History of the library

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Peter Christian Abildgaard

The Library's nucleus is Abildgaard's book collection
Peter Christian Abildgaard (1740-1801), doctor and scientist, was Denmark's first veterinarian, who founded the Veterinary College in Christianshavn in 1773. The College's Library was established in 1783 with the purchase of Abildgaard's private book collection - 1219 works in 2156 volumes. The collection was registrered on acquisition in a hand-written Catalogus. The books from the collection are now indicated with Abildgaard covers, but they are otherwise shelved among the other books in the old pre-1950 collection.

Ruini: Anatomia del Cavallo ... (1618) - the first registration in Abildgaard's Catalogus

Several catalogues
Erik Viborg (1759-1822), originally a botanist, became the second lecturer at the Veterinary College in 1783, and succeeded Abildgaard as principal after the latter's death. Viborg bought a major collection of books during a study trip in 1787-90 and the books were placed in the Library. Of particular interest were topical textbooks in French, German and English, but there were also fine old books from the 15-1600s. Viborg's and the Veterinary College's seal are stamped in the books, and this collection is also registrered in a hand-written catalogue. Viborg also acquired many books for the Library later, partly by exchanges with the network of colleagues in the European veterinary colleges.

Samuel Collins: A systeme of Anatomy ... (1685) - the first registration in Viborg's catalogue

The Library's first records/catalogue: Alphabetisk Catalog over Veterinairsk Bibliothek - is a worn hand-written item in which acquisitions were regularly noted. A complete two-volume Alphabetisk Fortegnelse of veterinary and other books in the Library was prepared in 1828 and 1840 - also hand-written.

A new Library in a new College
The first printed catalogue appeared in 1858 - for a new Library which was to serve a major College. Henrik Carl Bang Bendz (1806-82) was responsible for this catalogue, the Library and the new arrangement of the book collection. Bendz was originally a doctor and scientist, and was affiliated with the Veterinary College as a lecturer from 1837. He was the driving force behind the establishment of the Agricultural University at Frederiksberg in 1858. Apart from veterinary science, the university was to teach in agriculture, horticulture and forestry. The Library was now called the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural College Library, KVLB. Several major collections were incorporated in 1867-71 - from the Forestry Institute, the Classens Library's agronomy section, and science duplicates from the University Library. A new printed catalogue appeared in 1873, followed by a series of supplements. The Library was not yeat bigger than it could be accomodated in one room - shared by the books, the librarian and users, but by 1890 the collection had grown to over 20.000 volumes, so shelves had to be raised, and some of the books placed into stacks. Until 1890 the opening times were very limited - only one hour three times a week.

Loans and reading room 1900

The first card catalogue
Vilhelm Grundtvig (1866-1950), cand.mag., was the first full-time librarian. Gruntvig was very active during the ten years he worked at the Library (1892-1903). He published a printed catalogue of the entire book collection to and including 1894, and he also established the first alphabetical and systematic card catalogue, where acquisitions could be regularly added on cards. This card file was in use until 1950. Gruntvig also prepared a new and very comprehensive classification by which the literature was arranged until 1950. The old collection is still arranged in the stacks under this classification. Two big stacks for books were built in 1894 in KVL's new building on Bülowsvej, and the librarian gained his own office which was separate from Loans and the reading room. The collection had grown to over 30.000 volumes by 1900, and there were about 250 regular journals. The full-time librarian also benefited users in the form of better opening times. From 1890, the Library opened for two hours, and from 1901 three hours a day. The reading room had a special 12-hour opening time for KVL employees with keys.

Systematic catalogue - pre-1950

Rapid growth in the book collection
Raphael Meyer (1869-1925), cand.mag., was librarian from 1903 until his death. During his time, the big 1894 catalogue was expanded by several supplements, and finally, in 1921, by a big comprehensive supplement for acquisitions in the period 1895-1916. This catalogue was the last printed catalogue, and it is bigger than the 1894 catalogue. The Library's book collection had thus grown by more than 50 % in 20 years. The acquisitions included several substantial book collections from KVL-lecturers. A number of special collections were also incorporated, among them working drawings for gardens and parks by Edvard Glæsel (1858-1915) - the great landscape architect of the age whose fine book collection was also incorporated, and which can now be found among the bookplates. Many af the Library's finest books on landscape gardening are from Glæsel's collection.

Left: Glæsel's bookplate
Right: J. Whateley: Observations ... gardening (1801)

One librarian and one assistant
The space problems were again pressing after the major acquisitions, and in 1921 most of the Library moved into a newly built multi-storey library wing, where for a time there was space for the big and steadily growing collection. This building was demolished in 1993 in connection with the construction of the new Library. In 1908 the staff was one assistant and the librarian. By 1908 the number of books had grown to about 40.000 volumes.

Library wing - opened 1921, demolished 1993

In the long period - 1925-61 - when Max Lobedanz, cand.mag. (1888-1961) was chief librarian, the staff grew somewhat more, in step with the growth in materials, duties, opening times etc.

