Community Library - Sweden's Revolt?

Unbiased Opinion on Sustainable Sweden. My sociological/ anthropological ‘fly-in-the-wall’ perspective on Sweden’s culture, gender and diversity, food, forests, health care and ‘everything under sustainable development’. As an international expat in Sweden, I am being asked by my friends and family, "How is Sweden to live?" Having lived in various countries, I have learnt the tricks to adapt and rarely share my experiences. One of my friends/mentors from the Netherlands insisted I should jot down anecdotes, observations, and all unbiased interactions with Swedish so that others (like you) can enjoy reading, learning, and may be initiating a dialogue about Sweden and its way of living. This is the second article.

February 12, 2022. A lovely sunny Saturday morning with 3 degrees Celsius and wind speed of 9 (15) m/s*, I took a walk to enjoy the rare Sunshine. Six months ago, I arrived in this municipal locality. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, I did not explore my neighbourhood as much as I would have loved to. The restrictions also meant I did not yet had 'integration' into Swedish society - the Swedish learning language cafes are not functioning, and almost every one is working from home so meeting Swedes has not yet happened. Logically, it is hard to meet the Swedes - imagine the 40 percent of Mumbai's population living in a region that is larger in size compared to the largest province of India, Rajasthan :-)

Today, I decided to check the beautiful library or bibliotek. It is beautiful in all weathers - see the photo above - the architecture, the location next to the harbour, and a warm interior makes it a welcoming building. I walked up to the receptionist to check the requirements to become a member. All she wanted was my personnummer** to get me a library card. In two minutes I became a member without paying any membership fee. All for free. Well, almost free. Working in Sweden, we pay a heavy tax of 35%, and this is reflected in such 'free services'.

A free library - I had hard time to imagine I had access all newspapers, journals, books, audio, film DVDs, access to live events such as theatre, music, etc. In addition, access to an online digital library that includes e-books, audio books, and a vast collection of films. One can use the library computers or bring their own laptop and get free wifi access. The choices of hard copy books in other languages are relatively smaller compared to Swedish, but the option becomes wider when accessing digital library As a filmmaker, I must admit that the genre of films via digital library is the best combination of all paid online channels such as MUBI, Netflix and you name it. Everything - free for all - from this community library. You can borrow as many books as you want - scan it with the library card and return it within 30 days or extend it for a longer period via email, phone or online. You will have to return it on time (if not extended), otherwise it might lead to a fine.

Community library is an interesting concept, and in many places around the world, I have seen it as an individual initiative. This makes Sweden different. The library is not a philanthropic service, rather an integrated approach within the society. The reaction of the receptionist when I asked about the registration fee for library was like: "Gee, girl, which planet you are coming from!" Community library, in some of the tropical countries I worked, is a part of revolution to give access to underprivileged. This is the difference. In these countries, it is not a national agenda, but individual initiatives. Such initiatives are good (and I admire a lot), but it is not community library that I have access here in Sweden. Everyone has equal access to quality library and all its services. Thus, the concept of a community library is a political one - the State's unwillingness to provide basic facilities to its citizens. Why does community library has to be a revolution?

Revolution: In Indonesia, I had seen in many kampungs (villages) mobile library. Often, initiated by individuals volunteering to reach out to villages without access to any public library and limited facilities for transportation. These individuals, mainly men, I have seen are ojek driver (motorbike driver), or walking with a hand driven book cart (makeshift of the Indonesian soup cart) - often, catering to adults mainly providing spiritual, cultural books. In Washington D.C. in the neighbourhood where I lived, residents were planting book houses - often catering to children - borrowers can take it for free and/or barter it with their books and/or can return the book. In Mumbai, for example, there are many emerging community libraries that are mainly based on donations - space, books or finance. I see no such initiatives in my Swedish neighbourhood - because they are unnecessary. Everyone has access to a great library - free of charge.

The advantages for Sweden for having a free community library are many - it is an economically rich country, low population, one language (Swedish), organised society, high literacy, etc. The disadvantages for tropical countries are many, but I cannot pinpoint one reason that can suggest why community library cannot be free to all. By 2016, I had stopped buying and reading books like a revolt against publishers, the state, and everyone, including myself, for creating a disparity of 'access to literature'. In 2020, more than 500 books that I sold to 'raddiwala' (a guy who buys old newspapers and books in kilograms) before moving out of Mumbai was worth 100k times more than raddiwala's price. I could not find a library willing to take those books on donation! With my minimalist way of life, it's an enormous relief to have a community library in my neighbourhood in Sweden.

*for unversed like me, wind speed matters in this part of the world matters, especially if you are novice in cycling.

**I will explain about personnummer in a separate blog.