The Nobel Library of the Swedish Academy

The Nobel Library of the Swedish Academy was established in 1901. Since 1921, the library has been located on the premises of the Swedish Academy in the Stock Exchange Building in Stockholm’s Old Town.

The Nobel Library is funded by the Nobel Foundation and the Swedish Academy. The primary task of the library is to acquire and make accessible works of contemporary literature, in many cases in their original language, along with books on literary and linguistic theory.

Currently the library subscribes to around 150 literary journals, mostly published outside Sweden, which play an important role in its acquisitions process. Texts such as articles, reviews, surveys and interviews are continuously recorded in the library’s database. With its collection of around 200,000 volumes, the Nobel Library is one of the largest libraries specialising in literature in the Nordic region.

Searches may be made of the library’s foreign language titles using the LIBRIS national database (www.libris.kb.se). The library makes interlibrary loans to public, research and university libraries, most frequently in the Nordics but also elsewhere in Europe.

The Nobel Library is open to members of the public, particularly those seeking access to contemporary literature and literary criticism for advanced studies. Special reading places are available for researchers, either temporarily or for longer periods.

The library also considers it one of its tasks to assist those who work with books, such as librarians and bookshop staff, by arranging lectures and seminars on contemporary literature.