The Swedish Labour Movement Archives and Library (Arbetarrörelsens arkiv och bibliotek)

Contributed by Silke Neunsinger

he Swedish Labour Movement Archives and Library (ARAB) was founded in 1902 as a foundation established by the Swedish Trade Union Confederation (LO), the Swedish Social Democratic Party (SAP), and the Swedish State.

ARAB preserves and provides access to the documentary heritage of the Swedish labour movement through its archive, library, and research department. It also publishes the journal Arbetarhistoria and serves as a national centre for research and knowledge about the labour movement’s history and its role in Sweden’s democratic and social development.

The project brings together trade union reports of activities from the 1880s to the present, digitised from archives in Sweden, Germany, and the Netherlands, and developed in collaboration with researchers at Uppsala University. These annual reports come in many forms: handwritten, typed, printed, and digital. And they all document the everyday life, struggles, and achievements of workers’ organisations at local, regional, national, and international levels.

Through innovative tools such as handwriting recognition and advanced linguistic search, Labour’s Memory enables the exploration of this material in new ways, allowing users to trace words, themes, and debates across time and place. The project is not only a resource for historians, archivists, and trade unionists, but also a model for preserving and making accessible the shared memory of working people worldwide.

There will be a livestreamed event to launch this project. Sign up to join us in celebrating this release, discovering the platform, and reflecting on the future of labour archives and research here.