photo and video materials uploaded by the residents of the area themselves.

A stand with books ordered online is located in the farthest corner of the library (like bread in a supermarket) so that the visitor passes by books with attractive covers and lingers inside the library. Library staff do everything possible to attract the attention of readers and make them stay at least for a while within the walls of the library.

For example, the hall with periodicals is clearly visible to high school students, whose path to school runs past it. So in the library they hung a huge TV on the wall, next to it were covers of various magazines, children’s drawings and simply bright colored sheets of paper, as well as bright and soft armchairs that could be seen with the naked eye from the street.

In this library, like no other amazingly Psychology and trading combine. Have you ever thought that libraries can also “sell” themselves? It should be noted that in Denmark and Sweden there are special faculties for librarianship, and employees with particular zeal study the experience of libraries from other countries, adopt it, and embody some ideas in their own countries. The libraries of Scandinavia are considered to be among the best in Europe, however, the neighbors from the Nordic countries themselves admit that Holland has begun to overtake.

The Royal Library of Denmark is, in fact, a real museum books. Its collections contain only 4,500 incunabula, volumes published before 1501. Cataloging of the collection was undertaken in early XIX century. Now there are 530 thousand handwritten cards and 159 large registers (266 volumes), covering all types of items.

In 1648, the collection of King Frederick III accumulated so many manuscripts that the monarch decided to found a library at court, and in 1793 they opened public access. Later, in 1989, the library’s collections were combined with the library of the local university, and in 2005 with collections on natural science and medicine. It is not surprising that the library occupies four buildings. The main thing (however, like the old one) is on the island of Slotsholmen. In Denmark it is called the “Black Diamond”, as it is made of black granite and glass, and it also houses a concert hall.

The library is akin to a museum, here you can find almost all the works of Danish playwrights, databases with the repertoire of the leading theaters in Copenhagen since 1722, a digitized collection of periodicals and sheet music. The Rare Books Department is based on the old Royal Collection, containing all types of Danish and foreign manuscripts from early Middle Ages until the 18th century. Special attention The letters and manuscripts of the Danish and Norwegian poets and prose writers Möller, Ibsen and Andersen deserve to be appreciated.

The Oriental Collections of the Royal Library contain manuscripts, blocks of prints and printed books in the languages ​​of Asia and North Africa. Books were purchased specifically to study the language, religion and culture of distant countries. These are Arabic, Turkish, Persian and Caucasian (mainly Armenian and Georgian) texts, there are ancient manuscripts from Tibet and Mongolia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand, printed books in Vietnamese.

Richly presented rare books in history and art - drama, opera, ballet, circus and other forms of performing arts. The Royal Library has a significant collection of digital resources from its own collection, including digital facsimiles and web exhibitions. Such invaluable funds were not ignored by scammers. In 1978, it turned out that 3,200 copies published from 1501 to 1949 had disappeared from the repository. The cost of the loss is $50 million.

Some of the books have still not been found, while others were intercepted at expensive auctions. By the way, as it turned out over the course of a whole decade, books were stolen by one of the library employees. A list of missing volumes has been published on the website of the Royal Library of Denmark; even after decades, the hope of returning antique publications does not fade.

While walking around Copenhagen, it is difficult not to notice the black shiny building located on the embankment. Locals nicknamed it "black diamond" because of the incorrect geometric shape and deep black color. This is the new building of the Royal Danish Library.

From the Gutenberg Bible to Harry Potter

In addition, the main library of Copenhagen and Denmark houses historical and modern printed publications in Danish (from books to newspapers and brochures), medieval manuscripts, diaries famous people, huge collection original foreign publications, collections vintage photographs, cards, oriental literature, musical notes etc.

A little history

The Royal Library of Denmark was founded in 1648 by King Frederik III, who donated his own collection to the foundation. European works. Public library became in 1793.

In 1989, the library's collections were merged with the collections of the library of the University of Copenhagen, in 2005 - with the collections of the Danish National Library of Medicine and Natural History, and in 2008 - with the Danish Folklore Archive.

Harmony of history and modernity

The Royal Library of Copenhagen is an excellent example of how, even in historical center you can build something modern and at the same time fit perfectly into architectural appearance cities.

The library buildings are located on the island of Slotsholmen: this is a whole complex of buildings and structures. However, two buildings attract the attention of tourists: old library, connected to the new Black Diamond body.

The old library building was built in 1906 by the architect Hans Jörgen Holm. The central hall of the building is a copy of the chapel in the palace of Charlemagne in the city of Aachen. In front of the entrance to the library there is a small square where there is a monument to Søren Kierkegaard.

The old building is beautiful and interesting, but the new building, which bears the semi-official name “Black Diamond”, deserves much more attention ( The Black Diamond).

"Black Diamond" was built according to the design of the architectural studio "Schmidt, Hammer and Lassen". Construction of the building began in 1995 and was completed in 1999. 465 million Danish crowns (about 424 million rubles at the 1998 exchange rate) were spent on the construction of the new library building.

It received the name “Black Diamond” because of its appearance: the walls of the building are decorated with deep black granite and glass. The building is a black cube divided in the center by a glass “crack” - an 8-story atrium. The first floor of the building is also made of glass. The cube has irregular shape: The building expands from bottom to top and from north to south.

The Black Diamond is connected to the old Royal Library building by three glass walkways located above Christians Brygge. Glass bridges will lead visitors to the main level of the new library building, Level C.

Inside the Black Diamond

The center of the Black Diamond is an 8-story atrium, the walls of which are painted in White color and have a wave-like shape. The outer wall of the atrium is made entirely of glass and offers magnificent views of the river and Christianshaun.

