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The Uppsala University Library ( sv, Uppsala universitetsbibliotek) at
Uppsala University Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in opera ...
in
Uppsala Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inha ...
,
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
, consists of 11 subject libraries, one of which is housed in the old main library building,
Carolina Rediviva Carolina Rediviva is the main building of the Uppsala University Library in Uppsala, Sweden. The building was begun in 1820 and completed in 1841. The original architect was Carl Fredrik Sundvall. Later additions to the building have been designed ...
. The library holds books and periodicals, manuscripts, musical scores, pictures and maps.


History

The exact site of the library during its earliest years is not known, but the university from its foundation in 1477, was located on what became known as "Student Island" in the Fyris River, where the academy mill – now the provincial museum – was later built. In 1566, King
Eric XIV Eric XIV ( sv, Erik XIV; 13 December 153326 February 1577) was King of Sweden from 1560 until he was deposed in 1569. Eric XIV was the eldest son of Gustav I (1496–1560) and Catherine of Saxe-Lauenburg (1513–1535). He was also ruler of Es ...
donated the old chapter house, south of the
Uppsala Cathedral Uppsala Cathedral ( sv, Uppsala domkyrka) is a cathedral located between the University Hall of Uppsala University and the Fyris river in the centre of Uppsala, Sweden. A church of the Church of Sweden, the national church, in the Lutheran tra ...
, to be used for lectures. After the construction of the Gustavianum in the 1620s, this building was referred to as the ''Collegium vetus'' or ''Gamla akademien'' ("the old academy"), until it was renamed in 1704 through a decision of the
consistory Consistory is the anglicized form of the consistorium, a council of the closest advisors of the Roman emperors. It can also refer to: *A papal consistory, a formal meeting of the Sacred College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church *Consistory ...
(university board) and called the ''Academia Carolina'', in honour of kings Charles IX, Charles XI and
Charles XII Charles XII, sometimes Carl XII ( sv, Karl XII) or Carolus Rex (17 June 1682 – 30 November 1718 O.S.), was King of Sweden (including current Finland) from 1697 to 1718. He belonged to the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch line of t ...
. When a new library building was eventually constructed, it received the name ''Carolina Rediviva'', "the revived Carolina", in honour of the old building, but was located to an entirely different place. As of approximately 1871, the library contained approximately 200,000 volumes and 8,000 manuscripts, including the
Codex Argenteus The Codex Argenteus (Latin for "Silver Book/Codex") is a 6th-century illuminated manuscript, originally containing part of the 4th-century translation of the Christian Bible into the Gothic language. Traditionally ascribed to the Arian bis ...
. The library remained in Gustavianum, which luckily escaped the flames in 1702, until
Carolina Rediviva Carolina Rediviva is the main building of the Uppsala University Library in Uppsala, Sweden. The building was begun in 1820 and completed in 1841. The original architect was Carl Fredrik Sundvall. Later additions to the building have been designed ...
was completed in 1841. Carolina Rediviva has since retained the status of central library of the university until a reorganization in the 1990s did away with the concept of a centralized library organization and divided the library into a number of branch libraries of equal status, with Carolina being home of one of the branch libraries dedicated to
humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at the t ...
and
social sciences Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of soci ...
. Nevertheless, the central functions of the library system largely remain in the building, as do the "cultural heritage units" (the Department for manuscripts and music and the Department for maps and prints). Parallel to the development of the central library, the "seminars" (later called "departments") of the university had their own libraries. Currently, the library's collections are dispersed in the subject libraries. In 2004 most of subject libraries within the Faculties of Arts, Languages and Theology were amalgamated to form the new Karin Boye Library in the English Park Centre for the Humanities, next to the old cemetery.


