Memory Entanglements and Collection Development in a Transnational Media Landscape

Defining a national domain is the crux of the matter of every National Library’s mission. The National Library of Sweden collects, preserves, registers, and guarantees access to all materials published and distributed in Sweden, printed, audio-visual and since 2012, even electronic. Furthermore the National Library of Sweden collects Suecana, foreign publications which possess historical significance to Sweden and even Swedish literature in translation. Collection strategies have to be updated and developed to fit the times: Digitalization and media convergence presuppose a new concept and new definition of the national domain. How should the National Library work with selection and collection strategies in a way that to make sure that the Suecana-collection and the Swedish collection are truly representative and relevant? This paper describes difficulties inherent to defining a national domain in today’s media landscape and presents several examples of how the National Library of Sweden has tried to manage these challenges.