Molde Library

Molde library opened July on 14th 2012 in the new building "Plassen", where it coexists with four other cultural institutions: the Molde International Jazz Festival, Bjørnsonfestivalen (The Norwegian Festival of International Literature), Teatret vårt (the regional theatre company) and Kunstnersenteret Møre og Romsdal (the Regional Centre for Artists).

"Plassen" is 5,800 square meters in size, of which 1,600 square meters are dedicated to the library. In addition, approximately 700 square meters of the common areas are for general use.

The library occupies space on the first, second and third floors. New features include mobile shelves for our storage collection, which patrons may now freely browse, and a completely reorganized young adults department. This is now situated on the third floor in the same area as the newly developed "Popkult" department. In 2011 Molde was one of two libraries chosen to participate in a project to develop a "Popkult" collection, a concept promoted by The Combined Library of Drammen. The idea is to present literature of a youthful fnature, without limiting it to a specific demographic. The selection spans from underground and subcultural books, to mainstream, popular cultural books, a common denominator being that most are not readily available in Norwegian public libraries.

Since its opening, the library has partaken in several projects, often in cooperation with one or more of the other institutions in the building. The many stages - not only in the main theatre auditoriums - have been put to good use. With very few adjustments, one can utilize the cafe, the foyer outside the smaller auditorium, the staircase between the first and third floors, and the roof, making the building very versatile.

The lack of physical barriers between the library and the rest of the building creates an impression of an open and welcoming environment, one of the baseline ideas of public libraries.