Tell us about an early library memory.
– My childhood library was at the Sigtuna Foundation in Sigtuna and I hung out there a lot as a child. It was in the days of card catalogs before computerization, when people searched file boxes by title and author. The return dates were entered by hand or the cards were stamped on the back of the books. There was a friendly librarian and a gruff librarian, but both were dedicated book tippers. It opened my world to literature.
What function do you think the library should serve for today’s Stockholmers?
– The library acts as an open and accessible meeting place where people can meet each other in ways that may not occur in everyday life. This can be a short meeting between the bookshelves or an exchange of ideas in a book group or in the philosophy café. This allows you to test your thoughts and express yourself with other people you would not normally have met. I think that we strengthen democracy in everyday life.
What can the library offer children and young people that they cannot find anywhere else today?
– I think we can provide a safe place. Libraries are also a place for creative work. They are free and accessible to everyone, and with our forty libraries around Stockholm we are close to most children.