Loans and reading room in the 1930s - still a man's world

Women and copies
By 1958 the staff had grown to 12, several of them women, and this was something entirely new! The copying service was one of the new duties from 1942, and another time-consuming service was the publication of a journal index on cards from 1947, where articles from about 1500 journals were indexed. The book collection had grown to over 200.000 volumes by 1958 and the Library had gradually filled up to bursting point. Additional shelves were set up everywhere and a low basement was filled up - to the considerable inconvenience of the daily loan transactions from it for many years to come!

The basement stacks - miserable accomodation

The classification had gradually become obsolete. A new system of classification for books was introduced from 1950, but only in the card files, which now had to be consulted before each loan. To save as much space as possible, the books were arranged compactly in numerical order while the journals were arranged by title within the new classificaion's main groups.

Problems of lack of space
Helge Nielsen (1918-1999), cand.mag., was chief librarian from 1961 to 1978. Nielsen fought for a new Library during all this period, but in vain. The growth in materials increased - not least in journals, which required the most space. A lot of energy was expended on removal and remote storage, and it gradually became necessary to close for 2-3 weeks each summer to manage the major reshuffling. Cooperation agreements were entered into with the other Nordic agricultural libraries, and reporting to AGRIS - FAO's bibliography of agricultural literature - was commenced.

Left + centre: Porter's office, photocopying etc.
Right: busy in Loans

Computerisation
Inge Berg Hansen (1939-2012), lic.tech., was chief librarian from 1978 to 1986. With her employees, Hansen was active in the introduction of computers to the Library so that the Library could take part in the research libraries' first experiment with a computerised catalogue with a common database. The Library subsequently acquired its own online catalogue, but then only by connecting to the Technical Library of Denmark's catalogue system ALIS. The technology of the time was terminals, which in the first years were only for staff, but in 1986 terminals were also made available to the public so that they could do their own searches. The card catalogue was closed. Another era had passed. A Documentation Centre was established in 1979 with the special task of doing paid online searches for business community and other users.

Left: Udlånet, 1983
Right: Online-søgninger

The new Library building
The real big improvements did not come until the 1990s, while Inger Mathiesen (1935- ), cand.mag., was chief librarian (1987-98). The poor physical facilities for users, staff and materials in the old Library are clearly remembered by all of us who can now rejoice every day in the functional and attractive facilities in the big new Library, which was finally completed in 1995. There is good space for the materials here with open access to the more recent collections of books and journals.

Left: Excavation for basement rooms
Centre and right: The completed new Library

The Library gained its own computer system in 1992 and was one of the last research libraries in Denmark to do so. All acquisitions were from now registred in the online catalogue Agroline, and since 2002, all older registrations in the card catalogues have also been made available via Agroline. PCs became standard equipment and more and more resources were available digitally - the website being the virtual main entrance to the Library's multiplicity of services.
Moving into the Library was celebrated with the publication of the book on the Library's history: Bog på bog ... år efter år. Danmarks Veterinær- og Jordbrugsbiblioteks historie 1783-1995 by Ivan Katic. (in Danish - summary in English)

Electronic resources and study environment

Librarian Ulla W. Jeppesen (1944- ) was chief librarian 1999-2005 - a time with a heavy growth in the quantity of electronic resources. Internet access to most journals in digital form made it possible removing lots of space-consuming journals in paper. 1. Floor as a whole was cleared and accomodated an open and attractive study area giving place to even more PCs. 2,3 km of journals were discarded in 2004 or removed to the Lower Ground Floor, where the rest of the journals in paper are lined up on open shelves from 1990. Wireless net has been established at the library just as at the Campus as a whole giving easy access for all private labtops.

Left: 1. Floor 1995

Right: 1. Floor 2004

University merger and new name

Librarian Frede Mørch (1950- ) became head of the library in 2005 in connection with organizational changes were to be activated these years with the merging of universities in Denmark. In 2007, KVL became The Faculty of Life Sciences and thus part of the University of Copenhagen. Subsequently the library became a faculty library and simultaneously a part of the library partnership CULIS uniting all libraries of the University of Copenhagen. This also resulted in the common catalogue REX and common purchase of most electronic resources. In 2008, the library changed its name to the Faculty of LIFE Sciences Library. The IT Learning Center, ITLC has been a section of the library since 2006. ITLC is in charge of e-based learning at LIFE and offers attractive e-courses on the global higher education market. In 2009, the opening hours have been extended to weekdays 8-20 and 10-17 at weekends.



	The entrance of the library is unchanged

Fusion/fission and new name - again

From 2012 came new, organizational change as LIFE closed down as independent faculty and was divided, so the veterinary departments became part of the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences whereas the rest was merged with the Faculty of Science. With that the era of the Agricultural university ended - as an independent university 1858-2006 and as LIFE Faculty under the University of Copenhagen 2007-11. The consequence for the library was clarified with the evaluation after 5 years of CULIS in October 2012. The library remains being the central library for Frederiksberg Campus - now serving 2 faculties. From April 2013 we have got a new name reflecting this reality: Faculty Library of Natural and Health Sciences, Frederiksberg Campus.

The other library serving these Faculties is situated at Nørre Allé 49 and has got the same name with the addition Nørre Campus.

Web editor, - last update:29 May 2013