Diss. Karlstad : Karlstads universitet, 2009.

Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögskolan i Stockholm, 2009.

Introduction. We investigated how librarians viewed childhood, children’s participation and their own profes- sional role in relation to these two topics. Recently the Convention on the Rights of the Child became law in Sweden, and we explored the possible effects on the library professional’s role in comparison to a country where little has been done in regard to children’s rights during the past few years. Method. Qualitative interviews were conducted in Sweden and in England. The empirical data consisted of tran- scriptions and note-taking from four interviews conducted in each country. In total we interviewed eight librarians working with children. Analysis. We carried out a qualitative analysis of the empirical data by a basic thematic approach. The analysis consisted of two separate parts - based on the data from Sweden and England respectively - leading up to a final joint discussion and comparison of our results. Results. There was a pattern of viewing the child more often as “becoming” in England. When the child was viewed as “being” in England this was linked to a norm of children feeling safe, happy and playful. The analysis showed that formal training and awareness of children’s rights to participate were greater amongst the Swedish librarians. Still, children were not actively involved in the planning of events at the library. Conclusion. The views conveyed in the Convention on the Rights of the Child is now part of the Swedish librari- ans’ professional role with an emphasis on the right of participation. In the case of English librarians, certain aspects of the convention are important, although the need for children’s participation seems to have been set aside in favor of children’s feeling of safety. This is a two years master’s thesis in Library and Information Science.

This study aims to analyze children's rights within camp activities, especially in terms of participation. More specifically, it analyzes activities conducted on Barnens Ö with the Stiftelsen Barnens Dag (the Foundation) as organizer. Through a keyword analysis, the Foundation's governing documents are linked to the relevant articles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). In this part of the study, children's rights are analyzed in activities in general. The next part focuses on Article 12. Children have the right to express their views and be heard in all matters affecting them. The views of the child should be considered, respecting the child's age and maturity. In order to find out how children's views are taken into account in practice in the camp – and not only in policy documents – camp staff are interviewed. Children's participation is analyzed using Roger Hart's ladder of participation and Harry Shier's model of pathways to participation.  The results of the study indicate that the Foundation does solid work regarding children's rights, sometimes going beyond the Convention on the Rights of the Child. One observation is that how to work with children's participation differs among the farms on Barnens Ö. All farms work hard to ensure that children express their opinions and that their opinions are considered. It is less common for children to be involved in decision-making, but it does happen occasionally. / Denna studie syftar till att analysera barns rättigheter inom kolloverksamheten, särskilt vad gäller delaktighet. Mer specifikt analyseras verksamhet som bedrivs på Barnens Ö med Stiftelsen Barnens Dag (Stiftelsen) som arrangör. Genom en nyckelordsanalys kopplas Stiftelsens styrdokument ihop med de relevanta artiklarna i Förenta Nationernas konvention om barnets rättigheter (Barnkonventionen). I denna del av studien analyseras barns rättigheter över lag inom verksamheten. Nästkommande del fokuserar på Artikel 12. Barn har rätt att uttrycka sin mening och höras i alla frågor som rör barnet. Hänsyn ska tas till barnets åsikter, utifrån barnets ålder och mognad. För att ta reda på hur barns åsikter beaktas praktiskt inom kolloverksamheten och inte endast inom styrdokument, intervjuas personal inom kolloverksamheten. Barns delaktighet analyseras med hjälp av Roger Harts delaktighetsstege och Harry Shiers modell för vägar till delaktighet.  Resultaten av studien indikerar att Stiftelsen Barnens Dag gör ett gediget arbete gällande barns rättigheter, där det stundtals går längre än Barnkonventionen. En iakttagelse är att arbetet med barns delaktighet skiljer sig någon mellan gårdarna på Barnens Ö. Samtliga gårdar jobbar mycket med att barnen ska uttrycka sina åsikter samt att barnens åsikter beaktas. Mer ovanligt är att barnen faktiskt är med vid beslutfattandet, men stundtals sker också det.