The aim of this thesis is to examine how discourses appearing in a Swedish media de-bate in 2015 about the unruly public libraries relate to former, historical discourses con-cerning public libraries. Through a discourse analytical approach, I analyze the beliefs, norms and values of the public library as expressed by the various participants in the debate and how these statements relate to historical library discourses that have been prevalent in Sweden during the 1900s.Two discourses were identified: the literary discourse and a discourse that perceive the library as a democratic meeting place. Within the literary discourse, which is clearly influenced by the public library ideas that became influential in Sweden in the early 1900s, emphasis is placed on the printed book; the public library is expected to be a place where silence reigns. Within the competing discourse, which has its roots in the 1970s, the library is seen as an open meeting place for various activities, not only for reading.The literary discourse has been and still is the dominant discourse. Within the literary discourse the public library is seen as a tool for public education. In the early 1900s the workers and the less well-off would be formed into responsible citizens. In modern times, there have been changes within the discourse and now it is rather the well-behaved young people with an immigrant background that are subject to public library's attentions. The hegemonic position of the literary discourse makes the notion that there should be a careful silence in public libraries perceived as self-evident. This in turn affects the possibility to innovate and further develop public library activities.

Hush! – An analyses of the public debate regarding silence in libraries. This essay is based on the perception of a change in the library soundscape. Our purpose is to identify the prevailing discourses in the public debate regarding silence in libraries. To achieve this, we posed three questions. What part does silence play in the public debate about silence in the libraries? What are the discourses that can be identified in this debate?  What is the debater’s opinion of the ambition of the library to become a third space? To answer these questions, we analysed seventeen articles from the Swedish news, by applying a discourse analytic model - based on a model created for this context by Åse Hedemark. The articles were written between 2006 and 2018 and we chose this timeframe due to the fact that the technological development of cellular phones etc, thrived in this period.The results show that there is a discord between the libraries and the participants in the public debate and that a number of discourses have been identified. We have identified the main issue of the debate as the transcendence of the library from a silent temple full of books, to an open space for informal encounters and conversations.

The aim of this thesis is to examine the current situation in regards of librarian - patron conflict at Swedish public libraries. The Swedish library law requires libraries to be open and provide information for all people. But with this open-door-policy the people working at the library are vulnerable to potential threats and violence from the public. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with six librarians at three different libraries in the Västra Götaland region. The questions asked during the interviews regarded what kind of conflicts took place at the libraries and what safety precautions the libraries had to handle conflicts. Repeated themes could be noticed at all the libraries that participated in the research. The two most notable groups that could be identified as “problem groups” were young people and disadvantaged groups. The size and the budget of the library had a significant effect regarding what kind of security services could be purchased. The findings of this research showed that the libraries have several safety precautions in place already. Even with regards to budget cuttings there were other ways the libraries worked to guarantee the safety of its employees.

This bachelor’s thesis deals with how the spatiality of libraries can correlate with instances of disorderly user behaviors. The fact that public libraries are among the types that are most prone to disorder, while Kriminalvården’s (the Swedish correctional service’s) librarians rarely experience similar problematic behaviors, could be said to illustrate a balancing act between anarchy and a manic need for control; where the most ideal compromise is, is based both upon personal values and the situation at hand.   To compare different reasonings about the room and the users, public librarians’ perspectives on factors of architecture and design have been contrasted with how librarians within Kriminalvården view the matter. The study has mainly been carried out using qualitative semi-structured interviews as well as a supplementary questionnaire. Operationalized factors of spatial influence in the form of categorized opposites (accessible/inaccessible, comfortable/repellent, visible/obscured, enabling/forbidding), which were identified early on and have guided the investigation, are used both implicitly in the interview guides and the questionnaire as well as explicitly in reading for the thematic analysis.   The terms “ideal type”, “heterotopia”, and “panopticon/panopticism” are used theoretically to deepen the understanding of the essay’s collected data: their suitability emerges in the nuances of what libraries can/should be; what happens when you bring together multiple functions in one space; as well as how control through surveillance can be understood and applied in library spaces.   The results show several differences at the operational level, but also similarities in terms of the librarian’s approach and view on problematic factors. Public libraries often have many functions (that do not always interact harmoniously) and offer more freedom, which risks their orderliness, while Kriminalvårdens library operations (which consists almost exclusively of literature distribution) have more order – but at the expense of user´s freedom.    The study’s outcome can be used as a basis of knowledge for practical planning of library design, but also as a springboard for further research. The effect of spatiality on users can prove important for the orderliness, atmosphere, and security of a library: cultivating an awareness regarding these possibilities of influence can thus be considered of great interest. / Denna kandidatuppsats hanterar hur biblioteks spatiala utformning kan korrelera med förekomster av ”biblioteksstök”. Att folkbibliotek är bland de mest stök-utsatta typerna, medan Kriminalvårdens bibliotekarier sällan upplever liknande problembeteenden, skulle kunna sägas illustrera en balansakt mellan anarki och kontrollmani; var den mest idealiska kompromissen ligger bygger på personliga värderingar och vad situationen kräver.    För att jämföra olika resonemang kring rummet och användarna har folkbibliotekariers perspektiv på arkitektoniska och designmässiga faktorer satts i kontrast mot hur bibliotekarier inom Kriminalvården ser på saken. Studien har genomförts främst med hjälp av kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer samt en kompletterande enkät. Operationaliseringar av spatiala påverkansfaktorer i form av kategoriserade motpoler (tillgängligt/svårtillgängligt, komfortabelt/avvisande, överblickbart/skymt, tillåtande/hindrande), som i förtid identifierats och styrt undersökningen, har använts både implicit i intervjuguiderna samt enkäten och explicit i utläsningen för den tematiska analysen.  Begreppen ”idealtyp”, ”heterotopi”, och ”panoptikon/panopticism” används teoretiskt för att fördjupa förståelsen av uppsatsens empiri: deras lämplighet framkommer i nyanserandet av vad bibliotek kan/bör vara; effekten av att sammanföra flera användningsområden i samma utrymme; samt hur kontroll genom övervakning kan förstås och appliceras i biblioteksutrymmen.    Resultatet visar på flera skillnader på verksamhetsnivå men även likheter i fråga om bibliotekariernas förhållningssätt och syn på problematiska faktorer. Folkbibliotek har ofta många funktioner (som inte alltid samspelar harmoniskt) och erbjuder mer frihet vilket riskerar kosta ordning, medan Kriminalvårdens biblioteksverksamhet (som utgörs närmast uteslutande av litteraturförmedling) har mer ordning – men på bekostnad av användarnas frihet.   Studiens utfall kan användas som kunskapsgrund för praktisk planering av biblioteksutformning, men även som en språngbräda för vidare forskning. Det spatialas influens över användare kan ha betydelse för biblioteks ordning, atmosfär, och trygghet: att kultivera en medvetenhet kring dessa påverkansmöjligheter kan därmed anses vara av stort intresse.