This master’s thesis in the field of library and information science deals with reviews written by first readers, to be considered by librarians in their selection process. My aim is to identify dislocations in relation to norms, with the help of two research questions: Which discursive dislocations can be seen in relation to norms concerning gender, sexuality, racialization on the one hand and literature, reading and the mediation of literature in a library context? Which positions are held by the first readers in relation to libraries and the public? Discourse analysis, as described by Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe, functions as theory and method. The material is first reader’s reviews written in 1928 and 2013.I identify the discourse in 1928 as occupied with enlightenment and in 2013 with individualism. In 1928, first readers and librarians function as gatekeepers. They judge literature based on quality, suitability and moral. Popular genres are seen as lacking in quality and not always suitable for the public. Sexual content is tied to lacking suitability and bad moral, which is not the case in 2013, when the discourse focuses primarily on the public readers’ demands and reading acts. Reading is now regarded as entertaining, rather than educational. In terms of racialization, “culture” in 2013 has the same function as “race” in 1928 – that is, to establish difference and exotism. Gender stereotypes are questioned in 2013, but also used. The gatekeeper roles of first readers and librarians are weakened, but they still hold positions of power.

The aim of this Master’s thesis is to examine how opinions and values are expressed in BTJ’s reviews of children’s literature. According to debates reviewed and interviewed librarians, many consider BTJ to be too directing when it comes to the libraries’ purchases of books. Therefore I find it important to study how the reviews are written. Two questions are asked: In what ways do the reviews communicate opinions and values? Has the communication of opinions and values changed over time? The theoretical starting-point is taken from theories about non-fiction and rhetoric. The method is a rhetorical text analysis focusing on the ways in which the reviewers persuade the readers of their message. Reviews of 40 children’s books from the years of 1976, 1986, 1996 and 2006 are analysed through a model of four rhetorical aspects. The result shows that there are many possibilities to express opinions and values in the reviews. This can be made through the choice of subjects, the arrangement of the text and the use of rhetorical figures. The historical perspective shows that there has been a small increase in the use of rhetorical resources from 1976 to 2006. This probably has to do with the fact that the reviews have been lengthened over time. / Uppsatsnivå: D

The aim of this master’s thesis is to categorize the publisher readers’ views about reading to distinguish a conceivable change of these reviews compared to a historical context during 20 years. I will examine a number of reviews of children’s literature written by publisher readers from BTJ in order to distinguish the assumptions that readers have about children’s reading from how these assumptions appear. The reviews that have chosen is from the years 1986, 1991, 1996, 2001 and 2006, with the purpose of studying if there are any legible changes in these assumptions for the past 20 years. These reviews have been analyzed using a theoretical model developed from a model by Maria Nikolajeva about children’s literature and two central processes about reading that appear in the historical exposition in chapter three. The method that was used for the analysis was a dimension analysis developed from the idea and ideology analysis. The result shows that publisher readers make different assumptions about for example learning and teaching, language, pictures and quality. It was difficult to distinguish a change in the readers’ reviews; the amount of quotations was too small. But one important thing was that the older reviews focus on reading as for education, but the more recent reviews instead focus on reading for pleasure. And the result also shows that the processes are central in the readers’ assumptions. In the first field assumptions about education and reading as an inspiration for action were frequent. The assumptions of the second field focus on reading for pleasure and they also maintain that books should inspire children to read. The result of the third field was unsatisfactory: The assumptions presented in this field were about that there is a similarity between how children read and how adults read. In the fourth field the readers’ make assumptions that indicate a difference between how children read and how adults read. The most important aspects within this field are about quality and language. / Uppsatsnivå: D