 The library is located in the so-called Stock Exchange Building () at 4, Källargränd, a short alley passing between Slottsbacken and Stortorget in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden.Since its foundation in 1901, the primary task of the library is to acquire literary works and journals needed for the evaluation of the laureates, a task achieved by collecting works mainly in other languages than Swedish., the collection encompasses some 200,000 volumes and is thus one of the largest libraries devoted to literature in northern Europe.