In recent years it has been discussed in the media that library users often request help and support from librarians regarding for example digital tasks and services that relate to government agencies and commercial companies. The aim of this study is to contribute with knowledge of public librarians' views regarding their mission and approaches to help and support to library users in the library. The study focuses on all types of help and support that library users request in addition to the library's traditional services (which are here understood as services clearly related to the library collection, e.g. reference work and user instruction). In order to examine this matter eight semi-structured interviews were conducted with public librarians at libraries in the municipality of Gothenburg. The transcripts from the interviews were then analyzed using qualitative content analysis guided and structured by a practice theoretical framework. In accordance with the practice theoretical framework, help and support to library users is considered as a practice. The result show that the library's mission in terms of help and support to library users can be seen both as narrow, primarily comprising reference work and as wide including all kinds of information, and that the participants help and support library users in different ways and with a wide range of questions and matters, within the wide description of the mission.

The purpose of this study is to conduct a quantitative overview of public librarians' genre knowledge of fantasy and examine how the genre is presented and linked to literature mediation activities. The fantasy genre is somewhat undefined and previous studies show that there is no common or accepted definition of the genre fantasy. Depending on a librarians' knowledge of the genre, the genre's location and exposure in the library are greatly affected. This study is based on the following questions: How do the librarians' genre knowledge affect literature mediating activities at the library and how is the genre presented in the library? What characteristics and distinctive features do public librarians in Västra Götaland County associate with the genre of fantasy? An online survey was conducted with 90 librarians. The analysis of the answers recorded from the survey is based on theories about literature mediation and genre knowledge. Our results show that librarians have a general knowledge of fantasy based on their answers concerning what characterizes the genre through distinctive features and elements. In our analysis, we conclude that genres can "borrow" each other's attributes, elements and features without a book or other media necessarily being classified as a particular genre. It was also concluded that the librarians based on their genre knowledge can implement fantasy elements in their literature and reading promotion activities.

Syftet med denna uppsats är att bidra till ökad kunskap om hur en specialsamling som äppelhyllan kan vara till hjälp för bibliotekarier att övervinna de barriärer som kan uppkomma i det dagliga arbetet med barn och unga med funktionsvariation. Uppsatsen baseras på fyra kvalitativa intervjuer av folkbibliotekarier som aktivt arbetar med utvecklingen av äppelhyllan vid deras stadsbibliotek. Resultatet visar att äppelhyllan som specialsamling är en svår samling att arbeta med dels på grund av den varierande målgruppen som har olika behov, dels för att det krävs mycket kunskap hos bibliotekarierna för att utveckla en äppelhylla. Fortbildning och samarbete är viktiga förutsättningar för att skapa en lyckad äppelhylla som möter målgruppens behov.

Time and temporality have received little attention when it comes to work in the public libraries, above all in a Swedish context. Trying to fill this gap the aim of this study was to explore how librarians working within the public libraries of Gothenburg experienced time and temporality in relation to different work tasks and systems. The study was guided by a theoretical framework with focus on the sociology of time and was designed as a cross-sectional study witha qualitative approach. Empirical data was produced through semi structured interviews with seven librarians working at different public libraries in Gothenburg. Qualitative content analysis was used for analysing the empirical data. The result showed that the librarian's time was fragmented with task sbeing prioritised according to principles of economic time, i.e., tasks that were possible to determine in time and led to a clear outcome. The result also showed that tasks that worked according to non-economic principles dominated among the tasks the librarians wished to have more time for, i.e., tasks that were difficult to determine in time and required continuity, for example reading promotion tasks. However, this does not mean that the librarians did not engage in reading promotion work at all. The study also drew attention to the time-consuming work the librarians devoted to help the library visitors with information and communication technology. This work was understood as a side effect of technological acceleration.

The aim of this master’s thesis is to develop knowledge on librarians’ perceptions and experiences of working at a public library during the covid-19 pandemic. The lack of research in this area motivates this thesis. Six librarians from four different public libraries in Gothenburg were interviewed through semi-structured interviews. The empirical data was analyzed through a practice theoretical framework comprising three dimensions of practice referred to as the cultural-discursive, the social-political, and the material-economic dimensions. The result of the study shows that the librarians’ perceptions and experiences of working during the pandemic was that it was difficult, challenging, and that it contributed new knowledge. The difficulties and challenges are based on the fact that the librarians, due to the restrictions, no longer can help the visitors like they used to. In addition, the library as an open space is no longer available for the visitors, which is a problem since many people rely on the libraries offering computers and a place where one can study or just spend time. To be forced to deny the visitors help is the biggest difference according to the librarians. Further, the result shows that the pandemic enabled new ways of working and contributed to highlight the importance of public libraries.

The purpose of this study is to gain a deeper understanding of how the professional identity of public librarians is created and shaped in connection with the digitization of society. The data collection method used, has been semi-structured interviews where five Swedish public librarians were asked questions regarding their experiences and perceptions of the increasingly digital nature of the public librarian profession, and how it has come to affect their work. The collected data has been analyzed within the socio-cultural perspective in which learning is seen as a constantly ongoing social process and where knowledge is gained through interaction with others. A further theoretical starting point for this study, was Anders Ørom's theory of librarians' professional identities. Three main themes were identified during the analysis. The first theme addresses public librarians' positive attitudes and experiences related to digitization and digital technology. The second theme addresses their negative attitudes and experiences related to digitization and digital technology. The third and final theme addresses their professional identity. The findings show that the public librarian profession is increasingly characterized by digital technical tasks and tools and that knowledge within this area, is considered important according to the public librarians. The respondents who experience the greatest impact of the increasingly digital technical nature of the profession, express concern regarding how a lack of knowledge in this area, can lead to feelings of inadequacy as many public library users, often expect the librarians to possess a great deal of digital technical competence. The majority of the study's respondents highlight the social aspects of the profession, particularly the social interactions with public library users, as a crucial part of their work.

