The Norwegian National Archives and National Library's new underground facility in Mo i Rana will preserve Norway's cultural heritage safely for the next thousand years using advanced technical solutions. The huge facility is now ready, and on Tuesday, January 31, it was opened by Anette Trettebergstuen, Minister of Culture and Equality.
- In Mo i Rana, Norway, we have a world-class high-tech facility, now with new impressive underground halls and secure storage facilities. Here, important parts of our cultural heritage and history - both archive and library material - will be preserved safely and securely into eternity," says Anette Trettebergstuen.
This is part of a larger collaboration between the National Archives of Norway and the National Library of Norway on the preservation and digitization of the National Archives' material.
- History must be preserved in order for us to become wiser and learn from and with it. That's why it's also crucial that the wealth in the mountains is made available digitally, so that everyone can easily make use of it. This is an important goal for the government, and the National Archives of Norway and the National Library of Norway are doing a great job together for those of us who live in Norway today, and for everyone who will come after us," says Trettebergstuen.
Enormous dimensions
The new underground facility is so large that Nidaros Cathedral could fit inside it. It consists of two new halls with archive storage and a digital security storage facility and is built adjacent to the National Library's existing underground facility in Mo i Rana. The magazines provide space for 110,000 shelf meters of physical archive material.
- This will be our most modern repository and is very important in our digitization work. The documents will be preserved here, but will also be digitally accessible and searchable, and enriched by technology with information about the historical context of the archives. In this way, the collaboration between the National Library of Norway and the National Archives of Norway will bear fruit that will benefit all of Norway in perpetuity," says National Archivist Inga Bolstad.
- "The new hall and the new digital depository mean that we can store paper, film, magnetic tape and digital files more efficiently and, not least, more securely. We will have greater capacity, but the most important thing is that future generations will have access to even more of our cultural heritage," says National Librarian Aslak Sira Myhre.
Archives with world-class technology and security
Over the next ten years, the mountain halls will be filled with historical material. Adapted logistics systems and automation in the new facility mean that the process of getting the material in and out of the mountain can be done safely and efficiently. This means that the availability of the material increases significantly.
Low oxygen level prevents fire from occurring
Unique facility
The National Library of Norway has also been given responsibility for digitizing cultural heritage material for archives, libraries and museums throughout the country. A new digital repository in the mountains multiplies the capacity for digital storage of cultural heritage material.
The new facility, together with the Swedish National Archives' establishment in Rana and the National Library's mission to digitize the entire document-based cultural heritage, will make Rana a unique center for archives, libraries, digitization and preservation, both in Norway and internationally.
The building process
Statsbygg started work on excavating the rock caverns for the mountain halls in 2018. The project has a cost framework of NOK 850 million.
- "It's a great pleasure for me to represent Statsbygg as we mark the completion of the expansion of the underground facility in Mo i Rana on time and on budget," says Assistant Director of Construction Kristin Fevang.
Facts and figures:
- The National Library's first secure storage facility in Mofjellet was completed in 1993.
- In March 2010, Statsbygg was commissioned to study an expansion of the National Library's underground facilities.
- At the turn of the year 2015/2016, the Swedish National Archives joined the project.
- In 2017, Statsbygg was commissioned to carry out an overall project.
- In September 2018, blasting started in the mountains.
- The total floor area of the rock facility is approximately 12,000 square meters.
- The floor area is approximately 5,500 square meters. Measured on normal floors, this corresponds to approximately 15,500 square meters.
- The volume of the rock facility is approximately 111,000 cubic meters.
- In the mountain facility, historical documents from the Swedish National Archives will be preserved under specially adapted conditions together with the National Library's collections of films, photos, books, newspapers and magazines.
