My aim is to examine the special form of interaction between users of the shut-in service and the responsible librarians. My purpose is to examine how mediating of literature can be pictured in correlation with shut-in services. How do librarians describe their experiences of the shut-in service? What roles of mediating can be perceived? How can interaction interpreted in the context of the shut-in service?The material was acquired by doing qualitative interviews of five librarians who works with shut-in service. This study is based on the theory of Åse Kristine Tveit. Her model of mediating and her theory on the roles of mediating are the bases of my analysis. My conclusion is that librarians find it difficult to market their visiting work and that their relationship with shut-in service users is particular.

This bachelor’s thesis describes a qualitative case study of a public library as “third place”, a place besides from home and workplace visited frequently for conversation. The subject is chosen because of the many roles of public libraries. The main query of the study is “What view does the public library have of its role as third space and how does that relate to the way utilization of the public library as third place is seen?”. The purpose of it is to increase knowledge of the social aspects of public libraries. The theories used in the collecting and analysis of empiric material are the definition and description of the term “Third place” by Oldenburg, the model of four roles of public libraries by Andersson and Skot-Hansen and the theory of high/low intensive meeting-places by Audunson. The methods of collecting empiric material used are qualitative, partly structured interviews with three librarians and the chief librarian and an observation of the premises of the library. The investigation revealed that the informants were positive towards the public library as social center and leisure center and the premises of the library were suitable for these purposes. The informants didn’t define the library as a hub of the community. They were positive but not without hesitations towards the public library developing into a third place. Conclusions reached include that the public library was more like a low-intensive meeting-place than a third place but shared features with third places and might benefit from drawing inspiration from them.

The aim of this bachelor’s thesis is to examine how public librarians inspire children aged 9-12 years through book clubs. The study is based on five semi-structured phone interviews with leaders of book clubs. I made a qualitative content analysis of the interviews. In the interviews we focused on how they planned, performed their work, possibilities they could see, and finally challenges to be considered. This was later analysed from the perspective of Chambers theory of the reading circle, which he presents in his study Tell me : children, reading and talk . This theory shows the process of how children, with the adult’s support, can choose, read and react to literature. My conclusions based on the study are that the public librarians want the children's experience of the book club to be fun and not remind them of school. It’s a place where they can meet others and discuss literature they’ve been reading.

This thesis studies if public libraries in Sweden have taken part ofinformation regarding the Swedish government policy that publicareas are to be made accessible by 2010. Also studied is thesignificance of information and resources on the execution ofaccessibility adaptations at public libraries.The analysis uses Lennart Lundquist’s theory of implementation ofpublic policies, that the person executing the policy needs tounderstand, be able to and want to in order for the policy to besuccessfully executed. The study was carried out through a surveyand the thesis focuses on the factors of understanding and beingable to.The survey was sent by email to all 290 municipal libraries inSweden with an answering frequency of 65%. The results arepresented in table format with explanations.The thesis finds that a clear majority of respondents have hadaccess to information about accessibility adaptations, but thatmuch fewer consider the information clear enough. Fewer thanhalf believe that they will be able make the library fully accessible.Lack of resources is the most common reason cited. Mostrespondents have been able to make the main entrance, toilet,passage ways and at least one computer accessible.The conclusion is that much work has been done at the librariesand that there is an awareness of the accessibility issue. Howeverthere seems to be a lack of knowledge of “invisible” disabilitiesand resources are needed to make the libraries fully accessible. / Program: Bibliotekarie

The purpose of this Bachelor’s thesis is twofold. Firstly it aims to make a contribution to the understanding of how five Swedish Diocesan libraries have carried out the digitizing of their rare book and manuscript collections. Problem areas related to this activity are also investigated. Secondly, it aims to examine the relative guidelines and standardization norms, which have been formulated on a national basis. The research questions posed are:Which problem areas connected to the digitizing activities carried out at the Diocesan libraries can be identified in the empirical material?Which possible discrepancies might be found comparing the digitizing activity at the Diocesan libraries and the guiding principles on a national level?In order to find answers to the research questions, interviews with six librarians at the Diocesan libraries were conducted. Furthermore, using the method of content analysis, the interviews, literature, previous research, reports and in-house documents were examined. The theoretical framework used is a triangular model formulated by the museologist, Ivo Maroević, indicating the relationship between the institutions of cultural heritage: archives, libraries and museums. The particularity of the collections of the Diocesan libraries places them in the middle of the triangle.The most important problem areas were found to be connected with: economical and personnel resources, outsourcing and open access, preservation, storage, and the national strategy for digitization. The major discrepancy with national recommendations consists in the differences of the digitization process at the Diocesan libraries, depending on whether it is related to a project or on demand. / Program: Bibliotekarie

