The aim of this thesis is to investigate if, and how, normcriticism is a factor for four librarians at public libraries whenthey select the titles to read at a organized story time forchildren.Four qualitative interviews were conducted, with the purposeto get a deeper knowledge on which perspectives were crucialin the four librarians’ processes of choosing what books topresent for the participants of the story time.To analyse the results of the interview, I used two theories.One which focused on norm criticism from four differentangles, and another with three views on reading, adjusted forthis study on reading aloud. The views for norm criticismwere taken from Kumashiros theory on anti oppressivepedagogy and Education for the other, education about theother, education that is critical of othering and privileging,and education that changes students and society. The viewsregarding book selection were the based on Sandins theory,and were emancipatory, the traditionalistic and the pragmatic.The study found that, for these particular librarians, the mostimportant factor was that, since the story time is voluntary, itis essential that the kids enjoy the activity. But, in regards tothe selection process, the librarians used an anti-oppressiveview in making sure that no harmful stereotypes were presentin the story. Sometimes at the expense of the classic tales.

Communication is becoming increasingly important in leadership and greater demands are placed on communication between manager and employees. The requirement for the manager is to create an understanding of commitment to goals, values and views. It also requires the manager to have the ability to create dialogue and participation. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate whether and in what way middle managers communicate internally in a strategic way, i.e. links its internal communication to the organization's overall goals. This study shows through qualitative interviews what challenges and opportunities four middle managers experience with their internal communication. The study also shows which factors are important for how managers communicate goals and strategy. The middle managers experience difficulties in creating dialogue about goals and strategy. Rather, it seems to be more about broadcasting information concerning decisions already made. The results also show that significant factors for how managers communicate goals and strategy with their employees depends on the type of organizational structure they are in. The factors that seem to influence are whether the middle managers receive the strategic decisions from the management team or whether they are involved in formulating strategic decisions themselves.

Under de senaste åren har frågor kring biblioteken och den fria åsiktsbildningen varit aktuella, både som dilemman som diskuterats inom biblioteksväsendet och som debatter som rasat i media. Det har handlat om hur biblioteken förhåller sig, eller bör förhålla sig, till åsiktsfrihetens gränser. Samtidigt har en nationell biblioteksstrategi tagits fram under ledning av Kungliga biblioteket, där biblioteken beskrivs som ett viktigt försvar för demokratin, och samtidigt som ”neutrala”. ”Neutralitet” har också varit föremål för ett antal artiklar av forskare som argumenterar för eller emot att biblioteken ska förhålla sig ”neutrala”. Denna uppsats undersöker vilka idéer kring ”neutralitet” som finns i bibliotekslagen (SFS 2013:801) och dess förarbeten, och hur dessa kan förstås i relation till ”fri åsiktsbildning” och ”det demokratiska uppdraget”. För att undersöka detta görs en kvalitativ idéanalys av källmaterialet. Detta har gjorts genom Lindbergs metod för kvalitativ analys av idéer samt beskrivande idéanalys. I materialet har tre typer av utsagor studerats: grundläggande värderingar, beskrivningar av verkligheten samt föreskrivande utsagor. Tillsammans bildar dessa tre typer av utsagor ”triader” där en viss värdering och en viss beskrivning av verkligheten tillsammans motiverar en viss handling. Centralt i analysen är också att lyfta fram budskap, motsägelser och oklarheter i det analyserade materialet. Analysen sätts i relation till tidigare forskning, vilket leder till en slutdiskussion om vilka konsekvenser idéerna kring ”neutralitet” kan få för bibliotekens möjlighet att utföra sitt uppdrag. Slutsatserna är att ”neutralitet” är ett ”tomt” begrepp som kan fyllas med olika innehåll, beroende på vilka intressen som finns hos den som använder begreppet. Motsägelserna i bibliotekslagen och dess förarbeten kring hur biblioteken samtidigt ska verka för ”demokratiska värden” och vara ”neutrala” inför alla typer av åsikter gör det komplicerat att följa uppdraget. I och med det långtgående och motsägelsefulla kravet på ”neutralitet” kan det finnas en risk att biblioteken inte har någon tydlig värdegrund att stå fast vid under politiska svängningar.

Today, instant messaging apps are a big part of people's everyday life. A lot of people use them to communicate and over time these applications have become increasingly advanced. This study has conducted research on the user experience in instant messaging apps along Swedish users. The study is focused on what influences a user to engage or disengage with an instant message application, with regard to the user experience. This study also focused on usability and utility in the applications, both which are a part of the user experience. Through interviews with nine users empirical data were gathered and then analyzed through a direct content analysis. The result showed that the respondents used the applications for social interaction and information sharing. Social aspects had a great impact on the choice of which application to use and not to use. Another reason to not use an application was if it affected the user experience negatively, e.g. too much advertising or because of viruses being spread or spam messages affecting users. The results also showed that users were satisfied with the usability of the user interface´s utility and visual communication in the applications. However, there could have been better information and communication from the application and drastic updates of the system makes it hard to learn how to use it.

