Never before have so many people used the National Library as after the country shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic. More than twice as many people have visited the online library and used the National Library's public services, and public interest in digital events and other online cultural activities is more than ten times higher than in the same period last year.
During one week of the coronavirus pandemic, the National Library's digital services and communications had an average of more than 100,000 users.
"While Norway has been closed, we have opened up even more. We have launched several digital public services and found new online solutions to meet our users' needs. These figures show above all how important the library is," says National Librarian Aslak Sira Myhre.
The National Library's digital services have had more than 2.5 million visits during the coronavirus crisis. Users have opened 800,000 books and over a million old newspapers. In total, nearly 140,000 people have followed digital events and other cultural activities online. Even public services, such as guidance and assistance with searching the collection, which are usually provided on the library's premises, have more than doubled compared to the same period last year.
"During the coronavirus crisis, the public has become aware of the fantastic library and cultural services we offer at the National Library, and this is reflected in the enormous growth we are now seeing. We believe that digital use of the National Library will continue to grow even when society returns to normal and we reopen our premises," says Sira Myhre.
The National Library's digital initiative during the coronavirus crisis is based on a digitization project that has been developed over fifteen years, and on a major initiative to digitally disseminate cultural heritage to a broad audience, which was launched in 2019.
"We have given people access to a digital library that almost no other country can match. In this way, we are helping Norway to function, even in times of crisis," concludes National Librarian Aslak Sira Myhre.
