The purpose with this study is to examine what kind of support there is for school libraries at the selected independent upper secondary schools and how these schools ensure that libraryservices is available to their students and their teachers. The purpose is also to examine what attitudes the administrators of the schools have to school libraries and teaching in information seeking. A qualitative method with interviews was used to fulfil the purpose. As a theoretical basis of the study Loertschers taxonomies of the school library media program and Limbergs three levels of pedagogic research were used and the interviews were analysed with these two theoretical frameworks as a background. The result of the study showed that neither one of the three examinated schools has a school library which means that they use the public library instead. The problematic area is the lack of rules within the school library field and the fact that the independent schools do not show any interest of cooperating with the public library. The conclusion is probably to make an agreement between the schools and the public library and to make the administrators literate about the positive effects which come out of a well provided school library.

Our purpose with this master thesis is to look at school libraries in two separate municipal contexts and with the help of case studies try to reach understanding of how the municipal organisation in general influences and co-operates with day to day reality. In order to achieve this objective we have posed the following questions: What importance are school libraries given in relation to questions of overall management and goals in the greater organisation? How are resources distributed and management allocated in the two cases? How are the various school libraries in the two municipalities organised when it comes to workload, employee role assumption and teamwork? In the section dealing with theory and previous research we present the theoretical viewpoint and the literature of importance for our subject. This includes a short history, reports and laws, and also some research and theory on school library organisation. Our method has been to study the circumstances in two separate municipalities, Varberg and Växjö. We have interviewed a number of people whom we believe to possess relevant knowledge of school library curriculum and organisation in relation to such concepts as management, resources, role assumption and teamwork. These sources are school librarians, chief librarians, and also the library board members for each municipality. To attain a deeper understanding we have complemented our study with the review of internal reports such as curriculum and goal proposals. The main conclusions of this master thesis are that the choice of school library organisation seems to be of minor importance when it comes to the greater organisation context but on the other hand these organisations are of great importance when it comes to learning and reading activities in the school context. We also note two main aspects concerning function of the school library: “the school aspect” and “the library aspect”. When it comes to relating organisation to these two functions it seems that in the municipality of Växjö the school aspect” is dominant when it comes to the municipality of Varberg it is rather the “library aspect” that dominates. / Uppsatsnivå: D

The aim of this bachelor thesis is to investigate how one independent senior high school without a school library regards the role of school libraries. (What is their view of information literacy? Do they manage to reach the goals of Lpf 94 and the goals of each school subject without a school library of their own?). We have chosen to interview the principal and two teachers. Our major findings are that the public library in our study has been given the role of a school library, a role we think it can not fulfil. The librarians guide pupils to the bookshelves instead of being collaborators in the learning process to create new knowledge. The principal and the teachers, in our study, do not believe in the pupils’ ability to develop better reading skills even if they have access to more books. Readers will stay readers, non – readers likewise. Earlier research contradicts this statement. The principal and the teachers find pupils information literate. We believe they are computer literate. Earlier research shows that teachers often think pupils are information literate. Although computers might be one of several information sources, they alone do not make students advanced users of information. The principal and the teachers mean to say that this school accomplishes its goals. We think they will have problems reaching their goals without the public library.

The aim of this Master’s thesis is to examine how the introducing of municipal library plans has influenced some compulsory schools in Malmö. I wanted to know if the library plan is a possible way to improve the quality of the school library. Through qualitative interviews with four school librarians and four headmasters, I investigate their knowledge of the library plan and their opinion of the possibilities to realize the directions of the plan. The theoretical framework is based on a model of organizational culture by Bakka, Fivelsdal and Lindkvist. The model shows characteristic features of the local cultures of an organization, external as well as internal. As a complement I also use a model concerning the division of power between the lawmaker and the executor. The result shows that very few among the staff at the schools are familiar with the municipal library plan. The librarians sometimes use the library plan as a support and a checklist in the daily work, but when it comes to the development of the school library, the library plan doesn’t play a crucial part. The apprehension among most of the interviewee is that it is possible to implement the library plan in the long run. One of the reasons to the slowness is the local culture and the history and traditions of the Swedish schools. Differing vocational training and a lack of communication between teachers and librarians makes it difficult to learn from each other and for the teachers to take part of the library culture. The administrative machinery is another obstacle. The shortage of money and the great variety of tasks in the schools delay the implementation of the library plan. / Uppsatsnivå: D

The aim of this Master’s thesis is to examine and present the programmes and activities of school library centres in order to see what functions (purposes) they can fulfil in a municipality and also if and how they can contribute to school library development. In order to fulfil my purpose I have made qualitative interviews with five librarians from school library centres. The theoretical framework is primarily based on David Loertscher’s. I have designed six functions on the basis of Loertscher’s theories and investigated which functions school library centres have got and how they are performed. The result of the study shows that main activity of school library centres consists of the media complimentary function and the service function usually performed as a bookpool or a media reserve. The supportive and coordinative functions are becoming more and more important in helping school libraries to develop. The pedagogical function and the evolutionary function varies a lot between different school library centres, in size and direction.I have also made a SWOT-analysis to find factors that works as opportunities or hindrances for development. The major finding is that political ruling is the most decisive factor.Finally theories in Louise Limberg’s research overview The pedagogical role of school libraries are used when I analyse if school library centres contribute to school library development. The main conclusions are that school library centres can contribute to school library development in many ways both directly through education for librarians/teachers/school-leaders but also indirectly through for example lobbying. / Uppsatsnivå: D

