Good Practices and Innovations in Public Governance 2003-2011

2008 Category 2: Sweden
Europe and North America
Sweden
2008 Category 2 Winner
Public Library 2007, Umeå Region, Sweden
Description
Increasing access to public library services, especially for the disabled, through
a new Library system set up in Umeå, Sweden.
Summary
Library 2007 is the story of how borrowers in the smallest municipality in Sweden got
access to one of the largest book stocks in the country. It is also the story about how
accessibility increased for borrowers in general, and the disabled in particular. Library
2007 is a unique joint action in many ways. AudioIndex – The Talking Library
– provides the visually impaired with opportunities to benefit from library services
and a range of talking books. The new joint website “mylibraries.se” is regarded by
many as an answer to the Library 2.0 concept model.
The Problem
The Umeå Region has a population of 140,000 inhabitants with an average age of 37
years, 29,000 students at two universities and 5,000 college students. The increasing
strain on the economic situation for the municipalities has led most of them to cut the
budget of many services. The library services in many municipalities were among the
casualties. The strained budget of the municipalities and the call for keeping the municipal
budget balanced resulted in the closing-down of the bookmobile in three of
the municipalities in 1997. The libraries in the Umeå region are very popular. The
public library in Umeå has more visitors than the national Vasa Museum in Stockholm.
Besides borrowing books, the role of the library as a meeting place becomes
increasingly important. Printed books have become only one of the library’s many
functions. New technology stimulates the demand for new services. In the context of
budget cuts and increased demand for library services, the Umeå region had to find
an appropriate solution.
The Solution
One of the underlying policies for the Umeå region is that cooperation must be beneficial
for each municipality. As early as 1993, politicians made the first declaration
of intent about cooperation that would contribute to development that benefits everyone
and lead to the renewal of municipal services by streamlining municipal departments.
The climate of cooperation should be characterized by mutual trust and con-
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