This thesis addresses the creation of accessibility for people with disabilities at Swedish public libraries. The focus of the study was to investigate how libraries adapt their activities to meet the needs of people with disabilites. I was also interested in the barriers that the libraries experience in that adaptation and the libraries’ different views on opportunities for improvements in that area. The material used consists of a web survey and qualitative interviews. I used a univariate analysis and a thematic analysis as analysis tools. The analysis was based on theories from library and information science and disability studies. I found that Swedish public libraries have a thorough understanding of the importance of the creation of accessibility for people with different disabilities. However, the results from the survey and the interviews displayed a general lack of knowledge at the libraries about the needs of different members of this group.  That lack of knowledge was identified as a barrier for the accessibility at the libraries. Other barriers for inclusion and accessibility that were identified involved financial restrictions, lack of technical resources and nonexisting cooperations in municipalities and with different disability organisations. The study also showed that libraries, in their creation of accessibility for this group, tend to give priority to the access to the physical library and to literature, rather than to prioritise technical tools or program activities.

Litteraciteten bland Sveriges barn och ungdomar har under de senaste åren haft en sjunkande trend vilket har föranlett staten att arbeta fram nationella riktlinjer för läsfrämjande insatser. En av dessa insatser är projektet Bokstart och syftet med studien är att studera hur bibliotekarier har arbetat inom projektet utifrån ett läsfrämjande och demokratiskt perspektiv. Teorin utgår från ett sociokulturellt synsätt på lärande som ser kunskap som något som erövras i samspel och interaktion med sin omgivning. Studien följer den kvalitativa forskningsmetoden och insamlingen av empiriska data har skett med fyra semistrukturerade intervjuer med efterföljande tematisk analys av det insamlade materialet. Resultatet av studien visar att bibliotekarier anser att högläsning är en användbar metod för att öka litteracitet men att den måste bedrivas utifrån ett medvetet förhållningssätt. Vidare anses interaktion och dialog mellan den som läser och den som lyssnar som nödvändigt för att språk- och läsinlärning ska främjas och bibliotekarierna ser det därför som viktigt att undervisa de vuxna i barnens närhet om olika språk- och läsutvecklande metoder. Vidare ser bibliotekarierna även läsfrämjande insatser som viktiga utifrån ett demokratiskt perspektiv eftersom en demokratis medborgare måste vara litterata för att aktivt kunna delta i nyhetsflöden och samhällsdebatter.

This essay seeks to investigate how the public libraries of Sweden market and advertise their services to the public and what circumstances effect that work. The method to investigate this was chosen to be a qualitative inquiry through interviewing six different employees of the Swedish public libraries, all who had different circumstances surrounding the advertising work they did at their respective libraries. The results of the interviews showed that the circumstances in which the different informants worked with marketing varied to several degrees and so their marketing work did also vary greatly. The conclusion of the essay was that most Swedish libraries seem to work with marketing in their own unique way and that the main circumstances that affected this work were dependent on the libraries budget, guidance from their leadership and the librarians marketing knowledge.

The aim of this essay is to explore the concept of kindergarten libraries that is becoming a more frequent collaboration method between public libraries and preschools in Sweden. Situated between the sphere of public libraries and preschools, the kindergarten library is a bridge between two relationship professions as well as part of both political efforts and investments for providing books to kindergartens. This study investigates this relationship, the librarians’ roles that take form within this work and what kind of literacy that is being promoted to young children. Two qualitative group interviews were conducted with librarians who work as coordinators for the kindergarten libraries in different municipalities. The empirical material was then coded through Maj Klasson’s model of librarian roles. The results show that while the relationship is one of support, and that both professions work with a common interest in what is best for the children, librarians initiate and coordinate the kindergarten libraries but leave the majority of the literacy content to the preschool teachers. In such, the book is highly valued to be the center of the kindergarten library but other literary skills are overlooked.

This bachelor thesis explores how librarian graduates perceive the transfer from university to employment. The authors will examine how librarian graduates experience the relation between knowledge learned from university studies and the qualifications required from the employer. The basis of the thesis is the concept of transition process. In this thesis it is defined as the relation between the knowledge gained from education and the qualifications required by the employer as well as the problem to transfer knowledge between different contexts.The theoretical framework is build upon the concept of competence and its connection to re-contextualized knowledge. The empirical material of the thesis constitutes of five phone interviews with newly employed librarians. The interviews were performed in May, 2011.The results from the interviews have been categorized in a model of relations in which the analysis of the thesis is build upon. The respondents have all experienced insecurity in their own abilities as they have started their new employment as a librarian. However, they argue as well as the insecurity decreases with time. The results from the empirical study also indicate on discrepancy between education and work in a way that the employers do not know how to fully take advantage of the newly graduated librarian knowledge.

This study examines how a hospital chaplain, a children therapist, the therapy group Children in grief and a hospital teacher use words in their activities with mourning children and adults. The aim of this study was to learn more about bibliotherapy, how words can assist in diminish the distress of being in a very stressful situation such as grief and sickness. Beneficial to the whole community, bibliography can also be used by libraries as a preventive tool to promote mental health. The research questions studied were: What do you think about bibliotherapy and do you consider bibliotherapy as a part of your work in your clinic? How do you use texts in your activities? How do you select suitable literature for your clients? The focus was not upon which literature used. To examine these questions semi-structured interviews were conducted. The interviews took place at Växjö Hospital during March 2017. Through the interviews the answers have been showing the forms of activities used to soothe the suffering for children and adults, and how important the reading is as a complement to their other therapies. None of the interviewees used the term bibliotherapy, but the study shows that they all use bibliotherapy in different forms: creative bibliotherapy, informal bibliotherapy and clinical bibliotherapy.

