Arne Kildal (10 December 1885 – 7 December 1972) was a Norwegian author, librarian and civil servant.

Background

Arne Kildal was born in

Kristiania Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

(now Oslo, Norway). He finished his secondary education in 1903 and took his cand.philol. degree from the University of Oslo before traveling to the United States to train as a librarian. He graduated with a Bachelor of Library Science from the

State University of New York The State University of New York (SUNY, , ) is a system of public colleges and universities in the State of New York. It is one of the largest comprehensive system of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the United States. Led by c ...

in 1907 and worked in the country for three years, including at the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

Career

In 1910 he returned to Norway to become chief librarian at

Bergen Public Library Bergen Public Library ( no, Bergen Offentlige Bibliotek) is a library building and public library institution in Bergen, Norway. Founded in 1872, it is the second largest public library in Norway. In addition to the main building in Bergen's city c ...

. From 1920 to 1925 he served as the Norwegian press

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Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

In 1925, he took over as secretary general of the

Norse Federation The Norse Federation ( no, Nordmanns-Forbundet) is a Norwegian non-profit organization that was founded in 1907, and is under the patronage of the monarch of Norway, currently King Harald V. The organization states that its purpose is to "unit fri ...

(''Nordmanns-Forbundet''), a cultural association for

Norwegian-American Norwegian Americans ( nb, Norskamerikanere, nn, Norskamerikanarar) are Americans with ancestral roots in Norway. Norwegian immigrants went to the United States primarily in the latter half of the 19th century and the first few decades of the ...

s, and served from 1925 to 1955, only interrupted by

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

from 1941 to 1945. He was also employed by the

Norwegian Ministry of Church and Education The Royal Ministry of Education and Research ( no, Det kongelige kunnskapsdepartement; short name ''Kunnskapsdepartementet'') is a Norwegian government ministry responsible for education, research, kindergartens and integration. The ministry was ...

from 1937 to 1949. In 1949 he was appointed as the first director of the Norwegian Directorate of Public Libraries, serving until 1956. Kildal chaired the Norwegian Library Association from 1913 to 1916 and 1929 to 1933, and the Norwegian Encyclopedia (''Statens folkeopplysningsråd'') from 1933 to 1950.

Personal life

Arne Kildal was the son of minister and Auditor General Birger Kildal (1849-1913) and Sofienlund Berger (1851 to 1940). In 1917 he married Helga Gjerløw (1886-1979), daughter of Professor Waldemar Christopher Brøgger (1851-1940).

Selected works

*''Selected list of Norwegian and Danish books recommended for a small public library'' (1908) *''Speeches and new letters fHenrik Ibsen'' Tr. by Arne Kildal (1910) *''The Norway Year Book 1931. Second Year of Issue'' (1930) *''American influence on European librarianship'' (1937) *''Press and Literature Front Under Occupation, 1940-1945'' (1945) *''Survey of Library of Congress Scandinavian acquisitions for the period 1945-1952'' (1953)

Honours

Kildal was decorated with the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog ( da, Dannebrogordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single class known a ...

and the

Order of Saint Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav ( no, Den Kongelige Norske Sankt Olavs Orden; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kildal, Arne 1885 births 1972 deaths Norwegian librarians Norwegian civil servants Directors of government agencies of Norway University of Oslo alumni State University of New York alumni Norwegian expatriates in the United States Order of the Dannebrog Order of Saint Olav Norwegian non-fiction writers 20th-century non-fiction writers