The aim of this Master’s thesis is to investigate how a public library should sign and organize their resources to make them as accessible as possible to the users of the library. Our theory, Paul Arthur’s and Romedi Passini’s wayfinding theory, is about how people search through information loaded environments. Our empirical material consists mainly of three parts: an inventory of the resources and guiding at Hammarö bibliotek, eight interviews with visitors at Hammarö bibliotek and observations of how visitors use and interact with the library, its resources and guiding. With this material we got an image of the staff’s plans about the organization and guiding in the library, what the visitors thought about the library’s organization and guiding and how they used and interacted with the library. When analysing the empirical material with the wayfinding theory we found out that the library users searched through Hammarö bibliotek like its resources were hierarchically structured. On the whole the public library’s resources were structured hierarchically, but for various reasons the structure were not consistent. Our conclusions were that Hammarö bibliotek should organize their resources more consistent and make the organization mainly known for the users of the library in the entrance. The users also need to be led to the parts of the library that differ from the hierarchic structure. This is possible through a consistent and consequent signage system, which we discuss in this thesis. / Uppsatsnivå: D

In Sweden, the libraries are an establishment with high trust. The library constitutes a meeting place where many activities take place, not just reading-promoting activities. Despite this, a development is seen where libraries are closing. This study examines various advantages and challenges for libraries in terms of three perspectives that are often discussed in urban and spatial planning: collaboration, accessibility and meeting places. The purpose of this study is to investigate the libraries’ conditions from a regional perspective and understand how these are developed in a changing society. In the study, representatives from six regional libraries were interviewed. The results show that libraries in both smaller and larger municipalities have challenges and advantages, although they may look different. Closures are not always evil, accessibility can extend beyond the physical sphere and new groups in society seek to libraries, which increases the importance of meeting places. Political changes can also lead to conflicts between political will and legislation. / I Sverige är biblioteken en kulturinstitution med högt förtroende och utgör en mötesplats för läsfrämjande och andra aktiviteter. Trots detta syns en utveckling där många bibliotek lägger ner. I denna uppsats undersöks fördelar och utmaningar hos bibliotek sett till tre perspektiv som ofta diskuteras inom samhällsplanering: samverkan, tillgänglighet och mötesplatser. Syftet är att undersöka bibliotekens förutsättningar och uppdrag ur ett regionalt perspektiv och förstå hur dessa utvecklas i ett föränderligt samhälle. I undersökningen har tjänstepersoner från sex regionbibliotek intervjuats. Resultatet visar att bibliotek i både mindre och större kommuner har utmaningar även om de kan se lite olika ut, att nedläggningar inte alltid är av ondo, att tillgänglighet kan sträcka sig bortom det fysiska och att nya grupper söker sig till biblioteken, vilket ökar betydelsen av mötesplatser. Politiska förändringar kan också leda till att det uppstår konflikter mellan den politiska viljan och lagstiftning.

<p>A large part of research about libraries and library buildings in Sweden has been focused on how the building looks not how it functions with the library. The aim with this master’s thesis is to study how a library building is functioning and how its users are experiencing it. This is studied in three libraries, Kungliga tekniska högskolans bibliotek, Sambiblioteket in Härnösand and Vitterhetsakademiens bibliotek. With the questions of how they were planed, what did the libraries want from the new building and which of these demands were realized. The theory and method will are inspired from Daniel Koch and Inger Bergström.I have visited these libraries and also have read the few published articles about them. I have, too, interviewed librarians and users in the libraries. These libraries have all established a new library building in the 2100th century. The study shows that is not always easy to build a new library. There are a lot of actors involved in the planning, and that effects how the library will function in the building as well how the users move within and experience the room.</p>

A large part of research about libraries and library buildings in Sweden has been focused on how the building looks not how it functions with the library. The aim with this master’s thesis is to study how a library building is functioning and how its users are experiencing it. This is studied in three libraries, Kungliga tekniska högskolans bibliotek, Sambiblioteket in Härnösand and Vitterhetsakademiens bibliotek. With the questions of how they were planed, what did the libraries want from the new building and which of these demands were realized. The theory and method will are inspired from Daniel Koch and Inger Bergström.I have visited these libraries and also have read the few published articles about them. I have, too, interviewed librarians and users in the libraries. These libraries have all established a new library building in the 2100th century. The study shows that is not always easy to build a new library. There are a lot of actors involved in the planning, and that effects how the library will function in the building as well how the users move within and experience the room.

Introduction: The aim of this thesis is to explore library staff’s experiences of participation in a time of change, in this case, a move to new facilities. Using interviews and grounded theory, this qualitative study focuses on how such a change is planned, presented to the staff, and implemented. Method: In this study, twelve library employees from Swedish public libraries were interviewed about their experiences of participation during a move of the library to a new building or recently renovated building. The interviews have been analyzed using grounded theory and terms from organizational theory in order to categorize them and find differences and similarities in the experiences they describe. The organizational terms used for categorizing and analysis were participation, motivation, competence, communication, and information.Recent literature on the subject is scarce, and as a result the literature overview consists of texts from different areas, such as architecture, library and information science and organizational theory, in order to capture the interest of this study. Findings: The study found that library staff feel motivated to participate in workplace changes and want to be part of the planning process, preferably from beginning to end, but to engage properly they need both time and information. The results also suggest that library employees and architects need to find better strategies for collaboration. The library staff think that the architects do not have enough knowledge about the work tasks of library personnel and therefore cannot plan an effective library building. The library employees need more knowledge about the building process in order to explain why and how their workplace is to be built to accommodate the staff and their library users. This is a two-year master’s thesis in Library and Information Science.