Main page - The Norwegian Institute of Children’s Books
The Norwegian Institute of Children’s Books (NBI) was established in 1979 and works to develop knowledge of children and young peoples’ literature. The Institute is a private foundation that receives state funding.
NBI has a library housing literature and research texts, offers a two-year course in author studies, and works to research and convey children and young peoples’ literature.
NBI is open to anyone with an interest in the nature and significance of children’s literature, and is actively used by teachers, students, librarians and researchers as well as critics, journalists, publishers and illustrators.
NBI is situated on the top floor of the National Library of Norway on Solli Plass in Oslo.
The Norwegian Institute of Children’s Books is home to the country’s most comprehensive collection of Norwegian and international academic literature on the subject of children and young peoples’ books, in addition to copies of almost all texts published for children and young people in Norway from the 1800s up to and including the present day.
The purpose of the library is to provide access to research and information on children’s literature and within the field as a whole, in addition to collating, documenting and making available children and young people’s literature published in Norway.
Our shelves are home to 75,000 books, most of which are available to loan. The library is open to the public 3 days a week and has its own reading room. Anybody over the age of 18 is eligible for a library card. Search our collection: www.barnebokinstituttet.no/biblioteket
Library opening hours:
Monday: 09:00 – 16:00*
Wednesday: 09:00 – 16:00*
Thursday: 12:00 – 19:00
*The library will close at 15:00 between 15th May – 14th September
The library is closed throughout the month of July.
Research and Circulation
The Norwegian Institute of Children’s Books works to strengthen research in the field of children’s literature. We work with colleges and universities on a number of research projects and collective networks, arrange open research seminars and assist students and researchers in finding relevant primary and secondary literature sources for their projects.
The Nordic Journal of Childlit Aestethics (BLFT) is a peer-reviewed electronic journal established in 2010 and published by The Norwegian Institute of Children’s Books. BLFT is an open access journal and publishes research articles in the Nordic languages and English. BLFT aims to explore the aesthetics of children’s literature, in addition to analogue and digital media, verbal and visual artistic expression and perspectives held of art and children.
Yearbook: Children’s and Young Adult Literature
was first published in 1998. It has been edited and developed by The Norwegian Institute of Children’s Books and is published by Det Norske Samlaget. The yearbook includes articles, research criticism, author interviews and essays. In addition, the yearbook includes statistics, bibliographies and an overview of literary prize-winners.
The Norwegian Institute of Children’s Books has contributed to several publications, such as Norsk barnelitteraturhistorie, Drivkrafta and Inn i teksten.
The Norwegian Institute of Children’s Books Scholarship
Every other year, the Institute awards a scholarship to a contemporary literary research project in the field of children’s literature, with the help of funds donated by The Kari Skjønsberg Memorial Fund.
Outreach Projects, Courses and Tours
The Norwegian Institute of Children’s Books has considerable experience in hosting outreach projects for teachers of primary age and upwards, students, librarians, illustrators and others within the field.
Throughout the past 10 years, The Norwegian Institute of Children’s Books has run a nationwide project in schools. The goal has been to give teachers and school librarians guidance in literary pedagogy and knowledge of recent developments in children and young people’s literature.
NBI offers group tours of the Institute, as well as lectures on more contemporary children and young people’s literature in English. Visits must be arranged in advance.
The Ministry of Culture Awards for Children and Young People’s Literature
Norway’s foremost awards in the field of children’s literature were first established in 1948. Awards are given every year in the categories of Literature, Picture Book, Textbook, Debut Author, Illustration, Animated Series, and Literature in Translation. The Norwegian Institute of Children’s Books appoints the awards and acts as secretariat to the prize jury, in addition to organising the annual awards event.
Author Studies for Children and Young Adults’ Literature
Students from NBI's Author Studies.
Photo: Thomas Berman
NBI offers the only course in Norway designed for those who wish to write for children and young adults. What began as a test project between the years 2006 and 2009 has since constituted a permanent part of NBI’s work.
The course is designed as a part-time commitment over 2 years, organised in monthly seminars. 12 students are admitted on the strength of their own writing. A scholarship fund is reserved for 2 students with an Asian, Middle Eastern, African or Latin American background.
The course aims to:
- Develop new authorships
- Raise the artistic skills of up-and-coming writers and mediators of literature for children and young adults
- Emphasise artistic and literary consciousness and professional skills, and to create better prospects for working as a writer
- Develop competence in related professions