The aim of this master thesis is to investigate the mobile library development in Sweden since the start in Borås, Sweden in 1948. We have concentrated on three six-year periods. Our aim has been to describe a part of the mobile library development. We wanted to research the background of the said development. To do this we also studied the library and overall development in Sweden during the same years. The attitude towards mobile libraries has changed since 1948. In the beginning mobile libraries was considered a non-permanent solution for areas and people that didn't have library-services. Later the attitude changed. Mobile libraries were now a helpful service in the same way "Boken kommer"-services was. During the same time they replaced travelling libraries. Later and now mobile libraries are considered to be small branch-libraries on wheels and a natural service in sparsely populated areas. During the first years it was only the richer municipalities that could afford mobile libraries. With the help of government subsidies, more and more municipalities could afford it. Subsidies were given for half of the purchase price from 1965. From 1975 the municipalities could receive subsidies for all of it. In 1985 the subsidies ceased and the number of mobile libraries were reduced. These last years however, has seen new ways of thinking in the library-area. New technology has made its way to the permanent libraries as well as the mobile ones. For example access to the Internet and the library catalogue. The main goal for the libraries has been mainly the same all these years, to reach everyone. Mobile libraries were and are a way to fulfill this goal. / Uppsatsnivå: D

The aim of this Master’s Thesis is to examine the importance of literacy and reading in a country like Jamaica. What role do public libraries and bookmobiles play in promoting literacy, and how does this work correspond with the UNESCO public library manifesto?To answer this, interviews were conducted with nine Jamaican librarians, and study visits were made to libraries and bookmobiles. In addition, development plans, policy and other relevant documents were analyzed. The themes that emerged from the interviews and the different development plans were compared. These themes and the observations from the study visits were analyzed from the perspective of Amartya Sen’s theories on development as freedom, in which greater freedom for people is seen both as the main goal of development and the most important means of development. The conclusions to be drawn from this are that both librarians and government consider literacy and information to be essential to development and economic growth in Jamaica. It is clear that libraries and bookmobiles have contributed to a more literate society and play an active part in the country’s educational system. However, the informal nature of this contribution makes it difficult to estimate its actual extent. The activities of the public library service in Jamaica correspond very well with the UNESCO public library manifesto, even though it is not clearly stated in any policy documents that the manifesto is important and should be followed. / Uppsatsnivå: D