The University of Minnesota Libraries has a large collection of bygdeboker (farm book) and other sources of Norwegian local history.
Accessing the Bygdebøker (Farm Books) from UMN Libraries
We welcome everyone to use our bygdebøker (farm book) collection. Please note the following:
- Most of these books are available to members of the general public via interlibrary loan from your public library. Consult your nearest public library for assistance. See borrowing privileges for visitors for more information on using materials from the UMN Libraries.
- Some of the bygdebøkers are in closed stacks which are not accessible by the public. Consult Libraries Search to check on the location. For assistance, contact Brian Vetruba, European Studies Librarian.
- We are in the process of updating this guide as the listings on it are incomplete. Consult Libraries Search for additional titles. For assistance, contact Brian Vetruba, European Studies Librarian.
What is a Norwegian bygdebøk?
The Norwegian bygdebok is one of the best sources of Norwegian genealogical information. It is a history of a specific community, recording who lived where, and when. It may also include birth, marriage, and death dates; landholdings and chattels; physical descriptions of the farms, buildings, and residents and their possessions; and accounts of historical events. Some may trace family lines back to the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Bygdeboker are published in Norwegian and often do not have indexes. |
Guides to area collections and bygdebøkers
Guide to Norwegian bygdebøker : Family history room, Elwyn B. Robinson department of special collections, Chester Fritz library, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, North Dakota
Norwegian local history : a bibliography of material in the collections of the Memorial Library, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Lokalhistorisk litteratur, 1969-1984
Norsk lokalhistorisk litteratur, 1946-1970
Norsk lokalhistorisk litteratur : bibliografi over by- og bygdebøker, regionhistorie og periodika ca. 1900-1996
Last Updated: May 15, 2024 9:24 AM
URL: https://libguides.umn.edu/finding-norwegian-bydoboker