It is said that libraries are the cornerstones of democracy.What is then the democratic mandate, and how is itperceived by the library staff? That's what I examine in thismaster's thesis. I’ve made 14 phone interviews with librarystaff, from assistants to managers, and examined what theirdaily work routine looks like and what they think belongs tothe democratic mandate. I found that all agree that there is ademocratic mandate, but it is not clearly stated in anydocument.I found seven areas that my respondents saw as part of themandate; availability, diversity, children and young people,equality, public education, free of law and cultural history.These are not sharply defined, but can often move into oneanother. The everyday work of the library is more of a socialwork than you might think. The digital divide means that thelibrary staff will largely be helping with things like orderingstuff over the Internet, get email accounts, helping people tolearn social media, helping immigrants and refugees to learnhow Swedish society works and so on.The problems experienced with the democratic mandatewere mainly economic. Downsizing means that the staffdoes not have time and opportunity to help as much as theywant. The fact that the democratic mandate is not so clearlystated was also experienced as a problem. A clearly definedmandate would not only draw guidelines for labor, but alsoshow outward a little better what you actually do at thelibraries, more than lend books. / Program: Bibliotekarie

The aim of this Master’s thesis is to explore the meaning of literature forliterate immigrants in regards to identity and integration. The study is based onqualitative interviews with eight Swedes of various backgrounds, but with thecommon experience of an immigration process. In addition to being migrants, therespondents are also public library users who have an interest in literature and whoread literature during their leisure time. To analyze the empirical material ananalytical framework, consisting of a number of analytical concepts from Libraryand Information Science, Literature Science, and Sociology, has been used. Theresults show that literary reading and public libraries in many ways have been ofgreat importance to respondents during their integration processes. In addition, thestudy shows that, through what literature professor Anders Pettersson callsAnalogic Thinking associated with literature reading, the respondents create apersonal understanding of the culture within which the text is written. Thisunderstanding includes practical cultural knowledge, as well as empathic insightinto the human mind. / Program: Bibliotekarie

The aim of this study is to examine the fiction promoting role of public librarians through their fiction displays. The study covers three problems: What reasons do public librarians give for their selection of displayed fiction? How do public librarians view fiction displays in relation to other promotion strategies? How do public librarians think that promotion through fiction displays will evolve in the future?The results of the study have been analyzed using Jofrid Karner Smidt’s theory of how public librarians view their promotion of fiction. The concepts used are promotion due to public demand, actively recommending and informative promotion, and through dialogue. To account for the problems investigated in the study, eight librarians have been questioned through semi-structured interviews. Observations of fiction displays were also made at the time of those interviews.Through their selections, the librarians aim to support the users’ reading habits as well as to challenge and broaden those habits. According to the informants, displays affect the number of loans, but the book covers are also significant. The librarians see fiction displays as an opportunity to display fiction that corresponds to their personal tastes. Speculating about the future, librarians find it likely that the selection of fiction displayed online will be more influenced by users’ demand. For the future of physical libraries, librarians hope that libraries will work harder to display fiction that is often overlooked. / Program: Bibliotekarie

The purpose of this paper is to investigate in which aspects the public library is affected by its local community. This is re-searched by means of an exemplified case study of a Swedish public library in which we analyze governing documents and the library website with respect to environmental scanning and mar-keting of library services.The research questions are: How are the local community’s demands on the public li-brary being described in the governing document? How is the public library’s response to the demands of the local community being described in the operational plan? How are the demands of the local community, as shown in the governing document and the operational plan, re-flected in the marketing of library services on the library website?Our conclusions are that:The demands of the local community are described in a general fashion in the governing document, but there is a lack of concrete political guidelines.The public library's response to the demands of the local commu-nity is described to some length in the operational plan, but not with respect to economical factors.The demands of the local community are reflected to some length in the marketing of library services on the library website. Many of the overall themes that we identify in the governing document and the operational plan can be found in the marketing directed towards important target groups. / Program: Bibliotekarie

The purpose of this study is to explore the possibilities for children’s librarians to extend their competence in the area of reading promotion. The study is carried out within an ongoing reading promotion project directed towards small children from 0-7 years. The study aims to answer the following questions: How do children’s librarians develop new skills in a reading promotion project? How do children’s librarians view a broadening of the concept of reading and how does their approach affect which skills that are acknowledged?The study is mainly based on qualitative interviews with five children´s librarians who all participate in the project. The theory used is Etienne Wenger´s social theory of learning where he defines learning as a process of social participation in Communities of Practice. The result shows that librarians value the sharing of experiences with colleagues in both informal and more formal discussions. Lectures, workshops and interaction with other professionals also contribute to new competencies according to the librarians. The interviewees emphasize the importance of understanding that children develop an interest in reading in different ways. The printed book is central when working with children but the interview subjects stress that reading can be further stimulated by using pictures, sound, singing and movement in activities that promote reading / Program: Bibliotekarie