The committee’s secretariat has been
transferred from Copenhagen to Oslo and
is now organised as an independent entity
within the recently-established Norwegian
Archive, Library and Museum Authority
(ABM-utvikling). The secretariat will be
headed by Asbjørn Langeland, previously
director of the Norwegian Directorate for
Public Libraries. As of May the staff will be
augmented by Jenny Fossum Grønn, who
will act as adviser.
The secretariat has posted a new home
page on the Internet, www.nordbok.
org, providing application forms and
guidance in a variety of languages
including Danish, Swedish, English,
Finnish, Faeroese, Greenlandic, Icelandic
and Sami. Much of the information
on this homepage has been transferred
directly from the Danish National
Library Authority in Copenhagen,
where the secretariat was based up
until the end of last year.
Nordbok’s budget for 2003 amounts to
DKK 7,578,000. In addition the committee
also administers a grant of DKK
400,000 to fund the two-way translation
of literature between the Baltic and
the Nordic languages.
Nordbok provides financial support to
the following initiatives:
- Translation and publication of
Nordic literature
- Co-operation between the Nordic
public library sectors
- Literary projects, seminars, exhibitions,
conferences, publications,
courses for authors and translators,
etc.
During 2002 the committee received
273 applications for grants towards
translations between the Nordic
languages, representing an overall
amount of DKK 11,921,502.
135 applications were approved and a
total of DKK 2,204,000 was provided
in financial support. Grants were given
towards 8 translations from the Baltic
languages to the Nordic and to 22 from
the Nordic languages to the Baltic.
Nordbok has drawn up a working
schedule for 2003 giving priority to the
following aims and objectives:
- Support and development of Nordic
literary initiatives
- Improving links between Nordic
literary initiatives and Nordic
library co-operation
- Initiating and supporting co-operation
between Nordic libraries and
the Nordic library authorities, also
between the library sector and other
official authorities, organisations
and advisory bodies
- Developing library policy as an instrument
in today’s information and
network society
- Promoting the writing and dissemination
of literature for children and
young people, also encouraging the
participation of children and young
people in the literary process
- Promoting mutual interest, knowledge
and respect between peoples
of differing ethnic backgrounds in
the multicultural Nordic societies of
today
- Strengthening literary and library
co-operation between the geographic
centre and the more peripheral
Nordic areas, also between the five
Nordic countries and the three
autonomous regions of Greenland,
the Faeroes and the island of Ĺland
- Participating in and influencing
European and international development
in the literary and library
fields
- Supporting democratic progress in
Nordic neighbouring areas by working
to ensure basic cultural activities
and by developing cultural exchange
between the Baltic and the
Nordic countries.
Nordbok arranges two committee
meetings each year. The first meeting
in 2003 will take place 25.-26. May in
Visby on the island of Gotland,
Sweden.
Applications for grants towards translation
work are dealt with by a special
committee where all languages in the
Nordic region are represented. This
committee also meets twice a year.
Final decisions on awarding these
grants are taken by Nordbok.
Translated by Eric Deverill
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