The aim of this paper is to study if implementation of a school library management system called FreeLib has created favourable conditions for the school librarians to cooperate with other professions and become a more forward working place. I have studied relevant literature about school libraries, organisation, digital libraries and documents that regulate school and library activities today as well in the past. In order to fulfil my purpose I have done a qualitative survey with six school librarians from Swedish primary schools with pupils at the age of 6 -16 years old. To identify strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities I found in the material I used a method called SWOT analysis. According to this study the use of the digital FreeLib system has developed a better teamwork between school librarians at different schools. On the other hand the school librarians have not used the opportunities to cooperate with teachers or develop an organization chart. Consequently FreeLib has not become a changing point for the school library. One possible reason may be that the perception of school libraries still shows a picture of a place where you just pick a book to read in your classroom, which makes it more difficult to highlight and develop the school librarians’ activities among others.

The aim of this study is to examine how teachers and school librarians view the concept of information literacy in relation to their students, and to find factors that affect their undertakings to make their students information literate. In order to accomplish this, qualitative interviews have been carried out with teachers and school librarians at four Swedish junior high schools. The theoretical framework of this study is the seven faces of information literacy developed by Christine Bruce. The empirical material has been analysed firstly by finding themes that are of importance for the work with information literacy, and secondly by placing the interviewees’ commentaries on information literacy in Bruce´s seven faces of information literacy. This in order to be able to compare the two groups and find what differences and similarities there are. The study implies that factors such as the views of information literacy, the way to perform teaching, the division of responsibilities, the collaboration situation and the views of the students have impact on how well the students are able to develop information literacy. The study also implies that teachers and school librarians theoretically have much the same views on these issues, but that practice shows that there are differences. The study also implies that there are changes that can be made to improve the situation, and among them are mutual planning for librarians and teachers, incorporating the teaching of information literacy with subject teaching, and more focus on the role of the school library. / Program: Bibliotekarie

The purpose of this Master’s thesis is to examine what the data from recent Library- and Information Science studies tell us about the importance of school libraries in a student perspective. Our theoretical framework is built upon Elisabeth Tallaksen Rafste’s concept about the values of school libraries to students. Our aim is to investigate how students between the ages of 15 and 18 use and experience school library. The method used was a literature study where we collected the students’ experiences of their school library from the data parts in our sources. Our sources consist of Master’s theses from the years 1998 to 2006. The study shows that the students’ use of school library is closely linked to the resources spent on it. School libraries with limited operating hours are typically used as a resource for tuition-related purposes only: a place for work and book-borrowing. However, in school libraries with generous operating hours, in addition to spending more time there, pupils also used the library space for leisure related purposes. The use of it as a social meeting place was more common in schools that lacked common rooms. Available common rooms made school library more work- and education oriented. The librarian was of great importance to the students as a resource for all kinds of information related questions and for creating a study enabling environment by maintaining peace and quiet. In conclusion, the use of school library depends on the resources spent on the library. Generous operating hours, good stock and manning will result in wider use of library facilities and resources, while students will appreciate its existence to a greater extent. / Program: Bibliotekarie

This thesis investigates gender equality at a few Swedish elementary school libraries, and how school librarians at these libraries work with gender equality issues. It is a semi-structured interview study conducted with staff at seven elementary school libraries. Several policy documents state that the school should be a gender-equal environment, but previous research shows that there is still a lack of gender equality, and that staff often treat boys and girls differently. It also shows that boys and girls are often portrayed in a gender-stereotypical way in children’s literature. The theoretical framework consists of a combination of theories on gender equality and gender science based on the work of Eva Mark and Yvonne Hirdman. The empirical material was analysed from both of these perspectives. The results show that most librarians try to some extent to incorporate gender equality issues during book talks, book clubs, and group reading sessions, and try to discuss common gender stereotypes with the students. The librarians show an awareness of the importance of gender equality, but say that they lack the right tools and support from the school management to address these issues in an efficient and professional manner. In order to achieve gender equality in school libraries, there needs to be an overall analysis of both staff and students attitudes towards, and comprehension of, the meaning of gender equality. There is also a need to look at how stereotypical notions of gender influence people's behaviour and opportunities, and what could be done to change these. / Program: Bibliotekarie

This Master’s thesis investigates user education at high school libraries. The aim of this study is to examine user education and the educational approach that librarian’s experience in their teaching. The method used for the study is qualitative interviews with seven high school librarians. The librarians in the interviews were all educated after the Swedish University reform in 1993. The interviews are analysed and presented by using Carol Kuhlthau’s and Olof Sundin’s theories about the pedagogical educational approach often used by librarians. Five of the librarians focused on a Source approach and on a Pathfinder approach. Two of the librarians focused on the students’ information process and discussed different sources with the students. Just one of the librarians wants to change the education approach. A surprising result as several of the librarians weren’t pleased with the students’ information qualifications. The examined librarians experienced the educational approach in a similar way, only two of the interviewed librarians experienced it in a different way. The reason for the result may be that the time the librarians have at their hands is limited. The librarians also get influences from more experienced colleagues and their educational approach. Another reason can be that teacher and student have prejudices about what a librarian can and should do and that their opinions affect the librarians and their educational approach. / Uppsatsnivå: D