Live-stream recording from the conference Nordic Libraries Annual 2026. This live-streamed video includes a presentation by Eleonor Grenholm, Desk Officer, Libraries Collaboration Unit, National Library of Sweden: “Swedish Libraries in Times of Crises”.
Grenholm describes how Swedish libraries themselves define their role in preparedness and in Sweden’s total defense, based on the National Library’s analysis of municipal library plans. She explains why the topic has become central: the pandemic, stronger municipal preparedness planning and the national library strategy. Preparedness was absent from library plans before 2020 but appeared in 42% of the plans adopted in the first half of 2026. The plans describe libraries as essential services that should stay open, as community support centers in crises and as public meeting places. She also introduces resources for library professionals: courses and articles on Digiteket, the Swedish Library Association’s library preparedness toolkit, the Swedish Media Authority’s research overview on reading literacy and resilience against disinformation, new Swedish research on preparedness and inclusion, and a project supporting the professional development of Ukrainian libraries. In the Q&A with the moderator, Päivi Jokitalo, she discusses how the National Library guides the library plans, how local politicians view the role of libraries and why preparedness has become easier to discuss.
Nordic Libraries Annual is an annual conference that addresses topical issues in public libraries and library development. NLA 2026 was organized as a webinar on October 27, 2026 by the Finnish Supervisory Agency (LVV) in collaboration with Library Channel (Kirjastokaista).
The theme of the 2026 conference was “Libraries and preparedness”. The conference examined preparedness from different perspectives and from across Europe: what it means for the public and for public libraries, and what examples and experiences already exist within the library sector.
Read more:
All videos from the conference
Live-stream: Mikko Helander and Joonas Nevalainen
Producer: Riitta Taarasti
Produced by Library Channel (Kirjastokaista), 2026
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