This thesis takes its starting point from examining the basis of culture and how the public library fits in that, all through a rural lens. This was achieved through an analysis of the use of the concept of culture in cultural policy documents from 15 very rural municipalities in Sweden.  This thesis observes what content the cultural policy documents filled the concept of culture with. The results show that it is a very general and confused concept of culture that emerges through the analysis. Most of the time it seems to function as a “catch all” of what the municipality has to offer. There is also a strong focus on cultural heritage and the culture of national minorities and indigenous people. Strategies, presented in the documents, for solving a complex situation, with challenging geography, demographics and a lack of resources, includes a focus on cooperation with other actors, as well as an emphasis on the instrumentalization of culture. Another important aspect of the cultural policy documents was the libraries’ role as an actor in the cultural field, as well as an arena for the cultural field.