Biblioteksentralen AL is a library center for public libraries in Norway, with offices in Oslo. It is the leading supplier of products and services to these libraries. Libraries purchase books and equipment through Biblioteksentralen.
Libraries make use of Biblioteksentralen's centralized library catalog system, BIBBI. It contains 170,000 bibliographic records, with 11,000 records added each year. A simplified version of the MARC21/NORMARC format is used, called BSMARC.[1]
Biblioteksentralen is cooperatively owned (the "AL" suffix to the name means "andelslag" or cooperatively held corporation) by 425 municipalities, 14 counties, the Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities and the Norwegian Library Association. It was established in this form in February 1952 after a government resolution in the previous year, but its predecessor Folkeboksamlingenes Ekspedisjon had been around since 1902.[2] The corporation has 56 employees and a turnover of NOK 99 million (2006) with a profit from operations of 2 million.[3]
The Norwegian book market is currently undergoing deregulation, meaning both challenges and opportunities for Biblioteksentralen. After July 1, 2006, municipal primary schools are no longer required to purchase textbooks from local bookstores. BS Norli Skole AS, a corporation established in April 2006 where Biblioteksentralen owns 34 percent, in its first year was able to win a majority of municipal tenders for purchase and gain a 40 percent market share.[3] Such changes have a greater impact on Biblioteksentralen than the introduction of new technologies such as web services and RFID.
Some important library institutions in Norway besides Biblioteksentralen are the National Library of Norway and the academic library center Bibsys.