Photographic archives (Fotoarkiv)

There are many photographic archives maintained by organisations in the public and private sectors. The three principal archives are listed below. There are also many commercial bureaux, see under bildebyråer in the Yellow Pages.

The National Photographic Archive (Nasjonalt fotoarkiv), a part of the National Library, preserves historical collections and is the country’s repository for photographic records of public interest; Finsteveien 2, 8607 Mo i Rana, Tel: 81001300, Fax: 75121222, www.nb.no/html/nasjonalt_fotoarkiv.html.

Scanpix Norge is the country’s leading supplier of archive and other photographic services to printed media and other sectors. It has agreements with and can supply photographs from more than 80 archives around the world, including those of the major news agencies, AP, Reuters and EPA, Akersgt 55, PO Box 1185 Senrum, 0107 Oslo, Tel: 22003200, Fax: 22003210, www.scanpix.no.

Husmo-foto specialises in scenic, cultural and aesthetic photographs, and supplies many of the photographs used in calendars and postal cards; Drammensveien 130, PO Box 231 Skøyen, 0212 Oslo, Tel: 22134250, Fax: 22060130, www.husmo-foto.no.

Public information (Offentlig informasjon)

Pamphlets, data sheets and the like are widely available in public services facilities, such as libraries (bibliotek), kindergartens (barnehage), municipal offices (kommune-kontorer) and clinics (helsestasjoner). Most are in Norwegian, but many key publications are in English, French or German, as well as Turkish, Urdu or Vietnamese; these usually are made available in areas where language groups need them. There are two online public information services, ODIN, the official portal for the Council of State and the Ministries, and Norway.no, the general service portal for governmental information.

Public notices (Kunngjøringer)

The classified advertising sections of newspapers carry public notices, usually as one of the first categories. Kunngjøringer include all local and national government notices to the public as well as announcements and appeals by private organisations. For instance, if water supply or electricity are to be temporarily turned off, as required by construction works, residents are notified by advertisement under kunngjøringer, usually with a map and description of the area affected. The typical topics of kunngjøringer include, alphabetically by their equivalents in English:

bankruptcies konkurs
building plans bebyggelsesplan
electricity strøm
enquiry undersøkelse
estate of a deceased person dødsbo
exhibitions messe, utstilling
forced sale by court order tvangsauksjon
grants støtte
invitation to tender anbud, tilbud
legal notice (as to persons having claims against an estate or bankruptcy) proklama
mushroom check (annual free check by experts of wild mushrooms picked)
soppkontroll
outage stans
probate court skifterett
public display of plans offentlig ettersyn
public transport kollektivtrafikk
regional plan reguleringsplan
road works veiarbeid
scholarships stipend
schools skoler
sewage kloakk
snow removal snørydding
summons stevning
taxes skatt
telephone telefon
traffic redirection trafikkregulering
water supply vann

Subscription (Abonnement)

Subscription to a newspaper or magazine usually is the cheapest way to buy it regularly. Subscription almost always includes home delivery of local newspapers and of national newspapers within the metropolitan areas where they are published and in some other cities. Elsewhere, newspapers are sent by post. Some international newspapers offer delivery in downtown Oslo. Most newspapers offer redirection and delivery or posting to summer holiday addresses and accordingly offer online redirection or send subscribers temporary address change forms well in advance. Magazines are sent by post.

There are two types of subscription agreement, both paid in advance, but differing in renewal practice. The subscriptions to most international newspapers and magazines cease when unpaid. The publisher will send you a renewal notice as well as one or more reminders, well before your subscription expires. If you don’t pay, your subscription is cancelled. The subscriptions to many Norwegian newspapers and magazines are valid until cancelled by the subscriber, so renewal notices usually have statements such as Abonnementet løper til det sies opp (“the subscription continues until you cancel it”). If you don’t pay, the subscription continues and you will be billed for late payment. The easiest way to subscribe to a newspaper or magazine is to contact its subscriber service (abonnementsservice), usually listed in the front or back of each issue, often with a coupon to fill out and return. The most usual payment is by giro (Chapter 2).

Tourism portal

The tourism portal at www.visitnorway.com is part of Innovation Norway. It offers complete information on the country as a tourist destination, in 11 languages, including two sets of pages in English, one for the UK and Ireland and one for the USA and Canada.

Trade portal

The trade portal at www.nortrade.com is part of Innovation Norway. It offers complete information on international trade, in seven languages, and includes links to more than 20 organisations dealing with export and import.