Strategic Queries

In the spring of 2019 a proposal for a new national library strategy, The treasure trove of democracy, was handed over to the Swedish government. In this study the municipal response to this document is analyzed from a legitimacy perspective with a focus on the role of the Swedish public library today. Through a thematic analysis of eight of the municipal organization the study shows how conflicts between the proposal’s authors, representing the National Library of Sweden, and the perspectives of the municipal actors. This conflict revolves around a different view on the degree of control on the national level and a response that views the proposal as insufficient to coordinate the Swedish library system. The strategy proposal can be seen as having an insufficient level of legitimacy from a municipal perspective, mainly based on their interpretation of it as difficult to implement but also due to its challenge to the well-established legitimacy of the municipal sovereignty. Since the public library system is such a significant part of the Swedish welfare system the responses analyzed in this study can be a significant hurdle for the implementation of the proposed strategy