About us

The National library of Sweden is a library and a government agency. Ultimately, our mission is about democracy, equality and free opinion.

Get in touch

This is how you can get in touch with the National Library of Sweden.
The National Library of Sweden

The National Library of Sweden collects, preserves, describes, and provides access to Sweden’s published cultural heritage. The library also promotes the development of open science. In addition, we provide a national overview of the library sector.
History

The history of the National Library reaches far back in time. What was originally a royal library is now everyone’s library.
Our locations

Most of the National Library's public activities are located in Humlegården in Stockholm. But we also have operations in other locations in Sweden.
How we collect material

The National Library collects everything that is published and distributed in Sweden, primarily through the legal deposit legislation. We also receive donations and purchase foreign material with associations to Sweden.
Stolen books

For nine years, the National Library of Sweden was exposed to theft of valuable books. Still today the search for the missing books continues.
Swedish ISBN Agency

The International Standard Book Number – ISBN – is a free, unique identifier for monographic publications and maps published for general distribution. The number also makes use of GS1 bar codes possible.