The aim of this thesis is to research if and in that case how, marketing of Swedish public libraries is used as a possible work method in a time when they are marked by changes in the form of cut backs and technical innovations. With a strive to get an overview by the possible debate I have chosen to do a closer exam of 20 texts published in five of the biggest Swedish library publications during a period of 20 years. My research is based mainly upon Philip Kotler’s marketing theories regarding non-profit organization as well as Eileen Elliot de Saéz interpretations of these to a library context. The first part of the essay therefore consists of an introduction of these, as well as a rendering of their method of work, which shows the width of the conception of marketing. These models are therefore a base for the second part of the essay, which consists of a text – and idea analysis of the publication texts. Another aspect of my research is whether the ideas of marketing are interlinked with the view of the libraries role and their main tasks. My result shows that a development has occurred during the years, which the articles were published. The use of marketing foremost as Public Relations and outreach programme has evolved into a wider understanding of the subject. The influences of Kotler’s theories are visible in the articles both indirect and explicit. Overall, a positive view to marketing as a work method is adopted in the articles but a wider knowledge of the subject is often sought after. The articles also show that a positive attitude towards marketing is often interlinked with a customer oriented view of the libraries role. / Uppsatsnivå: D

The purpose of this Master thesis is to compare the perception and significance of reference work in two countries, Sweden and Germany. This will be achieved by means of a literature review of previous research literature and public documents and a content analysis of articles from two library journals.A first step was to examine the historical development of reference work in the selected countries. In connection with this there proved to be distinct phases in the discussion regarding reference work. These phases with their specific discourses, themes and emphases reflected and thus later were confirmed in the second part of the study.The results show that despite some similarities there are also quite a few differences in how reference work is perceived in both countries. For Sweden, the idea of reference work was introduced relatively early. But only little has been done over time to develop this service. Germany has only recently been orientating itself away from a collection-oriented to a service-oriented library. Reference work was therefore established relatively late in German libraries, despite some earlier theoretical discussions. Swedish literature deliberates primarily reference service quality and how it could be improved. The German literature considers in contrast, mainly reference work’s more general role, its functions and forms of organization.In recent years the meaning both countries ascribe to reference work has become more similar, this is due to fact that libraries, regardless of whether they are located in Sweden, Germany or the United States, are faced with the same challenges. / Program: Masterprogram: Biblioteks- och informationsvetenskap, Digitala bibliotek och informationstjänster

The aim of this Master’s thesis is to examine how public librarians, including school librarians, express themselves about librarians in library journals. Questions asked in the study are: How is the knowledge, tasks and roles of librarians described? How do the librarians describe their own and others perceptions of librarians? Are there any contradictions in how the librarian profession is described and if so, what are they? 56 articles from three Swedish library journals, Biblioteksbladet, bis and DIK-forum in the period from 1990 to 2007, are analysed. The theory and method used is discourse analysis. Concepts from Ernesto Laclau’s and Chantal Mouffe’s discourse theory, such as elements and nodal points are used in an analysis model in four steps. The results show that the knowledge of librarians is described with such words as information, literature, tacit knowledge and their ability to systematize and organize. Tasks and roles described are mostly related to the pedagogical aspects of the librarian profession, such as teaching, conveying and guiding. Two positions are distinguishable in the discourse, information and culture. Both are important parts of librarians’ work, but the information tasks are sometimes seen as too dominating at the expense of the cultural aspects of the librarians’ work. The contradiction can also be seen in how perceptions about librarians are described. The librarians express, often in a negative tone, that others mostly associate them with books. They also express that they need to be more visible and become better at communicating the knowledge of their profession.

The subject of this master thesis is to identify discourses regarding children’s literature in one of Sweden’s largest library magazines, Biblioteksbladet. The subject is furthermore to look at how the child is portrayed within these discourses and if the discourses change over time. The theoretical and methodological background is Norman Fairclough´s critical discourse analysis (CDA). A selection of 62 texts, published in Biblioteksbladet between the years of 1945-2009, was analyzed. Three discourses were identified: a pedagogic discourse, a literary discourse and a psychological discourse. The pedagogic discourse looks upon the literature as a means of teaching children valuable knowledge and good values. The literary discourse emphasize the literary qualities of the children’s books and The psychological discourse emphasize the children’s emotional needs and own opinion of the literature. The pedagogic and literary discourses share a similar view of the child, as someone in need of help and guidance, as opposed to The psychological discourse where the power relationship is more equal. The pedagogic discourse and psychological discourse contain distinct changes that can be linked to the surrounding social practices. / Program: Bibliotekarie

The aim of this bachelor thesis is to examine how libraries meet the challenges that have arisen with the outbreak of corona pandemic and how the democratic mission during this period has been discussed in Swedish library journals. In order to answer this we formulated following questions:  - What obstacles are discussed during the corona pandemic regarding the democratic mission of libraries?  - How is the democratic mission of libraries to contribute with knowledge and free opinion formation perceived during a crisis?  The material is analysed through concepts of freedom of speech and free opinion formation and Robert Dahl's criteria of enlightened understanding. The results show that there were opposite opinions about how to achieve the democratic values of the libraries during the pandemic. Subjects that were highly occurring concerned the digital divide, how to reach out to the library users during the circumstances and how to supply the users with information. We found that these subjects are highly related to the democratic mission of the libraries and that the pandemic brought them up to light.

Trying to accommodate all the needs that different users may have is an ongoing task for those who work in the library field. This means a constant search for knowledge and information that supports that work. But how versatile is the information that is available when librarians need to, for example, broaden their knowledge of a specific user group? And how can that information potentially affect library staff? Despite laws and regulations, the issues of accessibility, inclusion and equal conditions are constantly relevant. This study examines more closely how library journals use texts and language when describing people with disabilities, with a particular focus on accessibility, inclusion, and equal opportunities. Through a qualitative thematic content analysis, using the theoretical framework social constructionism and van Dijk's theory of categorical framework, two Swedish library journals have been examined in this study. The results and the analysis show that although the journals to some extent writes about accessibility and inclusion, in many cases there is a lack of how they can be seen from a broader perspective. The conclusions are, among other things, that the journals have a certain potential when it comes to influencing the libraries and their staff, but that there is a need for more research in this area and that there is a need for a larger and broader debate from different perspectives when it comes to accessibility, inclusion, and equal conditions. The libraries need to consider all perspectives when it comes to people with disabilities if the libraries are to achieve accessibility on equal terms.