The aim of this Master’s thesis is to examine how the introducing of municipal library plans has influenced some compulsory schools in Malmö. I wanted to know if the library plan is a possible way to improve the quality of the school library. Through qualitative interviews with four school librarians and four headmasters, I investigate their knowledge of the library plan and their opinion of the possibilities to realize the directions of the plan. The theoretical framework is based on a model of organizational culture by Bakka, Fivelsdal and Lindkvist. The model shows characteristic features of the local cultures of an organization, external as well as internal. As a complement I also use a model concerning the division of power between the lawmaker and the executor. The result shows that very few among the staff at the schools are familiar with the municipal library plan. The librarians sometimes use the library plan as a support and a checklist in the daily work, but when it comes to the development of the school library, the library plan doesn’t play a crucial part. The apprehension among most of the interviewee is that it is possible to implement the library plan in the long run. One of the reasons to the slowness is the local culture and the history and traditions of the Swedish schools. Differing vocational training and a lack of communication between teachers and librarians makes it difficult to learn from each other and for the teachers to take part of the library culture. The administrative machinery is another obstacle. The shortage of money and the great variety of tasks in the schools delay the implementation of the library plan. / Uppsatsnivå: D

This thesis is about how the library can help immigrants integrate into theswedish society. By studying leading documents of the libraries in Malmö,Stockholm and Umeå in search for how the relate to work consideringimmigrants and integration I have studied the library as a bridge betweenbeing included and excluded in the society. The thought is that the libraryopens the door to new worlds both for immigrants and born swedes toobtain knowledge about a culture different from their own.In my thesis I reached the conclusion that library on a day to day basisworks with the integrationprocess for immigrants. Although the leadingdocuments should evolve since they show gaps and seem somewhatmisguiding in their presentation of the libraries function. The librariesshould work more with analysis of the environment that they are active in sothat they are more individualized for the people around it. They should alsoprovide activities that shows more of the swedish society for those whomight come from another cultural environment, and this should be availableon their on language. / Program: Bibliotekarie

The purpose of this study was to investigate the ways in which Swedish library policies embed the requirements regarding people with a mother tongue other than Swedish and the Swedish minority languages, specified in the Swedish library law. The research questions were: What services do public libraries offer people with a mother tongue other than Swedish? What conceptions of the library’s possibilities to work with integration do the library policies mediate? Are there any differences regarding how integration is worked with in municipalities that are high in numbers of foreign born inhabitants, compared to those municipalities that are low in numbers of foreign born inhabitants? In order to answer these queries a sample of library policies from 16 municipalities were chosen by amount of foreign born inhabitants. Eight were chosen with high numbers, and eight with low numbers. These policies were analysed using discourse analysis and two theories: Ragnar Audunson’s theory regarding high- and lowintensive meetingplaces, and Robert D. Putnam’s theory regarding bonding and bridging as two ways to build social capital. The study showed that the services offered to people with a mother tongue other than Swedish and the Swedish minority languages, were mainly centered around an expanded collection of media in foreign languages, language cafés, library viewings, and providing an open meeting place. The most common conceptions of the library’s role in integration were the conception of the library as a meeting place, and the conception of increasing multi language in the collection and in the cooperation with other actors and organisations. The differences found between municipalities with a high number of foreign born inhabitants, in comparison to those with low numbers, were marginal, and possibly caused by other factors than those mentioned above. It was clear that next to all library policies expressed a view of the library as a lowintensive meeting place in accordance with Audunson’s theory. It was also found that both concepts of Putnams’ bonding and bridging, were applicable to the activities that suppousedly are to take place in these libraries. Hence, the library ought to be an excellent place for people to build social capital.

