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Of: TT
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Photo: Christine Olsson / TT
According to the Libraries Law, libraries must be accessible to everyone. Stock Photography.
Some libraries have just reopened, others are closed after the New Year. The government’s illegal message has kept many libraries waiting.
On Monday, several libraries in Sweden reopened their facilities after it turned out that recommendations from the government and the Public Health Agency for the closure lacked legal backing.
Söderhamn and Nordanstig are two municipalities in Gävleborg County that are opening, while Gothenburg Libraries will open on January 4.
Municipalities like Lidingö, Bräcke and Östersund are also open, while Malmö and Helsingborg continue to have very limited activities, the Swedish Library Association tells TT.
– After Christmas and New Years, many will probably open again, significantly more than now, says Björn Orring, press and opinion manager for the Swedish Library Association.
The government backed down
Following the government and Public Health Agency press conference on December 18, many questions arose in many libraries about how to interpret the recommendation. According to the Law on Libraries, which is a framework law, library activities must be available in all municipalities and accessible to all.
On December 23, the government and the Public Health Agency backed down and said that what they communicated was a mistake. By then, most public libraries had already closed.
According to the general secretary of the Swedish Library Association, Karin Linder, most people are probably preparing for an opening after the New Year or the thirteenth weekend. Press officer Björn Orring completes:
– Public libraries are probably waiting for clearer information, they are waiting for Christmas and New Year, and it also depends on how the infection situation develops. But most people’s ambition is definitely to open up again.
Just like the gym
On Monday, the government presented the anti-pandemic law that it wants to apply as of January 10 of next year. It includes libraries, which may be required to limit visitors, opening hours, or take other measures to reduce the spread of the infection. It will be the government or the responsible authority who may issue the regulations.
But several of the advisory bodies that responded to the bill think there are ambiguities. The Swedish Library Association supports the law, but believes that libraries should be regulated separately from, for example, gyms and campsites.
The Royal Library considers that the concept of library is not sufficiently defined and also emphasizes the socially important mission of libraries.
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