Purpose – In this study, the authors report visitors’ and personnel’s safety experiences and concerns in orderto understand the safety conditions of a library.Design/methodology/approach – The analysis is based on answers from a small sample survey of libraryvisitors, interviews with the personnel and incidents recorded in a library in Stockholm the capital of Sweden.Findings – Dealing with visitors under influence of drugs/alcohol or feeling intimidated by groups of youngindividuals are examples of situations in which the staff feel most unsafe. Visitors declare witnessing problemsof public disturbance and disorderly conduct, fights and other types of aggression. Although the vast majorityof visitors declare feeling safe in the library, their perceptions vary according to the library’s environment andtheir individual characteristics, including their previous victimization.Practical implications – The study is novel because it indicates the importance of the environment to ensurethe safety conditions of the library for both visitors and staff. Finally, research on safety in libraries is oftenfrom North America and Western European contexts, while this study contributes to the internationalliterature by illustrating libraries in a Nordic European context.Social implications – The study indicates that more social control, both formal and informal, is at the top ofthe list of recommendations for visitors. Among personnel, recommendations include the need for cooperationwith other local actors to solve problems in surrounding areas as well as better education for librarians indealing with the current safety challenges of libraries as multifunctional public facilities.Originality/value – Combine