Att belysa folkbibliotekariens egna erfarenheter av det läsfrämjande arbete med läsande förebilder som metod är relevant för att få en djupare förståelse för vilken betydelse arbetssättet har för att främja barns och ungas läsning. Insikt om detta kan utgöra ett underlag för utvärdering av arbetssättet utifrån ett professionellt perspektiv och öka medvetenheten om metodens relevans. Det är en kvalitativ intervjustudie vars resultat är insamlat från fyra intervjuer med folkbibliotekarier som är verksamma inom samarbeten med läsande förebilder. För att tolka resultatet så använder studien två skilda teorier; Bourdieus teori om kulturell reproduktion och Banduras sociala inlärningsteori. Det framgick bland annat att läsande förebilder är en metod med stark tilltro och det fanns en uppfattning om att vuxna i barns vardag är betydelsefulla läsande förebilder. En läsande förebild är framförallt någon som barnet vill identifiera sid med. Filckor ansågs ha bättre förutsättningar att se sig själva som läsare, varvid en uppfattning var att målgruppen pojkar bör prioriteras i det läsfrämjande arbetet. Betoningen lades dock vid att flickor inte får glömmas bort. / To highlight the public librarian's own experience of working with reading role models as a type of reading promotion method is relevant when you to get a deeper understanding of the type of impact that the method has on children's and young adults reading. Insight into this can form a basis for evaluating the working method from a professional perspective and increase awareness of the method's relevance. It is a qualitative interview study whose results are collected from four interviews with public librarians active in collaborations with reading role models. To interpret the results the study uses two different theories; Bourdieu's theory of cultural reproduction and Bandura's social learning theory. Among other things, it emerge that reading role models is a method with strong trust and there was a perception that adults in children's everyday life are important reading role models. A reading role model is above all someone with whom the child wants to identify. Girls were considered to have better conditions to see themselves as readers, whereas one opinion was that the target group boys should be prioritized in the work to promote reading. However, emphasis was placed on the fact that girls must not be forgotten.

Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur bibliotekarier upplever tryggheten på sin arbetsplats och hur eventuell otrygghet kan påverka dem. Det är en kvalitativ intervjustudie bestående av semistrukturerade intervjuer för att komma så nära bibliotekariernas personliga erfarenhet som möjligt. Intervjuerna analyseras sedan tematiskt med grund i teorier om imagined victimisation och psykologisk trygghet. Studien visar att bibliotekarierna känner sig trygga, men att det ibland sker händelser som gör dem osäkra och otrygga. Det upptäcks också att det finns viss osäkerhet kring handlingsplaner och vilka åtgärder som kan vidtas vid otrygga händelser.

Good knowledge of literature is a desirable competence among children's librarians, and it is said to require constant environmental scanning. At the same time, there is often a lack of time and opportunity for skills development in this area. The aim of this thesis is to examine how children's librarians build up their knowledge of literature, what significance it has and what factors affect them in their environmental scanning of children's literature. Empirical data were produced through interviews with five librarians working with children aged 0-12 as their target audience. The data were analyzed by employing Bates’ model of four different information-seeking modes. The results show that all four modes are vital for environmental scanning. The importance of literature knowledge is confirmed in descriptions of how they use their literature knowledge. One conclusion is that children's librarians' knowledge of literature is based more on personal and professional experience of children's literature than on literary studies. Bibliotekstjänst and colleagues are important channels for environmental scanning. Another conclusion is that children as a target audience demands more of an active – directed information seeking than adults.

This thesis aims to study how librarians perceive the identity of the public library. This is done by focusing on how librarians perceive the library’s roles, values, and the role of the librarian. One of the analytical tools used to illustrate this complexity is theories on underlying values and identity perceptions in organizations. The method is semi structured qualitative interviews with public librarians. An initial method to structure the empirical data consists of a phenomenographic approach. The findings show that the overall purpose of the library is to promote a democratic society where all citizens are equally valued. In order to do this the library needs to fulfill three main roles and some values. The main roles of the public library are to promote the availability of information, literature, and to be an open room for meetings. The values are to promote participation, critical thinking, and empathy among library users as well as to confirm users socially. The library’s resourses and services are valued for providng quality, variety, non-comersial intrests, and new perspectives. Furthermore, two basic values are to enrich people, eliminate inequalities, and by doing so promote human equality. The role of the librarian is to make sure that the resources and services of the library meet the criteria of all these roles and values. The librarian thus acts as an intermediary between these roles and values and the needs of the users and is therefore an important part of the library’s identity. The roles, values and the role of the librarian that make up this identity are presented in a model. The study shows that any activity, meeting or recourse that goes against any of the roles or values might be seen as a threat against the library. Another finding is that perceptions of a limitless role of the librarian could also be considered a threat against the library’s identity. This is a two year master’s thesis in Library and Information Sciense.