Östersunds bibliotek, Municipal library in central Östersund, Sweden.
Östersunds bibliotek is the main public library of Östersund municipality, housed in a building at Rådhusgatan inaugurated on 7 October 1958, designed by architect Bo Cederlöf. The building was extended in 1982 and its library café enlarged in 2005. Since 1979 it has served both as a public library and as the library of Mid Sweden University's Östersund campus.
The library's origins lie in Professor Carl Zetterström's 1816 bequest of about 12,000 volumes to a library for Jämtland, an idea that anticipated county libraries by over a century. The collection was housed from 1833 in a purpose-built library at Frösö trivialskola on Frösön, moved to Östersund in 1912, and became Jämtlands läns bibliotek in 1947. The present main building at Rådhusgatan opened on 7 October 1958, designed by Bo Cederlöf, and the library took its current name in 2013.
The library's name changed from Jämtlands läns bibliotek to Östersunds bibliotek in 2013. Its Jämtland-Härjedalen collection is probably Sweden's largest of literature tied to Jämtland, Härjedalen and the county, and most of it can be searched in the online catalogue.
The main library stands on Rådhusgatan in central Östersund, with branch libraries in Brunflo, Torvalla and Lit plus a mobile library bus. The main building is open 52 hours a week and, since 2011, also on Sundays during the winter season. Lending and returns are automated, using RFID technology since 2008.
The Canada Collection (Canadiana) came from Ed Alm, born in Fåker in 1888, who moved to Vancouver. From the late 1950s to the 1970s he and his wife Ann sent books about Canada to Östersund; only a small part is searchable in the online catalogue.
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