Purchases
The National Library has a large collection of foreign research literature, mainly in the humanities. We primarily purchase literature within the humanities and foreign material with a Swedish connection (Suecana).
Foreign research literature
In particular, we acquire works in the fields of history, literature, art history, philosophy and the history of books and libraries. Priority is given to literature on the history of European culture.
Foreign material with a Swedish connection
The National Library 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.)
- 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.
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.
Interlibrary loans