In this thesis, I investigate how to enhance a librarycatalogue with a map interface. One method is tomatch catalogue records with a place name gazetteer.The aim of the study is to evaluate this methodon a Swedish collection of resources by creating anprototype, and, to evaluate that prototype from a userperspective.The prototype that was made enables map-based searchingin a collection of resources. It was createdwith catalogue records from Libris and a place namegazetteer from GeoNames. Many of the recordswere linked to one or more points on the map bymatching subject headings from the records and placenames from the gazetteer. I also discuss how to separatebetween different places sharing the same name.I evaluated the prototype with respect to usability. Threeaspects of the concept of usability (learnability,errors, and satisfaction), as they are described by Nielsen,were the basis for the design of the study. Theprototype was tested by five users that carried out threetasks using the prototype.The findings revealed that the interface was not easyto learn. The users encountered several problems, forexample, many had difficulties finding the place theyhad sought for on the map. Nevertheless, four of themwould like to use it again if it had been available. Basedon the findings, I give some recommendations forimproving the interface tested.

The aim of this thesis is to investigate new knowledge about how children search for library material and which strategies they use, and if the latest research gives any answers whether we should adapt systems and services or teach information seeking in a better way. In this thesis knowledge is understood as research publications but also results from projects in library practise, and studies concerning children 6 to 18 years old are included. The method used is a knowledge survey. We have gathered and evaluated documentation from different sources like citation and reference databases within the field of library and information science. The result implicates that there are, both in old and new documentation, three main search strategies children use in their search for information in a library context; they browse, they search in library catalogues and they use some sort of reference service. There is however no clear paradigm amongst researchers of the best way to help children find what they seek. What can be seen is that a method appreciated by many researchers today, is to engage the children themselves in the development of services and systems. To have an interdisciplinary approach is also valuable, and many things can be learned from disciplines other than library and information science when it comes to knowledge about children and their search behaviour and needs. / Program: Bibliotekarie

This master’s thesis deals with the development of the Swedish library catalogue. The thesis primarily has two purposes. Firstly, it describes how the Swedish library catalogue has developed from its first appearance until today. As the Swedish library sector is very extensive the authors have chosen a few catalogues which they have studied more thoroughly. To find information about the chosen catalogues different literature sources have been used, for example historical texts describing the actual catalogues, biographical and scholarly texts and official reports. Secondly, it examines the changes of the catalogue from an institutional perspective. The new institutional theory is used. This theory is explained and its background and development within different subject fields is described. Especially three different aspects of the theory have been studied and analysed in the text. These are the importance within institutions of operating procedures and rules (for example actors and routines), isomorphic changes and institutions’ importance for social and political control and legitimacy. The authors find that catalogues have appeared in different shapes and have had different aims throughout the centuries. The first catalogues were administered by organizations lead by strong leaders. Isomorphic processes were important to the development and their influences have had different geographic origin during the period. As the development of the library catalogue progresses it appears to be a strong factor in the institutionalization of libraries. / Uppsatsnivå: D

The aim of this thesis is to study a number of standards and theories, from the two research areas human-computer interaction and psychology, about how a graphical user interface (GUI) should be composed in order to facilitate interaction between humans and computers. Special emphasis is put on how the GUI should take into consideration the strengths and limitations of human cognition and perception. A study of three web catalogues shows how these theories appear when concretised. The following questions are answered in this thesis:What guidelines and styleguides can be found that specify the design of a user-friendly GUI?How do a few library catalogues on the web match a selection of these design principles?The guidelines are extracted from literature concerning human-computer interaction, psychology, automated library systems and web design. The standards are ISO 9241 Ergonomic requirements for office work with visual display terminals, and standardised icons from the International Federation of Library Associations. The web catalogues were studied through a questionnaire handed to five people. These catalogues belong to Lund University Library, Frank L. Cubly Library and Spencer Library Media Center. The different aspects studied were icons, information, terminology, orientation, graphics, colours and moving objects. In some cases the catalogues match the guidelines studied, in some cases they do not. Reasons affecting the choice of guidelines are the application, the users and their work, and the hardware. Reasons why guidelines are not used can be that designers do not understand or know them, or that they have found better solutions. / Uppsatsnivå: D

