The Sámi Library, North of the North: colonialism, resistance and reading in a public library

• Published in: Sociologia: Revista da Faculdade de Letras da Universidade do Porto
• Main Author: Paula Sequeiros
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English; French; Portuguese
• Published: Universidade do Porto 2017
• Subjects: indigenous libraries; cultural rights; Sweden; public libraries; Social Sciences; H; Social sciences (General); H1-99; Jokkmokk; Sámi
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.21747/08723419/soc34a6; https://doaj.org/article/c1a69bae791a45eb95cfeface79c86ad

PThe Sámi in Sweden are welcomed as readers of the main language, dissatisfied by the relegated status of their culture as an ethnic minority. The Sámi Library in Jokkmokk is a library for the Sámi culture and the Sápmi. While Sámi culture is resisting and transfiguring itself, neoliberal arrangements, the privatisation of public services, new language laws and the Libraries Bill have put additional challenges to the library. The case study of this library is used to discuss what an indigenous library is. The acknowledgement of the colonial past and the demand for respectful recognition are advanced as fundamental requirements for a democratic use of the documentary resources and a realisation of cultural rights.