On levels C, D and F there are reading rooms facing the atrium. This allows natural light to penetrate into the reading rooms.

The Black Diamond has more than just reading rooms and book storage facilities. It is also home to the Queen's Hall, a 600-seat auditorium where concerts, conferences and theater performances are held. Most often concerts take place in the Queen's Hall classical music, however, they often perform here jazz musicians. In addition, meetings are held here with famous writers, for example, with Günther Grass and Salman Rushdie.

The new building of the Danish National Library also hosts exhibitions. IN exhibition hall The Peristyle, located on level K, hosts cultural and historical exhibitions, including those held by the National Museum of Photography.

Another exhibition space, the Montana Hall, is used to display the most rare editions libraries. Level B houses the Danish Cartoon Museum.

At the entrance to the reading rooms on level C there is a fresco by Danish artist Per Kirkeby. The size of the fresco is huge - 210 square meters. m.

The Black Diamond also houses a bookstore, the Søren K restaurant, a café and a rooftop terrace.

I said: “There must be silence in the library!”

The Royal Danish Library is open to everyone; the only requirement is to be over 18 years old. However, you cannot take a book home from this library. Therefore, library visitors can only read books in the reading rooms. At the same time, getting access to the rarest specimens is quite difficult.

It is worth noting that the library is coming keeping up with the times. The Royal Library contains not only real copies of books, but also a whole virtual archive.

Tourists can visit the Royal Danish Library as part of excursion groups. The administration offers tours of the Black Diamond and the old library building with a visit to the storage facility. Private tours are available Monday through Saturday. The cost of the excursion is from 975 to 1375 DKK. The price of the excursion includes visiting exhibitions at the Black Diamond. Exhibitions in the library are open from Monday to Saturday from 10:00 to 19:00.

Public tours are held on Saturdays at 15:00. Tickets can be purchased from the Information Desk located in the Black Diamond. Ticket price for adults is DKK 60, for children – free.

Contains many historical documents. All works published in Denmark since the 17th century are stored in the library's collections.

Story

The library was founded around 1648 by King Frederick III on the basis of an extensive collection of European works. Public access opened in 1793. In 1989, the library's collections were combined with the collections of the library of the University of Copenhagen, and in 2005 with the collections of the Danish national library natural sciences and medicine (dat. Danmarks Natur- og Lægevidenskabelige Bibliotek). Since January 1, 2006 it is officially called Royal Library, National Library and University of Copenhagen Library(dat. Det Kongelige Bibliotek, Nationalbibliotek og Københavns Universitetsbibliotek)

Today the library owns four buildings: three buildings at the University of Copenhagen and the main building on the island of Slotsholmen. The old building on the island of Slotsholmen was built in 1906. It is a copy of the chapel in the residence of Charlemagne (city). In 1999, a new building was built adjacent to the old one, called "Black Diamond"(dat. Den Sorte Diamant). It got its name from its appearance (built of black marble and glass). The building also houses a concert hall.

Book theft

Between 1968 and 1978, one of the largest thefts was committed in the library. Unidentified individuals stole approximately 3,200 historical books worth approximately $50 million, including manuscripts of Martin Luther, first editions of Immanuel Kant, Thomas More and John Milton. The loss was discovered only in 1975. Between 1998 and 2002, stolen copies worth approx. $2 million. In September 2003, it was possible to track down the thief from a lot put up at a Christie's auction in England. He turned out to be library employee Frede Møller-Kristensen (died in February 2003). Family members continued trading in stolen books after his death. During a search of their house, 1,500 stolen copies were found. In 2004–2005 they were sentenced to prison terms (from 18 months to 3 years).

The Royal Danish Library is the largest library in Scandinavia. The library's holdings contain many historical documents, as well as all works that have been published in Denmark since XVII century.
The library was founded in 1648 by King Frederick III. Then it appeared on the basis of a collection of European works. Access to the library was opened to everyone only in 1793.
The collections of the Danish library were merged with those of the library at the University of Copenhagen in 1989. In 2005, they were also joined by the collections of the National Library of Natural Science and Medicine in tribute. The Royal Danish Library officially adopted the current name on January 1, 2006.
Today the library owns four buildings, three of which are buildings of the University of Copenhagen, as well as the main building on the island of Slotsholmen in Copenhagen. The ancient building on the island was built in 1906. It was erected in the form exact copy chapel in the residence of Charlemagne in Aachen.
The new building next to the old one was built in 1999. It was called "Black Diamond", which corresponds to its appearance, after all, they built a structure of black granite and glass. The building contains National Museum photographs with 25 thousand photographs collected since 1839. The classical building has a huge reading room with high ceilings. The collections contain manuscripts of Hans Christian Andersen. The impressiveness of the Royal Library is comparable to the Taj Mahal in India and Opera House in Sydney.
Between 1968 and 1978, one of the world's largest thefts took place in the library without a trace. About 3,200 historical books were stolen by unknown persons, the total value of which is at least 50 million dollars. Among the missing items were manuscripts of Martin Luther, debut editions of Thomas More, Immanuel Kant and John Milton. The loss was discovered only in 1975. Between 1998 and 2002, some of the stolen pieces were sold at auctions around the world for a total of more than two million dollars. Only in September 2003, for the first time, law enforcement agencies were on the trail of a criminal who put up one of the lots at Christie's in London. It turned out to be library worker Frede Møller-Christensen, who died in February of the same year. Stolen books members of his family were sold after his death. A search of their house returned 1,500 stolen copies, and the thieves were sentenced to prison terms of 1.5 to 3 years.