<p>The purpose of this thesis is to examine the usability of the Umeå University library catalogue Album. The aim is to evaluate the catalogue in order to establish if there are any problems that could be solved by modifying the catalogue. The following questions are answered: How should a good catalogue be designed? Which problems are common when using a library catalogue? Is Album user friendly? Are there any problems that occur when using Album and how can the catalogue be changed to avoid the problems? To answer these questions I have performed a usability test in which five persons, all students, got to carry out twenty tasks in the catalogue and talk about what they were doing and thinking while doing the test. This method is a usability method called Think Aloud. After the test the users got to answer twenty interview questions about the catalogue. The material obtained from the test was analyzed and positive factors, problems and courses of action were picked out. The results of the study show that the hardest thing for the users is to perform subject searches. It is not clear what subject and classification is and the users don’t know how to search the Index. They also think it’s hard to know in which fields to search and which words to use. In this thesis I give suggestions to things that could be changed in Album to make it more user friendly and easy to use. Although there are some problems with the catalogue, the overall impression of Album seems to be positive among the users.</p>

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the usability of the Umeå University library catalogue Album. The aim is to evaluate the catalogue in order to establish if there are any problems that could be solved by modifying the catalogue. The following questions are answered: How should a good catalogue be designed? Which problems are common when using a library catalogue? Is Album user friendly? Are there any problems that occur when using Album and how can the catalogue be changed to avoid the problems? To answer these questions I have performed a usability test in which five persons, all students, got to carry out twenty tasks in the catalogue and talk about what they were doing and thinking while doing the test. This method is a usability method called Think Aloud. After the test the users got to answer twenty interview questions about the catalogue. The material obtained from the test was analyzed and positive factors, problems and courses of action were picked out. The results of the study show that the hardest thing for the users is to perform subject searches. It is not clear what subject and classification is and the users don’t know how to search the Index. They also think it’s hard to know in which fields to search and which words to use. In this thesis I give suggestions to things that could be changed in Album to make it more user friendly and easy to use. Although there are some problems with the catalogue, the overall impression of Album seems to be positive among the users.

The LGBTQIA+ community includes a myriad of different perspectives and experiences. The common denominator is that they all in one or more ways challenge normative views of gender and sexuality, but hierarchies exist even within marginalized groups. It is therefore of importance to study which perspectives are made accessible in libraries collections to avoid LGBTQIA+ themes becoming synonymous with one experience. Thus, the aim of this master’s thesis was to examine patterns and identify which perspectives are visible and accessible in Swedish public libraries collections of literature with LGBTQIA+ themes. Due to more and more libraries choosing to become LGBTQI certified by RFSL, the thesis also aims to study how the certification process can influence the diversity of this collection. The LGBTQIA+ collections of 18 public library catalogs, nine being LGBTQI certified, were analyzed through collection profiling. Mathiesen’s conceptual framework of informational justice guided the analysis along with intersectional theory. Previous international studies have shown that LGBTQIA+ library materials are overwhelmingly representative of the gay, white, adult male experience. Findings indicate that the Swedish collections also heavily favor white gay perspectives, implying an unmet information need and a lack of informational justice for other groups within the LGBTQIA+ community. However, the adult male perspective was not as dominant as in previous studies. Further, no notable differences between LGBTQI certified and non-certified libraries could be found.

