User:PlantyLibrarian/sandbox

Svensk Biblioteksforening is the Swedish Library Association. It dates back to 1915 and merged with the Swedish Public Library Association in 2000. The earliest public libraries were generally owned and regulated by religious orders. In 1686 the Swedish Church Act was passed and educated clergymen were given charge for developing the literacy skills of the people in their parish. Early reading rooms in libraries came about in part due to the temperance movement. It was proposed that those workers who drank too much use their rooms to educate themselves through library materials. In one town, Gothenburg, the local liquor company financed their reading room. Sweden’s library system became more modern and robust with the passing of the Library Act of 1996. The act applies to all public, school, university and medical libraries. The Library Act was the first library law in Sweden and created regulations about all libraries that were financed using public funds. Swedish libraries made a switch from their traditional classification SAB to Dewey in response to make their services more international. The Library Act placed special emphasis on making libraries accessible to all citizens with special attention to making information needs and services accessible to citizens with disabilities through assistive technology Per the Library Act all municipalities must have a library and that library must encourage and foster literacy in the community.