Purchases

The acquisition budget of the National Library is limited. We primarily purchase foreign research literature and foreign material with a Swedish connection, the so called Suecana.

Foreign research literature

The National Library of Sweden is a research library within the humanities and social sciences. The Library’s objective is to build a representative collection of material in these fields. This foremost means literature which contributes to placing Sweden in a European and global context.

Purchase priorities

  • Reference literature, e.g. bibliographies, encyclopaedias, dictionaries and older official written records and documents.
  • Literature which supports the study and interpretation of the collections of the National Library.

Foreign material with a Swedish connection

The National Library of Sweden collects foreign literature with a Swedish connection. We call this material "Suecana" which means “Swedish” in Latin. Our Suecana-collection mainly consists of books, but also film, music and computer games.

The Legal Deposit Act, giving the National Library the right to receive a copy of everything published in Sweden, does not include Suecana. This makes us reliant on donations and acquisitions in order to build the collection.

The National Library's definition of Suecana

Suecana can be anything from a translated Swedish book to foreign music by a Swedish composer.

  • Translations of Swedish original works
  • Books dealing with Sweden and/or “Swedish conditions” (history, culture, society, biographies of famous Swedish people etc.)
  • Literature in Swedish
  • Journals with a Swedish connection, for example newsletters to members of Swedish organisations, schools, parishes, or similar abroad.
  • Films with a Swedish connection which have not been distributed in Sweden, e.g. films with Swedish actors or produced from a Swedish original
  • Music with a Swedish connection, for example music by Swedish composers or Swedish artists produced abroad
  • Computer games with a Swedish connection, that have been developed by Swedes, are modelled on a Swedish original, or Swedish music.
INTERLIBRARY LOANS

Are you looking for out-of-print foreign literature?

When we are unable to acquire foreign literature, we can often fulfil your request by an interlibrary loan from other libraries.

Read more about interlibrary loans
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