Some significant manuscripts and collections

The university library of Uppsala was mainly created through the large donations in the early 17th century of confiscated libraries from monasteries, especially that in Vadstena and the
Greyfriars Monastery, Stockholm The Greyfriars Monastery (Swedish: ''Gråmunkeklostret'') on the island of Riddarholmen in Stockholm was a monastery for males of the Franciscan Order, in operation from 1270 until the Swedish Reformation of 1527. History The monastery was fou ...
(including the books donated to it by Kanutus Johannis), and the important collection of Baron Hogenskild Bielke who had been executed in 1605 and whose library was confiscated by the crown and donated by Gustav Adolph in 1621. In 1669, the University Library received the Codex Upsaliensis, one of the four main
manuscripts of the Prose Edda The ''Prose Edda'', also known as the ''Younger Edda'', ''Snorri's Edda'' ( is, Snorra Edda) or, historically, simply as ''Edda'', is an Old Norse textbook written in Iceland during the early 13th century. The work is often assumed to have been t ...
. The many wars in which Sweden took a part in the 17th century brought many important manuscripts and collections to Sweden as spoils of war, some of which eventually ended up in Uppsala. (For example, in 1626 Swedish looted from the Polish Kolegium Jezuitów w Braniewie some 1300 books and manuscripts). The most famous example is the ''
Codex Argenteus The Codex Argenteus (Latin for "Silver Book/Codex") is a 6th-century illuminated manuscript, originally containing part of the 4th-century translation of the Christian Bible into the Gothic language. Traditionally ascribed to the Arian bis ...
(the "Silver Bible")'', most of what remains of Bishop
Ulfilas Ulfilas (–383), also spelled Ulphilas and Orphila, all Latinized forms of the unattested Gothic form *𐍅𐌿𐌻𐍆𐌹𐌻𐌰 Wulfila, literally "Little Wolf", was a Goth of Cappadocian Greek descent who served as a bishop and missionary ...
's translation of the New Testament into
Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
, which was looted in Prague. Another example is the ''Copernicana'', the main part of the library of astronomer
Nicolaus Copernicus Nicolaus Copernicus (; pl, Mikołaj Kopernik; gml, Niklas Koppernigk, german: Nikolaus Kopernikus; 19 February 1473 – 24 May 1543) was a Renaissance polymath, active as a mathematician, astronomer, and Catholic Church, Catholic cano ...
, looted by the Swedish Army in
Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
. The so-called
Emperor's Bible The Emperor's Bible (Uppsala, UUB ms C 93; sv, kejsarbibeln), also known as Codex Caesareus, Codex Caesareus Upsaliensis or the Goslar Gospels, is an 11th-century illuminated manuscript currently in Uppsala University Library, Sweden. Despite i ...
was lost when Swedish troops occupied
Goslar Goslar (; Eastphalian: ''Goslär'') is a historic town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the district of Goslar and located on the northwestern slopes of the Harz mountain range. The Old Town of Goslar and the Mines ...
in Germany, and eventually also ended up in Uppsala University Library. Later donations and purchases include many archives and collections of various Swedish families and individuals, such as the personal papers of King
Gustav III Gustav III (29 March 1792), also called ''Gustavus III'', was King of Sweden from 1771 until his assassination in 1792. He was the eldest son of Adolf Frederick of Sweden and Queen Louisa Ulrika of Prussia. Gustav was a vocal opponent of what ...
, which were left to the library, to be opened only 50 years after the King's death. More recently acquired collections include the ''Bibliotheca Walleriana'' and the ''Waller manuscript collection'', collected by Dr Erik Waller, and partly donated, partly purchased by the library. It is one of the largest libraries of books concerned with the history of science and medicine, and a manuscript collection mostly of letters from notable scientists. The manuscript collection is in the process of being scanned and published o
the web
The ''Bodoni collection'' is the largest collection of prints of
Giambattista Bodoni Giambattista Bodoni (, ; 16 February 1740 – 30 November 1813) was an Italian typographer, type-designer, compositor, printer, and publisher in Parma. He first took the type-designs of Pierre Simon Fournier as his exemplars, but afterwards be ...
(1740–1813) outside his native
Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...
. It was donated by the industrialist Erik Kempe in 1959 and later extended with funds donated at the same time. The music collections includes the ''
Düben collection The Düben collection is a collection of musical manuscripts named after the original collector, Gustaf Düben, held in the Uppsala University Library. It includes much 17th-century baroque music, in particular the only surviving copies of many wo ...
'' which was accumulated from 1640 until 1718 by the Düben family, a German family of musicians which included a number of members serving as Hofkapellmeister of the royal court orchestra. It contains a large selection of 17th-century music, notably important works by
Buxtehude Buxtehude (), officially the Hanseatic City of Buxtehude (german: Hansestadt Buxtehude, nds, Hansestadt Buxthu ()), is a town on the Este River in Northern Germany, belonging to the district of Stade in Lower Saxony. It is part of the Hamburg ...
not elsewhere preserved. The
Düben collection The Düben collection is a collection of musical manuscripts named after the original collector, Gustaf Düben, held in the Uppsala University Library. It includes much 17th-century baroque music, in particular the only surviving copies of many wo ...
has been catalogued and is in the process of being scanned and published on the web: https://www2.musik.uu.se/duben/Duben.php Other music collections are those from the manors of Leufsta and Gimo, the collection of
Hugo Alfvén Hugo Emil Alfvén (; 1 May 18728 May 1960) was a Swedish composer, conductor, violinist, and painter. Career Violinist Alfvén was born in Stockholm, Sweden, and studied at the Royal College of Music (Kungliga Musikhögskolan) from 1887 ...
, that of the
Joseph Martin Kraus Joseph Martin Kraus (20 June 1756 – 15 December 1792), was a German-Swedish composer in the Classical era who was born in Miltenberg am Main, Germany. He moved to Sweden at age 21, and died at the age of 36 in Stockholm. He has been referred ...
, and the various collections that have been taken as spoils of war, such as the Cancionero de Uppsala, a 16th-century collection of Spanish music printed in Venice 1556 and not preserved in any other copy.


