The purpose of this study is to investigate how public library managers work with the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, from strategic, practical and children's rights perspectives. The study aims to explore how the Convention on the Rights of the Child, that became Swedish lan in January 2020, affects public libraries and how they work with its implementation. The theoretical framework is based on four qualitative semi-structured interviews, which are then analysed through qualitative content analysis. The results show that the Children's Convention has begun to influence the strategic work of public libraries and its implementation is to a large extent supported by a strategic model specifically developed for this purpose and directed to public library managers.

Uppsatsens syfte var att undersöka huruvida det finns en gemensam kärna för chefskap inom bibliotekarieprofessionen och att identifiera vad den i sådana fall består av. Datamaterialet bestod av 162 platsannonser för bibliotekschefer inom olika bibliotekstyper. Metoden som har använts är kvantitativ innehållsanalys. Det går att urskilja en gemensam kärna för chefskap inom bibliotekarieprofessionen. Denna kärna består till att börja med av ett krav på akademisk examen. Tidigare erfarenhet som efterfrågas i platsannonserna handlar om ledarskap i olika former samt mer traditionella chefsarbeten. Personliga egenskaper som värdesätts är kommunikativ förmåga, samarbetsförmåga och nätverkande samt personalengagemang och coachning. Arbetsuppgifter och ansvar utgörs av verksamhetsutveckling, ett helhetsansvar samt deltagande i ledningsgrupp och/eller styrelsegrupp. Resultatet analyserades med utgångspunkt i de fyra ledarskapsbeteendena uppgiftsorienterad, relationsorienterad, förändringsorienterad och externt orienterad.

The main purpose of this Bachelor´s thesis is to investigate the visions chief librarians have for their public libraries. The world around us and our way of living is changing as the society is changing ever more rapidly. This evolvement also influences the public library, its role for society and individuals, its activities and its design. The question is how the public library can face these changes and what function and role it can get and make for itself in the future. Through qualitative interviews with five chief librarians our aim is to answer the main question of this thesis: What are the visions that chief librarians on public libraries have for the public library´s future? This study also contain the role the chief librarians give the public library of today and what they mean is necessary for their visions to be achieved. Our theoretical choice fell upon Hvenegaard Rasmussen, Jochumsen and Skot-Hansens at this time new scientific model that reflect the library in relation to the concepts place, relations and space. The results showed that the chief librarians have a lot of visions. They’re not particularly revolutionary but more like a further development of the activities and role of the public library of today. The library must continue to be a meeting-place, a common ground for democracy and a central place in the local society with wide ranging activities for all citizens. Greater collaboration and integration plus being a creative platform for the users are also part of their visions. / Program: Bibliotekarie

The purpose of this Master thesis is to examine how college library managers perceive shelves of book reservation system in an integrity perspective. Privacy is an important part of everyday life in the society of today and according to some people, for example a former library lawyer in the Swedish Royal Library, these shelves conflicts with the Swedish law of Secrecy (Sekretesslagen 9 kap. 22 §). I am therefore interested in how they perceive this system: what weaknesses and strengths it has, why they implemented it, how they have interpreted this law. To answer this I have used a qualitative method called phenomenography and done interviews with five college library managers. The result shows three different ways of experiencing this system. The answers as to why they implemented the system and what strengths and weaknesses it has were quite coherent among the managers. This is a system that first and foremost is very practical for both library visitors and staff. This is one part of the development towards self-services. They showed a fear that books could be lost (a small risk), other library users could see your book reservation and that it sometimes was much work for the staff to maintain the system. The conclusion is that the three different ways of experiencing this system are: the relationship (between the law and the system) is decisive, the relationship is important but practical circumstances even more important and the relationship is insignificant. / Uppsatsnivå: D

