Living Local History: Participatory Local History in a Rural Swedish Municipality

Abstract

Storfors is a small rural municipality in Sweden with around 4,000 inhabitants. Like many former industrial communities, it faces population decline and changing narratives about the place. In response, Storfors Library initiated a participatory local history project aimed at broadening how the municipality's history is documented, shared and experienced.

Rather than focusing solely on archival collections, the library invited residents to contribute their own memories, stories and perspectives. Working in partnership with local heritage associations, schools, study associations, adult language classes for newly arrived residents, artists and researchers from Karlstad University, the library became a hub for community participation and dialogue.

Activities included storytelling cafés, lectures and study circles on local culture, youth photography documenting "their Storfors", artistic collaborations and an artist-in-residence programme exploring how a place can be interpreted through dance. The project attracted strong community engagement and local media attention, including coverage by Swedish Television.

By inviting residents to co-create the story of their community, the initiative strengthened participation, belonging and local pride. The project also demonstrated how participatory local history can become an enduring part of a public library's work, continuing to create value long after the original project had ended.