The present study deals with the usage of the school library for upper secondary school students. Is it a place for working or studying? The questions are:•What do the students say they use their school library for?•Are there any differences between students in theoretical programs and students in practical programs with regard to their use of the school library?•What are the features of the ideal library from a students’ point of view? My study represents a user’s perspective. The investigation is both quantitative and qualitative. Eighty-two inquiries from four different classes, representing two theoretical and two practical programs were carried out. For the qualitative investigations four informants were selected, one from each class. Andersson and Skot-Hansen’s model for a public library has been used for the purpose of examining if the school library has the same complex employment as a public library. Gidden’s structuring theories were applied when observations of how resources, rules, time and the room affect students’ use of their school library. The result shows that the school library has a complex role but varies for various students. The social role is very important. We can see that the majority of the pupils said that the library is the best meeting place at school. Questions at issue then would be whether the school library should be silent or not. The cultural role may be represented by “book talks”, author visits, exhibitions and above all reading of fiction. Swotting and finding facts for school works will be the knowledge role. We can even find the informative role through seeking of information on the computers. There were differences between the use by students from the different programs. The theoretical classes used the school library more than the practical ones and the computers are used mostly for school works by the practical classes but most for leisure-time activities by the theoretic classes. The school library is both a place of work and a meeting place.

The purpose of this thesis is to gain knowledge about howthe public library in Skövde is being used as a public spaceand how different zones in the library are used according tothe theoretical perspective “the four spaces” byJochumsen, Hvenegaard Rasmussen and Skot-Hansen.The model consists of four abstract overlapping spaceswhich are inspiration space, learning space, meeting space,and performative space.The research method used in this study isthe observational method seating sweeps. The findingsfrom the observations were compiled in SPSS andfrom the diagrams that were developed we analysed theresults according to “the four spaces” model. The researchquestions used in this thesis are “How are the differentparts of the physical library room being used? and“How is the library used as a public place?”. Thefindings from Skövde public library were that usersused the different zones in different ways; using zone 1primarily as meeting place, inspiration place andperformative space; using zone 2 primarily as a learningplace; using zone 3 primarily as inspiration place andperformative place; and using zone 4 primarily asa learning place. Findings also showed that Skövde publiclibrary is mainly functioning as a low-intensivemeeting-place, but also has the opportunity to offer a highintensivemeeting-place for users.

The aim of this bachelor's thesis is to study how libraries make it possible for people with Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to visit. The library law says that everyone is welcome to the library. But people with ASD have a sensory overload, which means that they have problems with loud noise and bright lights, but can themselves be quite loud. Many libraries have gone from a quiet place to a more lively place or meeting area and that has become a problem for people with ASD to visit. The libraries have made some adjustments to make it accessible for people with ASD, but they still have a long way to go. The main reason is lack of education to make the library more accessible.

The aim of this study is to examine how librarians experience implementations of changes in the physical space of the public library. The study seeks to answer the following questions from the librarians’ perspective: What are the underlying reasons for changes in the physical space of the library? What are the important functions of the public library to the community residents? What reactions do librarians get from community residents after changes in the physical space of the public library? The study is based on semi-structured interviews with librarians working at seven small public libraries in Sweden. A model of four library spaces, which was developed by Andersson and Skot-Hansen in 1994 and refined in 2012, is used as a theoretical framework to help analyzing the results. The majority of the libraries are structured according to the older version of the model. The results give evidence to the public’s understanding of the library as a physical space, a place where you can find books in shelves and qualified staff ready to help you with your questions. The findings also show that changes of the physical space are for example due to the need for bigger rooms, technical development or meeting place for the public. Finally, the results demonstrate that nearly all of the visitors to the libraries react positively to changes in the physical space and that more than half of the seven libraries have statistics giving evidence to an increasing number of physical visits and borrowed material. / Program: Bibliotekarie

The aim of the study is to examine how different factors,such as views on how knowledge is produced and howlearning takes place, effect the way an academic librarymanages space. This is done by looking into how a specificlibrary, namely Library & Learning Resources (LLR) at theUniversity of Borås, by re-planning the building’s structure,design and functions, can support the students’ differentstudying habits. The analysis is performed by using a theoreticalperspective built by a model first created by thearchitect Daniel Koch. The model is designed to look uponhow space produces meaning and knowledge. To this I haveadded a socio-cultural perspective on learning.Koch’s theoretical model is used as a method with the aim tostudy how the library is structured and designed. The modelis used to analyse three types of space distribution; in space,by space and through space. After analysing the materialwith these different ways of distribution the results processedonce more to obtain an approach to how knowledge isproduced and to see how that corresponds with a socioculturallearning perspective.It is concluded that the LLR has an open approach to howknowledge is produced and that the library supports thesocio-cultural way in which the students learn and conducttheir studies in. The Library has an open and flexible viewon how different functions in the library can be used and theaim is to support the many different ways in which studiesare conducted. / Program: Bibliotekarie

