Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections |
In commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the Bygdebok Collection, the Chester Fritz Library is pleased to publish this guide to its holdings of Norwegian local history books called bygdebøker. The Family History Room in the Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections houses this extensive Bygdebok Collection totaling more than 1,050 volumes. These books have become invaluable research tools for those family historians documenting their Norwegian ancestry.
A typical bygdebok set consists of several volumes. The first generally describes the history of a community, its geography and geological features, economic base, and social and political culture. Subsequent volumes offer genealogical or family history information about the farms in the area and frequently indicate those individuals who immigrated to America.
The Bygdebok Collection also contains several town history books, published emigration listings, name indexes for a particular bygdebok set, and a few yearbooks that contain genealogical information.
Twenty-five years ago, in 1980, former assistant coordinator of the Department, Colleen Oihus, and Arne Brekke, now retired UND Associate Professor of Languages, initiated the Bygdebok Collection by soliciting donations of books from communities in Norway. The response was tremendous and additions continued to be steady. In 1988, Brekke again assisted the Department in a second solicitation that produced a significant addition to the Collection.
Sincere appreciation is extended to the people of Norway whose kindness and generosity has made the Bygdebok Collection possible. Gifts have been donated by numerous individuals, county historical societies, community organizations, and local governmental agencies, in addition to the University of Oslo Library, which donated seventeen volumes.
The Nodak Mutual Foundation recognized the research value of the Bygdebok Collection in 2000. A generous grant from the Foundation to the University of North Dakota Nordic Initiative resulted in a significant addition of 33 volumes representing 17 Norwegian parishes. District Four of North Dakota Sons of Norway has also been very kind in its support of the Collection with gift books on a variety of historical topics that complement the Collection.
From 1995 to 1999, over 120 volumes were added as a result of a Norwegian Emigration Fund grant awarded to Frank D'Andraia, former Director of Libraries. Since 2001, Wilbur Stolt, Director of Libraries, has committed significant resources for the acquisition of an additional 125 volumes. The Chester Fritz Library remains committed to acquiring these valuable resources in the future and to enhance this premiere bygdebok collection, one of the largest in the United States. Finally, the Library and the Department of Special Collections is most sincerely indebted to Arne Brekke for his unceasing efforts to make the Chester Fritz Library's Bygdebok Collection one of the finest in the country. We applaud his vision!
The Guide to Norwegian Bygdebøker arranges the bygdebøkene alphabetically by name of district (fylke) and then by municipality (kommune), parish (sogn), or locality (sted). An attempt has been made to list all those communities and parishes that are readily identifiable within the title of each bygdebok volume, offering access to over 550 communities. Please note that for ease of access for English reading family historians, the Guide alphabetizes according to the English, not the Norwegian alphabet, and thus ignores the three special letters of the Norwegian language. Library call numbers are listed after each title entry for convenience.
Follow the links to view the bygdebøker for each fylke:
| Akershus | Aust Agder | Buskerud | Finnmark | Hedmark | Hordaland |
| Møre og Romsdal | Nordland | Nord-Trøndelag | Oppland | Østfold | Rogaland |
| Sogn og Fjordane | Sør-Trøndelag | Telemark | Troms | Vest Agder | Vestfold |
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