This is a short introduction in English to some of the services we have to offer.
Norwegian public library services are free and available to everyone living in Norway. At Skien library, you can borrow books, DVDs, newspapers, magazines and language courses. You are also welcome to use our computers with office software and Internet access, make prints and copies (for a modest fee), borrow rooms for study groups or just sit down and relax in a friendly environment. And we have a free wireless network.
Welcome to the Language Café
If you are new to Norwegian we would like to draw your attention to the Language Café (Språkkafé). This is an unformal gathering where the participants join in on custom level conversations in Norwegian, ideal for practising Norwegian while learning more about Norwegian culture and customs, and at the same time making new friends around the table. Check our event calendar for the word Språkkafé.
Books in many languages
Click here to search our catalogue with an English interface. Skien library has a large collection of books for children and adults in the following languages: Arabic, English, Farsi, German, Polish, Russian, Spanish and Somali. In addition, there are smaller collections available in Albanian, French, Italian, Slovakian, Slovenian and Vietnamese, as well as some newspapers and magazines. We are happy to help you order books and other media from Det flerspråklige bibliotek (DFB, The multilingual library). Their collection has more than 50 000 books in 64 languages. You can also use your national library card to make an order from DFB. If you don’t have one, you can order it here.
The library also hosts more than 100 events every year, like public discussions, book launches and other literary events, readings for children, movie nights etc.
Read international newspapers and magazines through PressReader
The online service PressReader offers free unlimited access to over 5 500 newspapers and magazines in 60 languages from all over the world. You can visit the site through our public computers or wireless network. If you use your own device, you can take PressReader with you when you go for 72 hours. To keep your subscription going just revisit us or another of the 20 000 PressReader hotspots around the world. There are thousands of hotspots, among them all the public libraries in Telemark.
Bibliofil app – digital loaningcard
BookBites – digital books