The
Nobel Library ( or, officially,
Svenska Akademiens Nobelbibliotek, e.g. "Nobel Library of the Swedish Academy") is the
public libraryA public library is a library which is accessible by the public and is generally funded from public sources and may be operated by civil servants...
of the
Swedish academyThe Swedish Academy , founded in 1786 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden. Modelled after the Académie française, it has 18 members. The motto of the Academy is "Talent and Taste"...
instituted to assist the evaluation of
Nobel laureates to the
Prize in LiteratureThe Nobel Prize in Literature is awarded annually, since 1901, to an author from any country who has, in the words from the will of Alfred Nobel, produced "in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction"...
and other awards granted by the academy. The library is located in the so called
Stock Exchange BuildingThe Stock Exchange Building is a building originally erected for, and is still owned by, the Swedish Academy, located on the north side of the square Stortorget in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden....
(
Börshuset) at 4,
KällargrändKällargränd is an alley in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden, connecting Slottsbacken, the slope south of the Royal Palace, to the square Stortorget...
, a short alley passing between
SlottsbackenSlottsbacken is a street in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden.It stretches east from the Stockholm Cathedral and the Royal Palace down to the street Skeppsbron which passes along the eastern waterfront of the old town...
and Stortorget in
Gamla stanGamla stan , until 1980 officially Staden mellan broarna , is the old town of Stockholm, Sweden. Gamla stan consists primarily of the island Stadsholmen. The surrounding islets Riddarholmen, Helgeandsholmen, and Strömsborg are officially part of, but not colloquially included in, Gamla stan...
, the old town in central
Stockholm' is the capital and largest city of Sweden. It is the site of the national Swedish government, the Riksdag , and the official residence of the Swedish Monarch as well as the prime minister. The Monarch resides at Drottningholm Palace outside of Stockholm since 1980 and uses the Royal Palace of...
,
SwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe...
.
Since its foundation in 1901, the primary task of the library is to acquire literary works and journals needed for the evaluation of the laureates, a task achieved by collecting works mainly in other languages than Swedish.
The
Nobel Library ( or, officially,
Svenska Akademiens Nobelbibliotek, e.g. "Nobel Library of the Swedish Academy") is the
public libraryA public library is a library which is accessible by the public and is generally funded from public sources and may be operated by civil servants...
of the
Swedish academyThe Swedish Academy , founded in 1786 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden. Modelled after the Académie française, it has 18 members. The motto of the Academy is "Talent and Taste"...
instituted to assist the evaluation of
Nobel laureates to the
Prize in LiteratureThe Nobel Prize in Literature is awarded annually, since 1901, to an author from any country who has, in the words from the will of Alfred Nobel, produced "in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction"...
and other awards granted by the academy. The library is located in the so called
Stock Exchange BuildingThe Stock Exchange Building is a building originally erected for, and is still owned by, the Swedish Academy, located on the north side of the square Stortorget in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden....
(
Börshuset) at 4,
KällargrändKällargränd is an alley in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden, connecting Slottsbacken, the slope south of the Royal Palace, to the square Stortorget...
, a short alley passing between
SlottsbackenSlottsbacken is a street in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden.It stretches east from the Stockholm Cathedral and the Royal Palace down to the street Skeppsbron which passes along the eastern waterfront of the old town...
and Stortorget in
Gamla stanGamla stan , until 1980 officially Staden mellan broarna , is the old town of Stockholm, Sweden. Gamla stan consists primarily of the island Stadsholmen. The surrounding islets Riddarholmen, Helgeandsholmen, and Strömsborg are officially part of, but not colloquially included in, Gamla stan...
, the old town in central
Stockholm' is the capital and largest city of Sweden. It is the site of the national Swedish government, the Riksdag , and the official residence of the Swedish Monarch as well as the prime minister. The Monarch resides at Drottningholm Palace outside of Stockholm since 1980 and uses the Royal Palace of...
,
SwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe...
.
Since its foundation in 1901, the primary task of the library is to acquire literary works and journals needed for the evaluation of the laureates, a task achieved by collecting works mainly in other languages than Swedish. , the collection encompasses some 200,000 volumes and is thus one of the largest libraries devoted to
literatureLiterature is the art of written works. Literally translated, the word means "acquaintance with letters" , and therefore the academic study of literature is known as Letters...
in northern Europe. The library is offering loans to the general public and to other libraries in
Nordic countriesThe Nordic countries make up a region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic which consists of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden and their associated territories which include the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland...
, as well as guided tours on request, lectures, and seminars.
The library was founded on November 16, 1901 in connection to the inauguration of the Nobel Institute of the Swedish Academy. It was first accommodated in a ten-room-flat at
Norra BantorgetNorra Bantorget is an area in central Stockholm. It is the traditional Social Democratic grounds of the Swedish capital...
in a building designed by
Ferdinand BobergFerdinand Boberg, born April 11 1860 in Falun, died May 7 1946 in Stockholm, was a Swedish architect.He was one of the most productive and prominent architects of Stockholm around the turn of the 20th century. Among his most famous work is an electrical plant at Björns Trädgård in Stockholm, that...
, the so called LO-borgen today accommodating the
Swedish Trade Union ConfederationThe Swedish Trade Union Confederation , commonly referred to as LO, is a national trade union centre, an umbrella organisation for fifteen Swedish trade unions that organise mainly "blue-collar" workers...
(LO) but at the time called
Vasaborgen ("The Castle of
VasaGustav I, born Gustav Eriksson and later known as Gustav Vasa , was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death. He was the first monarch of the House of Vasa, an influential noble family which came to be the royal house of Sweden for much of the 16th and 17th centuries...
"). The collection encompassed some 15,000 literary works after five years and within two decades the library had become cramped for space and was relocated to its present address.
See also
- Nobel Museum
The Nobel Museum is a museum devoted to circulate information on the Nobel Prize, Nobel laureates from 1901 to present, and the life of the instituter Alfred Nobel...
- Nobel Peace Center
The Nobel Peace Center is a showcase for the Nobel Peace Prize and the ideals it represents. The Center is also an arena where culture and politics merge to promote involvement, debate and reflection around topics such as war, peace and conflict resolution.The Center presents the Nobel Peace Prize...
- List of Nobel laureates
- Nobel Prize controversies
The Nobel Prize controversies are contentious disputes regarding the Nobel Prize.-The Prize:The Nobel Prizes are a series of awards which were posthumously instituted by bequest of Alfred Nobel . They are currently awarded to persons and organizations that have served humanity in the fields of...
External links