The aim for this bachelor thesis was to form a deeper understanding of librarians‟ occupation and professional identity and therefore we have examined library students‟ and educators‟ view on professional identity, competence and career possibilities. Our take on this was that there seems to be little interest in managerial positions and we asked ourselves why this is and if we could see a change in interest in the librarians to become. As our theoretical framework, we chose Andrew Abbott‟s, 'Theory of Profession'. The method chosen was qualitative interviews: two individual interviews with education officers and a focus group interview with students. The conclusions drawn were based upon literature and empirical material gathered from the interviews. The librarian identity and competence is a complex issue and has been much discussed since the early 1960‟s. Both education officers and students have had difficulties trying to express their views on librarian‟s professional identity in words. The students had shared the stereotypical picture of an old lady with glasses and a bun before the start of their education; but later had gladly reconceptualised. Previous research showed a fragmented identity among librarians and difficulties to unite in a distinct competence. Our study showed a similar result among our informants but they also shared a strong core of ideology, humanistic values, and a passion for information. The students may have become generalists in their profession, however, they were ambitious and were not afraid to lead. / Program: Bibliotekarie

Abstract: Health libraries have received relatively little attention, and not much has been studied regarding their operations. Thus the aim of this bachelor thesis is to gain an increased understanding of the placement of health libraries within the health care system, through interviews with managers about their perceptions of what possibilities and challenges that comes with the placement. Methods: The study was conducted on six different health care libraries, through telephone interviews with the managers for said libraries. The interviews were then analysed through deductive thematic analysis, based on elements from Jacobsen & Thorsvik’s Comprehensive organization model. Findings: On the whole, the managers were content with the placement of the health libraries within the organization structure and stated that they found the communication to and from the management of the health care system satisfactory, though with room for improvement. It was also noted that while the managers did think that the health library had received more recognition from both management and health care professionals due to increased need of electronic resources for evidence-based medicine, they still competed with outdated prejudices and ignorance on the duties of health libraries and health librarians. This ignorance, coupled with a lack of law ordained missives, were considered the greatest challenges that the health libraries had to face. However, the managers were despite these challenges hopeful regarding the future role of health libraries within the system, citing both a greater need of their services, as well as a growing understanding of how they can contribute.

Are the public libraries as an institution threatened in any way? In this study six library managers have been interviewed to investigate whether they perceive any forms of threats towards public libraries in Sweden. The study is based on Katarina Michnik's research on threats (2014) where she sent a questionnaire to all library managers in Sweden. It has been 10 years since her empirics were collected. We therefore find it reasonable for the study to be followed up. Our approach differs from the way of Michnik in two major ways. Firstly we study public library managers' perception on things in a qualitative manner. Secondly we use the new-institutional perspective, and not exclusively the concept of legitimacy within the new-institutional perspective. Our empirical data has been created through six interviews by public library managers. They are asked what they think may threaten both their local libraries and the library as an institution. Throughout the interviews we have asked supplementary questions where deemed appropriate, in order to deepen the various threats the managers mentioned. Threats mentioned were related to the libraries economy, social changes and the view of the public libraries. Through our theoretical perspective we analyse the threats as signs of a changing society. Norms within the library profession and norms within the society differ in ways that makes it hard for the public libraries to legitimize themselves the way they are.

In the wake of the increased digitalisation of the Swedish society, people who experience difficulties to utilise digital services turn to the public library for assistance. As a result, questions concerning how and to what extent the public library is supposed to support people in need of digital services is raised amongst the public library staff. The purpose of this thesis is thus to examine public library managers understanding of what role the institution should uphold in the midst of the depicted development, and how they enact in order to implement the defined role within the organisations they manage. The findings are based on qualitative interviews with seven public library managers from different municipalities i Västra Götalandsregionen. The interviews were transcribed and analysed using qualitative content analysis methodology, and the results were interpreted by means of Shaffer’s (2018) criterias for social sustainability within public library organisations. The findings display that the public library managers perceive a direct link between the Swedish library act and the role as information supplier and tutor of people in need of digital support. In order to utilise this understanding, the public library managers undertake various actions including securing good communications with staff, users and local politicians, facilitation of adequate training for staff members etc. while trying to establish above­named role, chiefly amongst the employees. Measured against Shaffer’s criterias and against literature on the viewpoints of librarians, users and politicians, these actions may have positive as well as negative effect on the public library’s social sustainability.