Swedish Library Policy and Community Librarianship

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to examine how Swedish national library policy has evolved and been influenced by ideas associated with community librarianship. Additionally, the collaboration between public libraries and the movement-based popular education, which shares common roots with public libraries and emphasizes community building, is explored. The article is structured around two research questions, addressed through a qualitatively oriented document study of key documents in national library policy. The state initiative "Strengthened Libraries" is also analyzed. The investigation reveals that Swedish library policy has been significantly influenced by community librarianship in recent years, expressing several of its central ideas, such as community building, diversification of activities, and the library's role as a place. It also indicates that public libraries have some collaboration with movement-based popular education but that libraries' interest in expanding this collaboration appears limited. No previous research has examined the impact of community librarianship on Swedish library policy. The relationship between public libraries and movement-based popular education in study associations is also an underexplored area. This study provides some insight into the current situation, but further research is needed.