Current organization

The library is headed by a Library Director, the head librarian (at the moment Lars Burman).


Subject libraries

* The Carolina Library which is housed in the main building which is called
Carolina Rediviva Carolina Rediviva is the main building of the Uppsala University Library in Uppsala, Sweden. The building was begun in 1820 and completed in 1841. The original architect was Carl Fredrik Sundvall. Later additions to the building have been designed ...
. * The Karin Boye Library. (Named after the writer
Karin Boye Karin Maria Boye (; 26 October 1900 – 24 April 1941) was a Swedish poet and novelist. In Sweden she is acclaimed as a poet, but internationally she is best known for the dystopian science fiction novel '' Kallocain'' (1940). Career Boye wa ...
.) *Blåsenhus Library *Dag Hammarskjöld and Law Library. (Named after the UN Secretary General
Dag Hammarskjöld Dag Hjalmar Agne Carl Hammarskjöld ( , ; 29 July 1905 – 18 September 1961) was a Swedish economist and diplomat who served as the second Secretary-General of the United Nations from April 1953 until his death in a plane crash in September 196 ...
.) *Library for Economic Sciences *Blåsenhus Library * Medical Library * Bio-Medical Library * Ångström Library. (In the
Ångström Laboratory The Ångström Laboratory (Swedish: ''Ångströmslaboratoriet'') is a facility of Uppsala University. It hosts multiple research laboratories and departments of natural science and engineering. History The facility is named after Swedish physici ...
and named after
Anders Jonas Ångström Anders Jonas Ångström (; 13 August 181421 June 1874) was a Swedish physicist and one of the founders of the science of spectroscopy.P.Murdin (2000): "Angstrom" chapter in ''Encyclopedia of Astronomy and Astrophysics''. Ångström is also wel ...
and his son Knut Ångström.) * Earth Sciences Library * Biology Library * Almedalsbiblioteket (
Gotland Gotland (, ; ''Gutland'' in Gutnish), also historically spelled Gottland or Gothland (), is Sweden's largest island. It is also a province, county, municipality, and diocese. The province includes the islands of Fårö and Gotska Sandön to the ...
)


Cultural Heritage Group

* Manuscripts and Music * Maps and Prints * Early Prints * Preservation


References

*Charlotte Bellamy, ''The Heritage on the Hill: Blog Texts from Uppsala University Library'', Uppsala, Uppsala universitetsbibliotek, 2014.


External links


Uppsala University Library, official site
(Swedish/English)
DISA, the online library catalogue
(Swedish/English)
Collections at Uppsala University Library
(Swedish/English) {{coord, 59.85581, N, 17.63228, E, source:placeopedia, display=title Uppsala University Academic libraries in Sweden Buildings and structures in Uppsala