This essay aims to investigate the extent to which a book’s peritext can be used to determine which age-group a book is best suited for. This in the hopes of finding a useful complement to the bibliographic information that is usually used for information retrieval, a complement that can simplify the process by adding more subject signifiers to an information retrieval system’s repertoire. The material being used is a selection of books that were published or republished between the years 2014-2020 and catalogued by the National Bibliography as belonging to the fantasy fiction genre.  The study is grounded in Gérard Genette’s concept of peritext, defined as the information surrounding a written text with the purpose of introducing the text before the actual reading commences. A number of these peritextual elements are studied to see how frequently they appear in the present study’s selection of books, after which the books’ cover designs and titles are studied in more detail. The results of this study show that there are differences in how the peritext of children’s and adults’ books are formatted, especially when it comes to how the front covers are designed. It is not, however, possible to draw any definite conclusions regarding how the peritext might be used to facilitate the process of information retrieval. To achieve this there is need for further research on the subject.

The prevalence of digital media is more and more changing how service professions work is carried out, librarianship being no exception. With more and more focus and resources being laid on the digital side of the professions, with ebooks, e-service desks and interactions with users via social media, it is important to evaluate how these changes have transformed the librarian profession. This paper has had as a goal to find connections between the rise in use of digital media in the library workspace, and increased stress and burnout in the library profession. By compiling previous research and comparing it to my own quantitative research I have created a jumping off point for further research into the effects digital media has on mental health amongst library staff. In this study I have managed to present tentative evidence of rising stress and anxiety within the Swedish public library sector, as well as a rise in the use of various forms of digital media. This paper has not managed to find any concrete evidence linking these two trends together.

Swedish school librarians work within a complex structure of differing forms of employment, conditions and legitimacy of their profession. In the public enquiry into Swedish school libraries, Skolbibliotek för bildning och utbildning(SOU 2021:3), new legislations regulating the school libraries are proposed to guarantee staffing. The aim is to increase equality in access to staffed school libraries among Swedish elementary and high school pupils. Today many schools arrange staffing of their school libraries in conjunction with the local public library. This type of solution has, in smaller studies and surveys, shown to increase the risk of conflicts and confusion regarding responsibilities and work tasks. As a result of the new legislations proposed in the public enquiry of school libraries, an increase in cooperation between schools and public libraries is expected. This essay explores how different employers describe work tasks and conditions in job vacancies for school librarians to detect and analyse any differences. The results indicate discrepancies in how school librarian positions are described. Vacancies for school librarian positions entirely located within the school organization are described with emphasis on working tasks and conditions. Vacancies for positions for school librarians with split service between schools and public libraries show greater emphasis on personal qualities. This indicates that the profession might gain in legitimacy if school librarians are employed by schools rather than in split employment and further supports the principal as preferred employer.

In 2015 the UN initiated the project Agenda 2030, which aims for all countries to work together for a sustainable world based on social, environmental and economic aspects. There is a known potential of the libraries role and opportunities to influence and work for sustainable development. Despite that, there is lack of policies and control documents for Swedish public libraries and work for sustainable development. There is also a lack of studies which shows how Swedish public librarians describe their work for sustainable development in public libraries and their driving force. The aim of this study is to contribute with knowledge about that work. Seven public librarians were interviewed. The interviews were analyzed with the help of practice theory and the three aspects of sustainable development. The result of the study showed that all partaking librarians have a big personal interest of sustainability, which they brought in practice of their daily work. Their actions, most regarding environmental and social sustainability, is grounded on value of solidarity and their professional knowledge, but also a personal knowledge of environmental issues. The study also showed that the few identified control documents were general policies for all activities in the municipality and not unique for the public libraries. The partaking librarians wanted more specific guidelines for their work with sustainable development, which they want to develop and work more with. With the help of librarians, guidelines can be drawn up and make the work clear, visible and possible to evaluate, as part of a social responsibility.

The aim of this study is to examine how school librarians and teachers look upon collaboration between their professions in reading promotion projects, trying to identify challenges and opportunities and important views school librarians and teachers have on each other's profession. The questions the study tries to answer are:  What opportunities for collaboration in reading promotion projects do school librarians and teachers see? What challenges for collaboration in reading promotion projects do school librarians and teachers see? What views of the different professions are made visible in the reasoning of school librarians and teachers? The method used in the study is interviews with school librarians and teachers. The analysis is based on the theory of collaborative dimensions presented by Folkesson: the professional dimension (professional identity and professional culture); the power dimension; the legitimacy dimension. The results of the study shows that both teachers and school librarians believe that long-term planning is key to create good cooperation, but lack of time and the teacher's more scheduled working day becomes an obstacle. Both professions express a clear view of each other's competencies that is characterized by respect and trust, but also describes the roles a bit stereotypically. Both professions think the principal's commitment and participation is very important for legitimizing the school librarian's role in school work.

This thesis is about the definition of the public librarian’s profession and how they are affected by stress. Six public librarians were interviewed over the video-chat program zoom during the 2021-summer. It concluded that the democratic mission was not as clear to every participant and there was some confusion as to how they were supposed to work with it. There were two major stresses reaffirmed among the participants: namely role ambiguity and lack of professional autonomy.