While on an extended visit to Copenhagen in the fall of 2003, I was fortunate to be able to have a personal tour of an outstanding library. This report is an exercise in superlatives! On December second, early on a typical grey autumn morning, I was met at the entrance by Grethe Jacobsen, Head of Legal Deposit, an intelligent, articulate and charming woman. She took me around the building and showed me its many features. Even more interesting, she gave me a lot of background information about the creation of the library. I left assured in my long-held belief that libraries of all types everywhere in the world have much in common. 

The Royal Library has an interesting history dating back to 1648 and the University Library to 1482. In 1989 the two libraries were merged into one institution with three locations . The current building on the main site (Slotsholmen) is comprised of three parts: the older 1906 building, the 1968 addition which is a rather uninteresting functional building and the most recent addition the spectacular Black Diamond opened in 1999, which now houses most of the collection and services. The three buildings were linked without compromising the architecture of the two older buildings. There is a wonderful quiet courtyard garden behind the oldest section. There are service locations on two additional sites at the University.

The Black Diamond is truly amazing. It rises at an impressive angle from its magnificent location on the edge of the water on a beautiful section of the Copenhagen harbour. There is an immense glass enclosed atrium joining two towers. Inside the atrium are futuristic aerial walkways, escalators and curved balconies. The contrast of straight hard angles and wavy walls, granite, glass and wood are very pleasing and give a strong sense of balance. It has achieved both warmth and clean style. Bright and airy (despite the grey day) on the inside, the building looks like a huge black leaning cube from the outside. The black marble outer surface begins above the ground level, leaving only glass on the ground level so that the cube appears to float above the water. There is an extensive use of art, including outdoor sculptures and indoor murals. The stage curtain in the inviting Queen's (concert) Hall has a wonderful Hans Christian Andersen motif.

There are several interesting local practices worth noting. By law, public buildings in Denmark are not air-conditioned. Generally speaking this is not a hardship to personnel since it is usually humid but rarely hot in Copenhagenm. However, we are accustomed to libraries being air-conditioned to help preserve the collection. There are sections that are climate-controlled to meet the specific needs of computer hardware and rare materials but most of the building is not. Also interesting, all employees in Denmark must have a vertical window looking directly to the outside. This means that the library has windows and the office windows open. The thought of working in a building with open windows and no air-conditioning is quite intoxicating! 

The new building has become an important tourist site and is recognized by all in Copenhagen as a cultural icon. The library hosts many events and rents the concert hall and meeting rooms in order to bring the community in and, at the same time, generate revenue to augment the book budget. Even the world famous Copenhagen Jazz Festival uses the hall. The restaurant and café are elegant and provide excellent food. 

As all of us who have been involved in building libraries know, there are always money problems. The Det Kongelige Bibliotek faced politically imposed budget and cost-cutting measures that led to innovative practices. Very interestingly, general reference and information desks were eliminated and circulation staff were trained to handle basic requests. This leaves the specialized subject staff free to take questions, including telephone and email requests, in their own areas. The European Union deposit collection was also disbanded at this time but other local agencies are able provide those resources. 

There are several reading rooms for researchers, including university faculty and students, since it also serves (since 1927) as a library for four of the six faculties of the University of Copenhagen: Law, Social Sciences, Humanities and Theology. (Natural and medical sciences are served by a separate university library.) The facilities are open to anyone over eighteen years of age who has a research need which this library can fulfill. Large open reading rooms with rows of light wood desks and glass walls facing the atrium provide a wonderful place to work. Special areas with staff, collections and reading room space are provided in various departments such as: Maps and Photography; Orientalia and Judeaica; Music and Theatre, and Manuscripts and Book History. The library collects all published Danish material, including Internet publications and collects a lot of foreign material, with large English language collections, in part because it supports the university.

The Det Kongelige Bibliotek is a leader in research and development in Denmark. Looking to the future, the library is expanding its public exhibitions. It is also increasing its use of the Internet to provide information. Denmark does not have any specific training for library technicians and the library is considering developing a training program of its own to meet this need.

Clearly, Denmark is a society that respects its literary heritage, libraries and modern research and is willing to put its money up-front. This library, with its well-trained and well-paid staff, magnificent buildings and strong collections, receives popular as well as political support and is a model for other countries.

For more information, consult the website: www.kb.dk

The water is to the right of the Black Diamond with a road passing between the old and new parts on the left.

Seen from the water, the smaller, light coloured buildings on the right are offices and workrooms.