Anna Jónsdóttir is in a coffee chat about the Women's Reading Room in Eyrarbakki.
In Eyrarbakki, there is a Women's Book Room that preserves printed works written by Icelandic women. Rannveig Anna Jónsdóttir, known as Anna, the founder of the collection, discusses the importance of preserving printed sources in a coffee chat with IÐAN Education Centre.
“I believe that print publishing will continue to flourish,” says Anna, who has no faith that electronic sources will completely replace printed ones. She believes the preservation value of printed books is greater and that more emphasis will likely be placed on the quality and appearance of printed materials in the future.
The library has a very diverse collection of books. The oldest book is from 1876, a poetry book called Stúlka (Girl) by Júlía Jónsdóttir, who was a maid in Akureyjar in Breiðafjörður and self-published it. The book was printed in Akureyri.
There are valuable books on display that are also very interesting printed items when it comes to bookbinding, use of materials, and design. Books illustrated by Nína Tryggvadóttir and magazines published by women, where the topics range from various industries to arts and everyday life. “I suppose the most unusual book is one written with automatic writing,” says Anna, but adds that she rarely wants to answer whether she has a favourite book in the collection.
The idea for the Women's Book Room came about in a literature class with Helga Kress, who showed Anna and other students how much of the literature by Icelandic women had been lost. Anna later came across a women's library in Britain during her travels, Chawton House Library, and then became determined to establish an Icelandic collection and immediately started collecting books. “I haven't bought a single book in here,” says Anna, who regularly receives books sent to her in Eyrarbakki. “I've become a bit particular now; I've started asking people to go to the website and see what we already have,” she says, adding that the collection is significant. “It's very important to show young women the history and how much Icelandic women have actually written.”