The purpose of this thesis is to examine how public libraries and school libraries work with genres and subjects which are uncommon, alternative, narrow or appear to be unknown to many people. The focus is on the attitudes and perceptions of library staff responsible for selecting and mediating media. The method was an online survey which was analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively. Most of the theoretical framework comes from research about the public libraries’ role in society and models for marketing.  The findings show that there are more positive than negative attitudes towards genres and subjects which are uncommon, alternative, narrow or appear to be unknown to many people. A majority of the library staff consider it to be important or important depending on circumstances for the media to be available and visible. Many of them also intend for the library to be a place where people can meet things they are not familiar with. Motivations for working with the material include creating diversity and that people should be able to make new discoveries and find something that interests them. A common motivation against it is that relatively few library users request the material. It is also considered to be easier for some libraries than others depending on size and type.

Läsförståelsen hos Sveriges 15-åringar sjunker drastiskt och läsfrämjande arbete med barn och unga har förstärkts i bibliotekslagen. Samtidigt har FN:s barnkonvention blivit lag och medfört att barns delaktighet är ett högaktuellt ämne. Utifrån detta och att biblioteksforskare anser att barnbibliotekets utformning behöver ses över, är studier av biblioteksrum i syfte att stärka barns delaktighet och litteracitetsutveckling befogat. Rummet kan fungera som resurs i det didaktiska arbetet med barn och denna studie syftar till att belysa att rummet som resurs även kan tillämpas på barnbibliotek. Rummets betydelse för läsfrämjande arbete på barnbibliotek har här studerats genom observationer av barnens interaktioner med biblioteksrum och intervjuer med bibliotekspersonal, på tre olika barnbiblioteksverksamheter. Studien har undersökt de olika metoder genom vilka barnbiblioteken arbetar med läsfrämjande och barns delaktighet och hur bibliotekspersonal utformat rummet för att stödja detta. Analysen har sin utgångspunkt i teorier om rummets betydelse, litteracitetsbegreppet och olika förståelse av barns delaktighet.Resultaten visar på att barns delaktighet på barnbibliotek inte är oproblematisk. I synnerhet var det inte oproblematisk att få barnens synpunkter på utvecklingen av verksamheten. Att fråga barnen var mindre effektivt än att observera och samspela med dem. Läsfrämjande verksamhet kan vara att utforma rum som tillgängliggör böcker till barnen och inbjuder till högläsning men kan även vara att erbjuda vägar in till litteraturen genom berättande och olika estetiska uttryckssätt. Men oavsett synen på läsfrämjande, gagnar en medveten utformning av rummet verksamhetens syften genom att underlätta barnens utforskande av sin litteracitet och sin delaktighet på barnbiblioteket.

The focus of this two year master’s thesis in Library- and Information science is the study of two Swedish Public Library buildings with the examples Lomma and Halmstad. The main goal and purpose of the thesis is to try to uncover which views and values of the public library are expressed in the examined libraries; and to what extent these views manifests are shown in its architecture. The theoretical framework is based on Raymond Williams’s cultural concepts of effective, dominant culture and the two extremities of this culture, called residual and emergent cultures. A second aspect is Yi-Fu Tuans concepts of Space and Place. The study also uses a historical background of Swedish Public Library Buildings. By close reading and textual analyses, the empirical study focuses on the municipalities’ documents surrounding the building of the library buildings in Lomma and Halmstad. The architectural perspective is studied through the architects own documents and architectural journals discussing the built Library Buildings. Results show that the technological advances of the time these libraries were built has put them in a position of change, which also is visible in the architecture. The libraries in Lomma and Halmstad function as civic icons of the community and the architecture is very dependent of the places where they are situated. The expressions of the two libraries differ in details but the overall result show that the values exhibited behind the building of the examined libraries is a part of a historical residual culture, functioning as effective and dominant. The conclusion of the thesis is that the expression of the architecture is however a part of an emergent culture. The buildings aim to comprise the values and display the diverse causes in its architecture. The buildings seek to manifest the ideal activity and working of the modern Public Library.