Royal Library, Denmark

The Royal Library, the National Library of Denmark and the Copenhagen University Library
Det Kongelige Bibliotek, Danmarks Nationalbibliotek og Københavns Universitetsbibliotek
The Black Diamond building, viewed from the east
Map
LocationCopenhagen, Denmark
TypeNational library, university library
ScopeNational Library of Denmark - Main library of the University of Copenhagen - Danish Museum of Books and Printing, National Museum of Photography, Museum of Danish Cartoon Art.
Established1648 (376 years ago) (1648)
(University Library founded 1482)
Reference to legal mandateNo special law. The obligations of the library are stated in the annual state budget
Collection
Size36,975,069 physical units,
2,438,978 electronic titles (as of 2017)[1]
Legal depositSince 1697
Other information
DirectorMr. Svend Larsen, director general
Websitewww.kb.dk Edit this at Wikidata
The building of the Royal Library, Denmark, on Slotsholmen, which dates to 1906, viewed from the northwest

The Royal Library (Danish: Det Kongelige Bibliotek) in Copenhagen is the national library of Denmark and the university library of the University of Copenhagen. It is among the largest libraries in the world and the largest in the Nordic countries.[2] In 2017, it merged with the State and University Library in Aarhus to form a combined national library.[3] The combined library organisation (the separate library locations in Copenhagen and Aarhus are maintained) is known as the Royal Danish Library (Danish: Det Kgl. Bibliotek).[4]

It contains numerous historical treasures, and a copy of all works printed in Denmark since the 17th century are deposited there. Thanks to extensive donations in the past, the library holds nearly all known Danish printed works back to and including the first Danish books, printed in 1482 by Johann Snell.[5][6]

  1. ^ "Årsrapport 2017 for Det Kgl. Bibliotek" (PDF) (in Danish). Det Kgl. Bibliotek. 5 March 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  2. ^ "Det Kongelige Bibliotek". Den Store Danske (in Danish). Retrieved 2022-03-27.
  3. ^ "Det nye nationalbibliotek kommer til at hedde Det Kgl. Bibliotek" (in Danish). Retrieved 2018-03-03.
  4. ^ "The new Royal Danish Library". Royal Danish Library. 12 Sep 2016. Retrieved 2018-04-19.
  5. ^ "Det Kongelige Bibliotek / National Library of Denmark". The Conference of European National Librarians (CENL). Retrieved 2022-03-27.
  6. ^ "Johann Snell". Den Store Danske (in Danish). Retrieved 28 August 2017.