About the Special Collections

Five of the Special Collections' collections are listed on UNESCO's "Norway's Documentary Heritage":

• Knud Knudsen's photographic archive (1862–1900) (external link)
• Sophus Tromholt's collection from Finnmark (1882–1883) (external link)
• The Nordland trade archives at Bryggen (1702–1942) (external link)
• Karen-Christine Friele's private archive (1932–2012) (external link)
• Norwegian dialect synopsis (1946–1970) (external link)

Tromholt's collection is also listed on UNESCO's international register "Memory of the World", as one of very few photographic collections globally with this recognition.

The Sudan collection has on two occasions received funding from the Norwegian National Commission for UNESCO, with the aim of completing the cataloguing and preparing a nomination for the "Memory of the World" list.

The Special Collections systematically revise catalogue records that contain harmful or discriminatory language. The collections work with subject experts and affected groups to make marginalized people and groups in the material more visible.

Principles for ethical cataloguing were adopted in September 2025 and build on international ethical standards for cataloguing, including the Cataloguing Code of Ethics (2021). They recognize that the Norwegianization policy affected the Sámi and national minorities, and that all languages and cultures shall be treated equally in the documentation work.

Read more about the principles for Ethical Cataloguing of Materials in the Special Collections.