Anders Burius

Erik Anders Burius (born Erik Anders Jonsson; 2 August 1956 – 7 December 2004), was a Swedish intellectual historian and director of the National Library of Sweden's manuscript department where he became known as the infamous "KB-mannen" (English: "the RL Man", after the Royal Library) after the theft and sale of several valuable books from the library's collection.

Erik Anders Burius
Born
Erik Anders Jonsson

(1956-08-02)2 August 1956
Eskilstuna, Sweden
Died7 December 2004(2004-12-07) (aged 48)
Stockholm
EducationDoctor in Intellectual History, Uppsala University
Occupations
  • Intellectual Historian
  • Librarian
  • Director
Employers
Known forStole and sold over 53 valuable rare books from various libraries

Biography

Anders Burius studied at Uppsala University where in 1984 did his intellectual history dissertation "Ömhet om friheten - Studier i frihetstidens censurpolitik" (English: "Care for freedom: studies in the literary censorship during Sweden's Age of Liberty").[1] He also passed degrees in law, librarian, and real estate broker. After his studies, he worked among others, at the Caroline Institute's library. Towards the end of the 1980s he applied for the position of professor in History of Books at Lund University, but did not receive it despite ardent appeals in the appointment process. Instead, for a short period, Anders Burius pursued a legal career before returning to the library world in 1995 as director of the National Library of Sweden's manuscript department.[2]
In a book released in 1995, "Biblioteken, kulturen och den sociala intelligensen" (editor: Lars Höglund), Anders Burius expressed in one article the view that all library history investigations need not be scientific in the strictest sense. Instead, Anders Burius emphasized the importance of practical experience and interaction with the current collections in his professional management.[3] On behalf of the Swedish Academy, Anders Burius also wrote a commemorative book on the history of the Nobel Library.[4]

After several years of stealing and selling at least 56 valuable books from the Nation Library's collection, Anders Burius was exposed and later confessed to the thefts in 2004.[5] On 8 December 2004, at 04:39 am SOS Alarm received calls about a major explosion in central Stockholm. Thirteen fire trucks from four fire departments were sent to the scene, sixteen police patrols blocked off the area, and fifty-five people were evacuated by bus.[6] During a short release from pre-court custody Anders Burius had committed suicide by slitting his wrist and cutting the gas line in his apartment, which later resulted in an extensive explosion with about a dozen people injured.[7] His body was found among the debris four days later.[8]

Media

In 2008, Sveriges Radio channel P1 aired a documentary about Anders Burius, Bibliotekarien by Jesper Huor, that won Stora Radiopriset (English: The Great Radio Award). During 2010 the drama series Bibliotekstjuven was made by SVT with Gustaf Skarsgård playing the lead, inspired by the events surrounding "the RL Man", and aired on SVT1 in January 2011. The director Daniel Lind Lagerlöf termed the series "a drama inspired by a real story" and "not a drama documentary".[9]

Bibliography
  • Hundra år i litteraturprisets tjänst (2002)

References
  1. Burius, Anders (1984). Ömhet om friheten: studier i frihetstidens censurpolitik [Care for freedom: studies in the literary censorship during Sweden's Age of Liberty]. Department of History of Science and Ideas (in Swedish). Uppsala: Uppsala universitet. Libris 8206482.
  2. Huor, Jesper (21 August 2008). "Boktjuven som svek alla - och sig själv". Vi (in Swedish). No. 10.
  3. Brötegård, Mi; Karlsson, Clas (2004). Äldre boksamlingar på kommunala bibliotek – resurs eller belastning? [Rare book collections at public libraries – asset or liability?]. Bilioteks- och Informationsvetenskap (in Swedish). Bibliotekshögskolan. p. 11.
  4. "Högtidssammankomst 20 december 2002". Svenska Akademin (in Swedish). 2002. Archived from the original on 28 June 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
  5. Huor, Jesper (3 October 2003). "Bibliotekarien – om brott och dubbelspel i Sveriges akademiska elit" [The Librarian – about crime and duplicity among Sweden's academical elite] (Audio). P1 Dokumentär (in Swedish). Stockholm: Sveriges Radio. Retrieved 10 October 2009.
  6. Krantz, Katrin; Castelius, Olle; Axelsson, Malin; Söderhjelm, Simone; Carnhede, Anna-Maria (8 December 2004). "Hela våningen exploderade" [The whole floor exploded]. Aftonbladet. Ivarsson, Jerker; Gogberg, Daniel; Stén, Dino; Bardell, Andreas. Stockholm. Archived from the original on 29 August 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  7. "Rare stolen Swedish atlas recovered at NY gallery". CBS News. Associated Press. 27 June 2012. Archived from the original on 23 September 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2019.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  8. Johansson, Anders; Lundell, Mattias (13 December 2004). "KB-mannen hittades död" [The RL Man found dead]. Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Stockholm. Archived from the original on 29 August 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  9. Bäckstedt, Eve (25 May 2010). "Beryktad boktjuv blir till tv-serie" [Notorious book thief becomes TV series]. Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish).
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