The purpose of this thesis is to achieve new knowledge about how the public library roles and activities are described in the municipal library plans. Activities in these public libraries are varied and research about what should be included in these library plans are limited. That the municipalities should have library plans are determined by law but what these plans should contain according to the law is something that isn’t clear. It has been noted that the context of library plans differs from one municipality to another. Therefor it’s interesting to research how these plans describe public libraries. How does the public library depict activities aimed at library users in the library plans? Which public library roles can be identified in the library plans? These research questions have been answered in this thesis. The result of this thesis shows, among others, that there are multiple themes that can be identified in these plans. Qualitative content analysis in combination with Jochumsen, Hvenegaard Rasmussen and Skot-Hansen’s model “The four spaces” (2012) have been used to analyze the results. The conclusion is that the activities, in most cases, only are mentioned in the library plans and aren’t described. The same can be said about the public library roles as there are rarely any distinguishable descriptions of the roles and those values that the public library are expected to uphold in society.

This thesis has examined regional and municipal cultural policy documents and public library policy documents. The purpose of the study was to examine and discus which preconceptions about the public library the policy documents contains. The chosen method and theory to achieve this purpose was discourse analysis, new institutional theory was applied in order to discuss the preconceptions that the discourse analysis made visible. The regional and municipal cultural policy documents did not mention the public library as much as expected. The findings from the analysis show that the discourses identified in the policy documents were relatively similar. The discourses found in the regional cultural policy documents were: the literary discourse, the multifunctional discourse and the societal development discourse. Only the multifunctional discourse was identified in the municipal cultural policy documents. In the public library policy documents four discourses where identified: the literary discourse, the information-conveying discourse, the multifunctional discourse and the societal development discourse. The preconception that where made visible during the discourse analysis can be considered as a result of reproduction of other policy documents from the cultural policy field. According to institutional theory this can be viewed as isomorfism, and the policy documents are used to achieve legitimacy. In order to survive the regions, municipalities and public libraries reproduce values, norms and demands from the cultural policy field. During the analysis it became clear that there were two different logics present in the cultural and library policy documents: a market based logic and library logic. This is a two years master´s thesis in Library and Informations Science.

The purpose of this thesis is to bring knowledge on how digitalization is produced in Swedish public libraries, by reading library plans of 21 municipalities between 2010 – 2018. Digitalization and information technology have been present in debates concerning different roles of the libraries since the 1980s and has put the role of the library in an uneven balance between information and culture. In the study, digitalization is perceived as something revolutionary that has come to permeate the organization from outside – engaged or not – in its evolutionary process. Issues relating to what aspects of digitalization are being produced –  how they intervene in traditional activities – what social groups they are targeting –  and finally, how digital aspects affect public library assignments – are studied through a discourse analytical approach, inspired by Laclau & Mouffe’s conceptual terminology and Carol Bacchi’s approach "what’s the problem represented to be?". The main findings show that the library plans use digital aspects in different ways, but above all by legitimize their role in society based on user needs, where guidance in information technology is due to individuals ´ participation in the E-society, primarily. In connections to this, future challenges are expressed. To a lesser extent, digital aspects are used for cultural approaches highlighting the mediation of literature, cultural expressions and debates. Although, anchoring digital aspects to these elements, increasingly express opportunities for the future organization.