Introduction. Against the background of the last decades’ developments of Swedish public library websites and the changing language and minority situation, a study of the multilingual web accessibility status is motivated, including identifying obstacles for moving forward on the topic. At its core it’s a question of democratic rights. Method. Website observations with multilingual aspects in focus were conducted on the public library websites housing their catalogues, for all Swedish municipalities. Same libraries and their web system vendors (or the like) were then invited to an online survey which complemented the observations with their thoughts and opinions on the topic. Both studies produced primarily quantitative data, although the response rate from system vendors (or the like) was low. Analysis. Quantitative analysis was carried out on the data, with an element of content analysis on the survey’s comments and open-ended questions. The quantitative analysis employed Microsoft Excel for descriptive statistics. Activity theory constituted the main theoretical framework for further analysis and interpretation. Results. Prerequisites of multilingual accessibility were largely in place, but potentials of underlying web systems were not fully utilized. Checking against selected official web guidelines in the public sector, library websites showed varying compliance but also room for improvement in general. Survey results proved respondents consider multilingual accessibility on library websites fairly important. Libraries show awareness of current language minorities although demographic assessments are rarely made. Lack of resources in a broad sense was stated as a hindrance for multilingual website work. The systems of Swedish public libraries are largely dominated by one vendor, although this is a field undergoing changes, with some libraries switching to open source systems. Conclusion. Results suggest progress on this topic is highly dependent on getting library management and decision makers on board. More co-operation is needed, and there’s room for education. A few suggestions for future research were given.

While the Uppsala university library aims to have its whole collection searchable in Libris, the main digital library catalogue in Sweden, and Alvin, the digitized cultural heritage platform, the scope of their collections does not allow it to be done in a desireable time frame. An alternative to digitizing every object is to simply digitize the older manual library catalogues listing the collections, which is what the Uppsala university library has chosen to do. This study examines the digitization process of three of these older library catalogues: the Catalogue of music scores 1970-1980, the Catalogue of printed music -1970 and the Catalogue of Swedish biography. By observing the digitization process I analyse the functions and status of the library catalogues. What happens to a manual library catalogue when it is digitized? Does its function and its objective remain the same or does it change in response to this remediation process that is the digitization? Will the process of transforming it into a new digital format render the old format into another type of object, an historical artefact in its own right, as opposed to simply a list of other historical documents? By interviewing the library staff who perform the digitization of the catalogs and some of the users of them I seek to determine the traits of the library catalogue, and with the help of R. I. Clarkes seven objectives of the library catalogue I also try to discover what the catalogue means in its functions and usage for librarians and library users. Besides this, the study seeks to determine the status of the catalogue in relation to cultural heritage as defined by UNESCO, and the impact the digitization has on the object itself. This is a two years master’s thesis in Library and Information Science.

Introduction. Studies have been conducted on serendipitous encounters in the physical library environment. In this study, we aimed instead to look at features in the online library catalog that can lead to serendipitous en-counters. The aim was also to see if libraries took active steps to promote serendipity in their online library cata-logs. Method. A heuristic evaluation of four online library catalogs was conducted. The set of heuristics used was based on previous research, with the aim of identifying facets of a serendipitous environment. Semi-structured interviews were also conducted with librarians from three of the researched libraries. The results from the heuristic evaluation and the transcripts of the interviews formed the data for the analysis. Analysis. Thematic analyses were carried out on the data. The data from the heuristic evaluation and the interviews were analyzed and presented separately, leading up to a joint summary. Results. Most of the online library catalogs had features like "Similar items" and book recommendations, which can lead to serendipitous encounters. Librarians often experience a lack of influence over their online library catalogs. Librarians identified problems such as patrons expecting their online library catalog to function more like a web search engine, for example, Google Search. Conclusion. The online library catalogs have features that promote serendipitous encounters but we identified problems in how they are best designed. Using an integrated interface for the online library catalog and the library's website was one way to give the librarians more influence over their interface, which increased their likelihood to provide it with more information and content. We suggest further research with an extensive approach of serendi-pitous encounters not only in the online library catalog but also in other digital library environments such as web-sites, social media, blogs and apps. This is a two years master’s thesis in Library and Information Science.