The purpose of this work has been to understand the reading group from the perspective of the society. The study has taken place in the city of Västerås and the results can thus not be used in a more generalized sence. By focusstudies conducted with members from four different reading groups connected in different ways to the library in Västerås I have reached the following conclusions. According to Jürgen Habermas theories the reading groups, with their ideals regarding education and meetings where everybody are equals, belong in the part of the public sphere that he calls literary. There are some connections to the political sphere, for exempel the down to earth quality of the literature that is the choice of the groups and their way of discussing it. One problem that occures when one tries to apply Habermas idéas regarding the public sphere on reading groups is that the criteria Habermas considers as vital to sphere for it to work properly does not seem to work on the reading groups. Inclusion, eqality and freedom of subjects are necessary to create a public sphere. However, in order to create reading groups that truly appeals to everybody and not just swedish women in their sixties and above it seems as if you have to create particulare reading groups for every segment of the population. The study also recognizes the great importance of the library for well working reading groups. Their expertice, their choice of books and the meeting-place they offer the groups are greatly appreciated while the rea - ding groups reciprocate by giving the library hints about interesting literature, how to place the furnitures and such things. Considering Jürgen Habermas theories it seems as if the reading groups can be considered as a part of the representative public sphere that is constituted by the library as well as a literary public sphere. Finaly the stydy conclude that it seems as if the swedish library in question has lower expectations on the reading groups than its english counterparts. This work is to be considered as a two years master´s thesis in the academic field librarian- and informa - tionscience. / Bokcirklar

National and international studies have shown an existing trend where less men than women visit a library on a regular basis. In consideration of the importance of the democratic values that the library represents such a large gap in gender demographics is a problem that librarians need to be aware of. These gender trends is a reflection of a larger problem that exists within our societies where masculine ideologies prevents many boys and men from openly enjoying reading, school studies and, thus, regular library visits. How can we as librarians and information scientists then work towards bridging that gap, and how does an awareness of these gender issues affect our planning and daily routines? These questions are at the center of this thesis and are examined through interviews with four librarians. These librarians all work at libraries that have acknowledged the gender problem by incorporating activities specifically catered to male users into their program. The empirical material has been analyzed using sociological gender theories in an attempt to place the interviewee’s answers within a broader social context. The results shows that the librarians interviewed for the study tends to be very aware of the unbalance between the genders of their users and considers it to be an important problem to solve. This can successfully be done by trying to incorporate more men into the libraries activities through special programs such as male book discussion groups. Since male patrons start dropping off at an early age it is however also of great importance that the library spends resources on working with children and teenagers in an attempt towards bridging the existing gender gap.

Syftet med den här kandidatuppsatsen är att öka kunskapen om hursvenska folkbibliotek kan arbeta med biblioterapi. Detta uppnåsgenom att belysa SPES-projektet vid Norrköpings stadsbibliotek,ett biblioterapiprojekt i bokcirkelform, där deltagare ochcirkelledare träffas regelbundet för att prata om den lästalitteraturen. Metoden jag har använt är kvalitativa intervjuer där jagintervjuat bibliotekarien och samtalsterapeuten som håller ibiblioterapicirkeln samt två deltagare. I analysen presenterasresultaten från informanterna i fem olika delar; introduktion tillSPES-projektet, cirkelledarnas syn på biblioterapi, rollen sombibliotekarie samt rollen som samtalsterapeut i biblioterapicirklar,bibliotekets roll i biblioterapeutiska verksamheter och till sistdeltagarnas upplevelser av biblioterapicirkeln. Min analysförankras kontinuerligt till tidigare forskning och i slutsatsen knyterjag ihop resultaten och lägger fram några riktlinjer som andrabibliotek och organisationer kan dra nytta av i uppstartandet avbiblioterapiverksamheter. Samtliga av mina informanter harpositiva erfarenheter av biblioterapi, trots detta är det ett ovanligtfenomen på svenska folkbibliotek idag. Jag hoppas att den härkandidatuppsatsen kan öppna ögonen för hur bibliotek kanimplementera biblioterapeutiska verksamheter.

The essay examines the expression ”bildung” (”bildning” in Swedish) in relation to book circles. The essay argues that the definition of bildung is not constant. The essay puts the expression in different historical contexts. With empirical evidence, the meaning of the expression can be investigated. A survey has been conducted in the form of four qualitative interviews. The public libraries' goal of promoting interest in bildung can be examined by analyzing the reasoning of the informants. The purpose of the essay is to examine the circle participants' perception of literary bildung and the librarians' goals for literary bildung. The purpose is also to compare the librarians' goals with the circle participants' perception of bildung. A model extracted from Judith Langer's theories is used as the analytical method. The results show that literary bildung is something the participants experienced in that the circle helped them understand others and make things more human. It is also argued that the circle provides tools for them to define and redefine themselves and others. They have not experienced to the same extent that the circle helps them find themselves or that it challenges them intellectually.