We are currently living under a world wide COVID-19 pandemic. Due to restrictions in peoples every day life, people getting ill and dying there might be a risk of increase of mental illness in society. The purpose of this thesis is to take a closer look at how Swedish public libraries are using methods like shared reading and bibliotherapy as a way to cope with mental illness within society. What do librarians think about the possibility of using reading as a way to heal mental illness? What do they think about skill development within shared reading and bibliotherapy, and what are the opportunities for them to gain that development? What role does the librarian play in all this? Interviews with 4 librarians working within bigger and smaller city public libraries have been conducted as a method. 2 of them are working with shared reading on a daily basis, 1 of which is working within custody/prison enviroment whilst the remaining 2 do not have any experience in working with shared reading nor bibliotherapy.Theory used for the thesis analysis is David Russel and Caroline Shrode’s concepts of identification, catharsis and insight. The analysis also makes use of Elizabeth Brewster’s development of said theory and the use of 4 different kinds of bibliotherapy namely informative, escapist, social and emotional bibliotherapy. Results show how these theories are implemented in practice when used by librarians in order to help changing values, thinking and behaviour amongst inmates and people suffereing from mental health issues. Also, results show how libraries and other organizations like the public healthcare currently co-operate and how they can develop their co-operation for a future in which we might see an increase of mental health issues due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Uppsatsens syfte är att undersöka i vilken mån en bokbuss kan verka som skolbibliotek för glesbygdens skolor. Problemställningen i uppsatsen har ursprung i statens utredning Skolbibliotek för bildning och utbildning (SOU 2021:3) och frågar sig om skolor som inte har möjlighet att skapa ändamålsenliga skolbibliotek kan ta hjälp av bokbussen. Den teoretiska inramningen är baserad på Loertschers (2000) taxonomi för skolbibliotek. Inspirerad av taxonomin och tidigare forskning om skolbibliotek har tre teman identifierats. Dessa är Samarbete, Bibliotekarien som pedagog, och Läsfrämjande. Ett fjärde tema som är relevant för denna studie är bokbussens värde.Genom intervjuer och observationer har bokbussens verksamhet analyserats utifrån de tidigare nämnda temana. Studien visar att bokbussen kan verka som ett slags skolbibliotekoch uppnår till stor del de nivåer som beskrivs i Loertschers taxonomi. Utmaningen till att verka som ett ändamålsenligt skolbibliotek som statens utredning efterlyser är att bokbussen inte kan befinna på plats under större delen av läsåret. Det finns dock flera indikationer i studien på att bokbussen faktiskt kan fungera som ett skolbibliotek för glesbygdens skolor med de medel som finns att tillgå.

Abstract: This Master’s thesis investigates seven public librarians’ approach to bibliotherapy in relation to their experiences of key components in their role and in relation to literature promotion, as well as how they consider bibliotherapy within the context of Swedish public libraries. Research questions used were: Which competences and characteristics do the librarians experience as key components in their role related to literature promotion? How do the librarians consider traditional forms of literature promotion in relation to bibliotherapy? How do the librarians consider bibliotherapy in the context of Swedish public libraries? Interviews were carried out with seven public librarians, two of them working with bibliotherapy. A thematic analysis was used to process the empirical material. Theoretical instruments applied in the analysis were Grøn’s three phases of literature promotion in public libraries and Brewster’s research on bibliotherapy. Six aspects of the librarians’ role in relation to literature promotion emerged from the informants’ experiences: digital tools, social competence, information seeking, literature knowledge, general knowledge and some personal characteristics. The librarians’ approach to traditional literature promotion can be found mainly in two of Grøn’s phases, the reformative and the affirmative. Bibliotherapy can, according to some informants, be related to traditional forms of literature promotion, in accordance with Brewster’s informal bibliotherapy. The study suggests that many of the librarians are positive to bibliotherapy but finds some aspects problematic when implemented within the public library. Amongst problems mentioned were: the term therapy associated with clinical environments, lack of education and general knowledge amongst librarians and users.

This study deals with author visits at public libraries, where the author perspective is the focal point. A questionnaire was sent online to the members of Författarcentrum and this study is based on the 87 replies. It was found that a majority of the respondents, 76 of the 87, had made at least one author visit to a public library during the last five years and that their main reason for visiting was reportedly to meet with the reader. Steiner's four categories of authors from 2019 was used to place the respondents in the literary field based on Bourdieu's theoretical framework, the categories being star authors, established authors, acknowledged authors and published authors. It was found that there were certain differences in the experience of the author visits based on what category the author belonged to, and that the authors with strong positions on the literary field were favored in some ways. Throsby's model from 2001 of the creative work process was used alongside Bourdieu's thoughts of the literary field, with the conclusion that author visits to public libraries seem to be a kind of work that produce both economic and cultural value for the author. However the sampling wasn't big enough to make certain general statements of how authors experience and view author visits to public libraries on a larger scale.