Reading Rooms

You will use different reading rooms depending on what material you wish to read or study.

Materials on Reading Room Loan must always be read in one of the library's five Reading Rooms:

• The Main Reading Room and Periodicals Reading Room for materials picked up from the Information and Circulation Desk
• The Research Reading Room for patrons who have been assigned a book locker
• The Special Reading Room, where there are special rules for all materials picked up at the Special Circulation Desk
• The Microfilm Reading Room for microfilmed newspapers and some periodicals 

Main Reading Room

You can read materials you pick up from the Information and Circulation Desk on the Entrance Level in the Main Reading Room. These are materials from the Swedish Collections from 1830 to the present, the foreign collection from 1830 to the present, and printed books, maps, and other cartographic documents in book form printed after 1830.

Periodicals Reading Room

The Periodicals Reading Room is situated on floor 2, in the Annex.

Research Reading Room

This Reading Room is located in the East Wing and is reserved for patrons who have book lockers.

Special Reading Room

The Special Reading Room is located one level up from the Entrance Level, where you can read all materials in the Special Collections:

• Printed Music
• Posters
• Manuscripts
• Loose-leaf Maps and Historical Prints
• Printed Books, Maps, and Other Cartographic Documents in Book Form, Before 1830
• Non-printed Materials
• Oversized Periodicals
• Swedish Original Periodicals (paper copies), Through 1850
• Foreign Periodicals, Before 1800. 

Lending and Reading Rules

1. You must show a library card and valid ID
2. You may not take any material out of the Special Reading Room without staff permission
3. If you want to duplicate or photograph material, you must contact an employee, who will determine what method must be used
4. Maintain the order of volumes and capsules
5. Do not remove loose sheets from their protective covers or plastic pockets when you study them
6. Do not use any library materials as a writing base
7. Do not make notes or any other marks on National Library materials
8. Do not put your hands or arms on text or pictures
9. Wear gloves when you study photographs, glass plates, and photographic postcards. Photographic materials must always be placed on surfaces with the picture side up
10. A library employee will supervise your studies if the material is considered especially fragile
11. Check with a library employee if you wish to take a break from your studies. They will decide whether you must turn in the material while you are away.

Microfilm Reading Room

The room is located at the end of the Annex. In the Microfilm Reading Room, you may read all Swedish newspapers since 1979 on microfilm, newspapers on newspaper sticks, periodicals on microfilm, and national phone books. Some newspapers before 1979 are also available on microfilm. Swedish newspapers between 1851 and 1979 that have not been microfilmed and free newspapers can be read at the Swedish Library Depository. Newspapers before 1851 can be read at the National Library if their condition permits.

Periodicals on Microfilm

The following periodicals are available on open access shelves:

• Allers Familj-journal 1879-1955
• Bildjournalen 1954-1969
• Bildjournalens stjärnalbum 1960-1964
• Exlex 1919-1920
• FIB: Folket i Bild 1933-1963 no. 4
• Filmjournalen 1919-1953
• IDUN illustrerad tidning för kvinnan och hemmet 1888-1962
• Konsumentbladet 1930-1936
• Naggen 1912-1922
• Patrioten 1792-1794
• Pop-albumet 1965 - see Bildjournalens stjärnalbum
• Quosego 1928-1929
• SE 1938-1981 No. 18
• Spektrum 1931-1933
• Strix 1897-1924
• Söndagsnisse 1862-1924
• Vi 1937-1963 

Swedish National Telephone Books 1880-1997

You can read these telephone books with a special lens for 16 mm microfilm on one of five reading and duplication machines that must be reserved in advance. Phone books from 1921 to 1962 (with gaps for certain years) are available in printed form in the Microfilm Reading Room as reference copies. You may photocopy these items on the patron copy machine next to the Information and Circulation Desk on the Entrance Level. Use the same type of duplication card used for duplicating microfilm.