    Act on Library ServicesSwedish Code of Statutes - SFS 1996:1596Unofficial translation
The Libraries Actissued 20 December 1996In accordance with the decision of the Riksdag (Swedish Parliament) the following is enacted. Section 1. This Act contains regulations about library services provided through public agencies. Section 2. In order to promote interest in reading and literature, information, enlightenment and education and also cultural activities generally, every citizen should have access to a public library. The public libraries shall work to ensure that data-based information is made available to all citizens. Every municipality shall have a public library. Section 3. The public shall be able to borrow literature for a specified period from the public libraries free of charge. This provision does not prevent charges being made for expenses of photocopying, postage and other similar services. Neither does it prevent a charge being made in the event of a borrower not returning that which he or she has borrowed within the agreed time. Section 4. There should be a county library in every county. The county library shall support the public libraries in the county with supplementary provision of media and other regional library functions. There shall also be one or more lending centres for the provision of supplementary media. Section 5. Within the nine-year compulsory school and upper secondary school there should be suitably distributed school libraries in order to stimulate the interest of pupils in reading and literature and also to satisfy their needs for material in the education. Section 6. There should be access to university libraries at all universities and university colleges. These libraries shall, within the fields connected with the education and research at the university or university college, be responsible for library services within the university and university college and, in collaboration with the library service in Sweden, generally provide library services. Section 7. The municipalities are responsible for the public and school library operations. The county councils are responsible for the county libraries and for the libraries at universities and university colleges whose principal is the county and municipal county councils. The state is responsible for other university libraries and university college libraries and for the lending centres and also for such library operations which the state is responsible for according to separate provisions. Section 8. The public and school libraries shall afford particular attention to people with disabilities and to immigrants and other minorities by, among other things, offering literature in other languages than Swedish and in forms particularly adapted to the needs of these groups. Section 9. Public and school libraries shall afford special attention to children and young persons by offering books, information technology and other media adapted to their needs in order to promote language development and stimulate reading. Section 10. County libraries, lending centres, university libraries and university college libraries, research libraries and other libraries funded by the state shall provide literature from their own collections free of charge at the disposal of the public libraries and otherwise co-operate with the public and school libraries and support them in their efforts to offer borrowers good library services.
This Act enters into force on 1 January 1997
Public Libraries in SwedenOrganisation on Public LibrariesThere are public libraries in all 288 municipalities in Sweden. The municipalities are responsible for the public libraries, both in terms of activities and financially. There are also 24 county libraries, four loan centres and one deposit library, which assist the public libraries with remote loans and book deposits. All libraries are part of a network which co-operates to give citizens free access to books and information. The task of the Swedish National Council for Cultural Affairs (Statens kulturråd) is to support and stimulate library activities, among other things to increase the libraries' chances of reaching new groups of library visitors and to develop new methods and forms of operation.
Library Legislation for Public LibrariesThe new Library Act (Government Bill 1996/97:3) sets out national goals and guidelines in the area of libraries. All citizens shall have access to a public library. There are to be public libraries, where the public can borrow literature free of charge, in every municipality.The task of the public libraries is to promote interest in reading and literature, information, enlightenment and education as well as cultural activities. The bill also specifies that the public libraries shall work to make computer-based information available to all citizens. One of the sections concerns children's and young people's access to books and other media. Young people as well as disabled persons and immigrants are to be given access to information technology and media adapted to their needs.
Information Technology in Public LibrariesAlmost all of the country's 288 public library systems have automated their functions. About a half of all public libraries provide Internet to library visitors, and even more offer CD-ROM. Many libraries have or are working on their own home pages.The Swedish Royal Library has the task to develop and run an IT based national library system, based on LIBRIS. Funds are allocated to an upgrade and extension of the university and higher education system's joint computer network, SUNET. The Riksdag has established goals and guidelines for a national strategy for the new information technology. In the programme of action for the next few years it is emphasised that education, the legal system and public information must be adapted to the new information technology.
Some examples of Information Technology in Public LibrariesThe Museum in Varberg has a picture archive with 200 000 pictures of people, environments, buildings, furniture, tools etc. from old times to the present. The pictures are now being entered into a database and the museum's and the library's computer systems are being interlinked.Training of EDP personnel at the County library in Värmland, managerial training and study days for a large number of people on IT issues have been carried out. Ronneby public library has tried to find out if the libraries in the region could extend their customer service with the help of new technology. Regular co-operation between the town library, the upper secondary school library and Infocenter has been brought about. Via a computer in the City library in Norrköping the library visitors can simply and quickly write letters to a local newspaper. A direct link via the library and the newspaper means that the letter will arrive instantaneously. Gothenburg City Library in collaboration with SRF (Federation of the Visually Handicapped) in Gothenburg has tried to make the library accessible to people with defective vision on the same terms as normally sighted people. Malmö City Library has assumed the role of reference and demonstration library for CD ROM applications, CD ROM technology and local and external CD ROM networks, as well as electronic document delivery. The two southernmost county libraries (Skåne) have carried out a joint training programme for altogether 530 people, consisting of elected representatives and employees of libraries in Skåne. The project Network for knowledge involves linking together the county libraries in four counties in western Sweden and the university libraries in the region and opening them to the public libraries in the municipality. Apart from these examples it can be mentioned that the country libraries in Norrbotten, Västerbotten and Västernorrland are co-operating to produce a joint CD ROM for local literature (Bothnica) and that the county libraries in Kristianstad and Malmöhus have a common subject database on Internet (Infonet Skåne).
EU project ILIERSThe county library in Halland and Kungsbacka library are participating together with a Danish (Hillerod) and two Portuguese libraries in an EU project, financed within the Telematics Application Programme, Libraries sector B/5. Also involved in the project are a Danish computer company and a Portuguese development centre.The purpose is to develop a user-friendly search system which gives access to broad information for various groups of users through networks and interaction. The system, when it is fully developed, is to be marketable to libraries in the Nordic countries and other European countries.
© Statens kulturråd, 1997 Updatet 1998-11-03
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