16th June 2026
16th June 2026
New storage facilities opened
An important milestone has now been reached in the National Archives of Iceland’s facilities with the opening of a new preservation building in Sundaborg in Reykjavík. The facility accommodates 14 shelf-kilometres of records, housed in a two-tier electrically powered shelving system—the first of its kind in the country. Sigrún Brynja Einarsdóttir, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Innovation and Higher Education, formally opened the facility and delivered remarks alongside the National Archivist, Hrefna Róbertsdóttir, at a brief ceremony on Friday, June 13. Kristján Þorvaldsson, CFO of the National Archives of Iceland, also addressed the occasion.
The total holdings of the National Archives of Iceland now amount to approximately 60 shelf‑kilometres, and over the next two to three decades it is expected that the total volume of paper records in its custody will double, reaching around 110–120 shelf‑kilometres. By that time, it is anticipated that public administration will have transferred its final paper records, alongside the full implementation of electronic working practices.
The facility now formally opened therefore accommodates about 12% of the total projected holdings. The electrically powered shelving system spans two floors and was designed specifically for the space to maximize its utilization. The system was imported from the Netherlands by Rými ehf. and is the first of its kind in Iceland. It is fair to say that the new facility in Sundaborg marks a milestone in the preservation infrastructure of the Archives and sets the tone for its future facilities development.
“In the coming weeks, around 750–800 pallets of records will be moved into the new facility, and by the end of the summer nearly 10 shelf‑kilometres of processed archival collections should be in place. This means that the new building will likely be fully utilized around the turn of the year, making it essential to already begin planning the next solutions for the preservation needs of the National Archives of Iceland,” says Kristján Þorvaldsson, CFO of the National Archives of Iceland.
Sigrún Brynja Einarsdóttir Permanent Secretary
Kristján Þorvaldsson delivers an address.
Photos from the installation process, which began at the start of the year and was completed in early June:
