Cornell’s first University Librarian, Daniel Willard Fiske, sailed to Iceland in 1879 and, already familiar with its storied literature, grew deeply enamored with its people and Nordic culture. He donated books and other materials to Iceland’s National Library, and, upon his death in 1904, bequeathed a vast collection of Icelandic books and manuscripts to Cornell University Library. To this day, the Fiske Icelandic Collection at Cornell continues to be one of the largest collections of Icelandic literature, history, and culture in the world.
145 years after Fiske’s only voyage to Iceland, Cornell’s current Carl A. Kroch University Librarian, Elaine L. Westbrooks, journeyed to the island nation and met with peers in several institutions.
She traveled with E. Haven Hawley, Associate University Librarian for Special Collections, and Patrick J. Stevens, curator of the Fiske Icelandic Collection, for visits to the Árni Magnússon (Manuscript) Institute for Icelandic Studies, the library of the University of Reykjavík, the National and University Library of Iceland, and the National Archives of Iceland.
Among the highlights of the trip, Westbrooks gave an interview for the podcast of the National Archives. “This is the first time I’ve been in Iceland, and it was very important for me to visit the National Archives and other cultural heritage institutions here,” Westbrooks told Ólafur Arnar Sveinsson, podcast host and the archives’ director of education and research.
Fiske’s legacy at Cornell was a main topic of their conversation. “Willard Fiske was the first University Librarian, and many of the collections that we have today, in addition to his collection on Icelandic and Nordic history and culture, are some of our best collections,” Westbrooks said.
Westbrooks also discussed innovations at Cornell University Library and her vision for the library as the “intellectual heartbeat” of the university. In addition, she highlighted the importance of building relationships with institutions all over the world, the power of digital tools and resources in reaching as many people as possible, and the vital role that archives and libraries play as “cornerstone[s] of democracy.”
Hear more about Westbrooks’s interview at the National Archives of Iceland on the podcast.
Learn more about the Fiske Icelandic Collection, and get to know Cornell’s first University Librarian via this virtual exhibit.
