Transfiguring the Library as Digital Research Infrastructure: Making KBLab at the National Library of Sweden

Abstract

This article provides an account of the making of KBLab, the data lab at the National Library of Sweden (KB). The first part of the article offers an evaluative discussion of the work involved in establishing KBLab as both a physical and a digital site for researchers to use KB’s digital collections at previously unimaginable scales. Beyond explaining how the lab aligns with KB’s broader mission as a national library, we also elaborate upon the design of the technical setup and the processes of research coordination that the operation of a library lab presumes. The second part discusses how KBLab has deployed the library’s collections as data to produce high quality Swedish AI models, which constitute a significant new form of digital research infrastructure. We situate this development work in the context of uneven AI coverage for smaller languages, and consider how the lab’s models have contributed to the making of important AI infrastructure for the Swedish language. The conclusion raises the possibilities and challenges involved in continuing the type of library-based AI development we have initiated at KBLab.