The aim of this bachelor’s thesis is to examine how public librarians inspire children aged 9-12 years through book clubs. The study is based on five semi-structured phone interviews with leaders of book clubs. I made a qualitative content analysis of the interviews. In the interviews we focused on how they planned, performed their work, possibilities they could see, and finally challenges to be considered. This was later analysed from the perspective of Chambers theory of the reading circle, which he presents in his study Tell me : children, reading and talk . This theory shows the process of how children, with the adult’s support, can choose, read and react to literature. My conclusions based on the study are that the public librarians want the children's experience of the book club to be fun and not remind them of school. It’s a place where they can meet others and discuss literature they’ve been reading.

The purpose of this Bachelor Thesis is to examine what happens when the solitary reading experience becomes a social activity. The study is based on semi-structured interviews with three women belonging to the same reading group. I have used Sten Furhammar’s reading dimensions and categories to explain their reading experience, and Jenny Hartley, Elizabeth Long and Immi Lundin to explain the function that the reading group has for them, and the relationship between reading experiences in a book-discussion.My result shows that they started the reading group because they lacked an opportunity to discuss their readings with people that had the same interest in books. They do all have different ways to read, which is displayed by Furhammar’s categories personal and impersonal reading for experience. Their different reading experience is essential for a good book-discussion. Through their conversation in the reading group their personal reading experiences blends and result in new perspectives and angles in possible reading approaches. This enriches their reading, and sometimes changes their personal reading experience. / Program: Bibliotekarie

The purpose of this thesis was to examine reading groups inpublic libraries from a bibliotherapeutic perspective. Inorder to reach this purpose following questions needed to beanswered: What does the discussion in reading groups looklike? What does the reading groups fulfill for theirparticipants? What is the circle leaders’ role? The study isbased on the observations of three reading groups and offive interviews of its participants. With the help of CarolineShrodes theory the study shows that there are few signs ofbibliotherapy in the reading groups. But on the other handthey show similarities with other bibliotherapeutic readinggroups, by being a social venue for its participants. They canalso contribute to the participants wellbeing and their self-esteem and self-understanding. The results also show thatthe circle leaders role can be important for the discussion inthe reading group. The reading groups are in many waysimportant to their participants and the results in this thesisshows that bibliotherapy could play an important role in thepublic libraries of Sweden. / Program: Bibliotekarie

The aim of this Master’s Thesis is to find out whether bibliotherapy, in an unspokenform, is practiced in already existing group formations to be able to determine how practicalbibliotherapy can be seen in a Swedish context and thereby open the possibility for development.To fulfil this purpose I decided to do a case study on a nearby book reading circle for adultchildren of drug addicts. I made three qualitative interviews; two of the mentioned book readingcircle’s leaders and one participant/help leader. I used the following set of questions: What isincluded in the concept Bibliotherapy and how does that relate to practice? How has the bookreading circle examined in this case study proceeded, which methods were used and what kind ofliterature has been used and also what kind of effects did this reading circle have on itsparticipants. Can the library/librarian interact in any way in this type of external book readingcircles? I also studied theoretical work on bibliotherapy, as well as various theories on supportgroups and book reading circles, of which I presented a selection of in this thesis. Thistheoretical framework was the basis for my analysis of the result, which showed that theintention of the book reading circle had been consistent with its implementation; the methodsused were in line with the ones of the support groups’ standards and the literature they used wasnonfiction with a content directed especially towards the group’s main problem; the effects thebook reading activities had on the group participants were in line with how developmentalbibliotherapy is described being performed in a Swedish context , and finally; the informants’attitudes towards collaborating with a library/librarian were mainly positive. Thereby, all myquestions were answered and my conclusion is that this case study represents a number of othersupport groups/book reading circles and there would be a mutual benefit if a future collaborationwith the library was established.

The thesis focuses on the book club for children aged 9 to12 years.The objectives of the work are to investigate the meanings of thebook club activities for children at this age and to find out thechildren’s experience. The work is also linked to their readinginterest, what kind of books they prefer and how they choose their books. The collection methods of the empirical material in this work are qualitative observation and focus interview, conducted with sixc hildren attending the book club. The theory and the analytical method used are based on Chambers’ “Reading Circle”. It consists of different parts of the reading process: to choose, to read and to respond to literature with adult’s support. The study shows that all of these assist in stimulating children’s interest in reading and each one plays an important role. My conclusions are that the book club has great meanings for the children aged 9-12 years and it provides multiple ways to fulfil their needs. All the participants in the interview expressed that they were satisfied with the book club.

The purpose of this study is to examine what view librarians have on reading promotion for adults, in particular reading circles, and in which way earlier experiences, education and competence form this view. To what extent, if any, do perceptions of professional identity influence the interest to carry out some kind of reading circles for adults?Our study is based on qualitative interviews with librarians, both those in charge of reading circles in libraries and those who are not. As theoretical starting point we have used Andrew Abbott's work on theory of professions and Jofrid Karner Smidt's thesis on literary preferences and different kinds of mediation of literature. For our analysis we will also use earlier studies on the subject to place our study in a wider context.Our conclusions show that the librarians in our study have an ambivalent view on their profession and professional identity. The reading promotion activity is often seen as the opposite of information technology. The core of their profession is fiction and reading promotion, still they feel very insecure within the field. / Program: Bibliotekarie