Introduction. The purpose of this thesis is to explain how reading promotion for adults is presented in municipal library plans. It examines how reading promotion for adults is described as an activity, in what contexts it is mentioned, how it is motivated and what conceptual ideas of reading promotion for adults that can be found. Finally, the study examines what view of literature that can be derived from these findings: whether literature is seen as a tool to fulfil other objectives and goals or as something that has a purpose in itself. Method. Descriptive idea analysis was chosen to answer the thesis’ questions. The resource material consists of municipal library plans, and the analysis focuses on the library plans from three Swedish regions. Analysis. The theoretical concepts are retrieved from the Danish library and cultural policy researcher Dorte Skot-Hansen's cultural policy theories, as well as from the Danish library researcher Beth Juncker's definitions of the two concepts instrumental and autotelic. The analysis is performed on the basis of three themes that were distinguished in the library plans: Democracy, Experience and Health.  Results. The results of the study show that reading promotion for adults is described in several different contexts, and in relation to different topics. They also show that the theme Democracy was central in the library plans. This included a focus on equal access to literature and on reading ability as a prerequisite to active participation in society. Reading promotion was mainly motivated by instrumental ideas. Even when describing reading as an experience or for pleasure, the library plans tend to use instrumental ideas as a motivation. A certain view of literature can therefore be discerned in the library plans. Literature appears as something that should primarily be used to achieve other objectives. Conclusions. Our thesis shows that the instrumental ideas about reading promotion are strong in municipal library plans, and that the view of literature is instrumental rather than autotelic. We argue for further research into whether this has any effects on the everyday reading promotion in public libraries, or if methods focusing on reading and literature as experience with a purpose in itself still are being applied. This is a two years master's thesis in Library and information science.

This thesis contributes to the discussion on the use of library plans in public libraries in Sweden. Library plans were made mandatory 15 years ago, and the thesis’ aim is to further our knowledge about whether or not library plans of public libraries in Sweden are being used as an instrument of effectiveness or as something else. The study was carried out by applying qualitative document analysis to ten up-to-date public libraries’ library plans and by reviewing them through the lens of organizational theory. The goals in each library plan were compared to the public activities offered at the library in order to examine to what extent the public activities could be means to achieve the goals in the corresponding library plan. The results show that the ten library plans hardly functioned as an instrument of effectiveness. According to organizational theory, the goals could be considered to be of an official, symbolic, visionary and complex character, which made the analysis of the public activities as means to achieve the goals difficult to carry out. Goals of an operational, realistic or simple character, which according to the theoretical framework would imply the use of the plan as an instrument of effectiveness, were rare. Rather, the libraries seemed to use the plans for communicating their purpose and their importance to their external environment, which in turn implies that the plans were being used for attaining legitimacy.

Public libraries have an important roll of making information accessible to all people. This democratic right supports the cultural development in our society. When public libraries build websites offering information and services it can sometimes cause obstacles for impaired users. It is therefore our purpose to evaluate a selection of websites and library plans to examine how the libraries work with accessibility for these users. This thesis is based on theories of cognitive and human computer interaction, and information architecture. To carry out the examination we will use a checklist, derived from established international guidelines set by W3C, used by Swedish authorities to achieve a "24-hour authority", and a Web Accessibility Toolbar. By comparing the results from examining the library plans and the websites, we concluded that few measures have been taken to facilitate for the impaired users. We also concluded that design is more important than accessibility. A majority of the libraries plan to widen their selection of online services, but that there are no plans to make the existing services better or easier to use. Statistically, only two of the nine websites, scored 80% or higher on the checklist evaluation, and the average result was 65%. We therefore concluded that the public libraries did not live up to the set goals in their library plans, or the guidelines set by Swedish authorities. / Uppsatsnivå: D

The aim of this Bachelor's thesis is to contribute with new knowledge about the use of school library plans. The focus is to learn about 18 Swedish municipalities’ view with regards to their school library plans. The purpose is to understand how the school library plans describes their main task, how the libraries are to be used and what type of staffing that is required. Under Swedish legislation the municipalities must have a library plan that describes the municipal libraries. According to the National library of Sweden, three quarters of the municipal library plans lack information about their school libraries. A few of the municipalities that lack information have solved this issue by creating a separate school library plan. To carry out this study a qualitative content analysis has been conducted on 18 municipal school library plans. Loertcher’s taxonomy was used to analyse the results. The coding scheme was created from the 11 levels that can be found in Loertscher’s taxonomy, additional themes that could not be found in the taxonomy were created. This was done because the themes appeared in several of the school library plans, and was thus considered important. The results show that the school library plans vary in quantity and discuss different themes. The municipal school library plans that have been used gives very different information, among other things regarding staff, education and cooperation between librarians and teachers.