Syftet med den här uppsatsen var att undersöka om biblioterapi som utbildning och kompetens skulle kunna fungera stärkande för bibliotekarieprofessionen. Detta undersöktes genom att besvara följande forskningsfrågor: Hur definieras och tolkas begreppet och praktiken biblioterapi? I vilket läge befinner sig biblioterapi i Sverige idag? Hur skulle biblioterapi kunna vara en professionsstärkande bibliotekariekompetens? Studien är baserad på ett empiriskt underlag i form av fyra semistrukturerade intervjuer med utvalda personer som har aktuell koppling till biblioterapi i Sverige. I ljuset av professionsteori och tidigare forskning om biblioterapi och bibliotekarieprofessionen visar studien att definitionen av biblioterapi inte är samstämmig i Sverige, som verkar befinna sig i sökandefasen gällande begreppet som kunskapsområde. Resultatet pekar på att biblioterapi fyller en viktig funktion som kompetensutveckling för bibliotekarier vilket i sig är stärkande i den professionella rollen, samt är uppskattat och starkt förankrat inom biblioteksväsendet. Slutsatsen av studien är att biblioterapi skulle kunna vara en professionsstärkande bibliotekariekompetens om begreppet tydligt definierades inom biblioteksvärlden och om fler uttalat professionsstärkande strategier genomfördes i enlighet med professionella projektet och nätverk samt målmedveten etablering inom utbildning, profession och praktik.

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the role of bibliotherapy at hospitals and also what knowledge of and insights on bibliotherapy a few Swedish hospital librarians have. Questions investigated are: What role do the hospital librarians think literature has in the treatment of a patient? What is their view on their role as a hospital librarian and do they believe that they can have a part in the treatment of a patient? Is the concept bibliotherapy commonly used or is there another term in use? How important is the linkage between healing and literature? In this study, the view on bibliotherapy is limited to a hospital perspective. The purpose of the study is therefore to investigate bibliotherapy at the hospital. Six qualitative interviews with hospital librarians were performed at three general or combined general/medical hospital libraries. The study shows that the hospital librarians have little knowledge of bibliotherapy and that none of them work with bibliotherapy in an organized form. Literature and its effect on human health is something they all have reflected on, and several of them believe that part of their work could be conceptualized as bibliotherapy. They are convinced that literature can give a patient satisfaction by easing the long hours of waiting and by supplying a sense of identity and insights. The hospital librarians also consider themselves being representatives of the “ordinary world” as they don’t dress in white coats. An important function would then be that the hospital librarian stands out as a human being of flesh and blood that takes the time to see, listen and talk to the patient from a non medical perspective. / Uppsatsnivå: D

This study examines how a hospital chaplain, a children therapist, the therapy group Children in grief and a hospital teacher use words in their activities with mourning children and adults. The aim of this study was to learn more about bibliotherapy, how words can assist in diminish the distress of being in a very stressful situation such as grief and sickness. Beneficial to the whole community, bibliography can also be used by libraries as a preventive tool to promote mental health. The research questions studied were: What do you think about bibliotherapy and do you consider bibliotherapy as a part of your work in your clinic? How do you use texts in your activities? How do you select suitable literature for your clients? The focus was not upon which literature used. To examine these questions semi-structured interviews were conducted. The interviews took place at Växjö Hospital during March 2017. Through the interviews the answers have been showing the forms of activities used to soothe the suffering for children and adults, and how important the reading is as a complement to their other therapies. None of the interviewees used the term bibliotherapy, but the study shows that they all use bibliotherapy in different forms: creative bibliotherapy, informal bibliotherapy and clinical bibliotherapy.

Det övergripande syftet med denna studie var att utforska det hälsofrämjande arbetet vid bibliotek som genomförs genom biblioterapeutiska metoder. Vi har utgått från följande treforskningsfrågor: 1. Vilka former av biblioterapeutiskt arbete har respondenterna erfarenheter av? 2. Vilka kunskapsbehov har bibliotekarier som arbetar med biblioterapi och hur förhåller de sig till de utmaningar som finns? 3. Upplever bibliotekarier att arbetet med biblioterapi har förändrat yrkesidentiteten? Vi har använt oss av semistrukturerade intervjuer med öppna frågor. Ett kriterium vi hade var att hitta bibliotekarier med praktiska erfarenheter av biblioterapi. Vi analyserade materialet med hjälp av tematisk analys och identifierade tre huvudteman, nämligen: 1. De biblioterapeutiska arbetssätten. 2. Erfarenhet eller kompetens. 3. Yrkesidentiteten. Vi analyserade empirin utifrån dessa teman och lyfte fram de delar från intervjuerna som hade relevans för vår studie. Resultaten visade att majoriteten av respondenterna arbetar med utvecklande biblioterapi som passar de flesta grupper av människor. Det mest framträdande från intervjuerna var att litteraturen har en central roll när det kommer till att arbeta biblioterapeutiskt, både när det kommer till val av litteratur men även hur man bearbetar den valda litteraturen. Det råder delade meningar kring vad som behövs i form av utbildning hos våra respondenter. Samtliga respondenter verkar ha uppfattningen att biblioterapi har “förstärkt” deras yrkesidentitet. Endast två av respondenterna kände att de har stöd av sin chef och en har det inskrivet i sin arbetsbeskrivning. Det råder konsensus i gruppen av respondenter om att inte använda sig av självhjälpslitteratur.

Bibliotherapy is the practice of using literature for health-promoting purposes and is conducted worldwide using various methods and targeting different groups. In a Swedish context, bibliotherapy has begun to receive attention in both the general public and the library sector. Although previous research indicates bibliotherapy's health-promoting effects, collaboration in the field is relatively unexplored, especially within healthcare settings. This bachelor’s thesis studies the experiences and collaboration of hospital librarians and hospital staff within the shared bibliotherapy practice in hospital libraries. Six semi-structured, in-depth interviews with hospital librarians and other hospital professionals were conducted. The results show that successful bibliotherapy collaborations between these professions not only occur but also help to increase the visibility and legitimacy of hospital librarians in healthcare. Additionally, bibliotherapy contributes to the creation of meaningful collaborations between colleagues as well as patients. By applying the elements from Shove, Pantzar and Watson’s theory of practice, we were able to further analyze bibliotherapy as a shared practice in hospital libraries. Conclusions show that collaboration within bibliotherapy can legitimize both the bibliotherapy practice and hospital librarians.