Denna uppsats syftar till att se hur Nacka kommun styr sina bibliotek i offentlig och privat regi och om det finns en skillnad i synsättet på bibliotekets samhällsuppdrag mellan biblioteken som påverkar hur dessa tolkar och implementerar de krav som kommunen ställer. En förstudie gjordes i form av en observation på respektive bibliotek samt intervju med en ombudsman och en utredare för facket DIK för att få större inblick i ämnet. Intervjuer med respondenter från ett bibliotek som drivs i privat regi och ett offentligt bibliotek genomfördes samt en intervju med en utvärderingsexpert hos Nacka kommun. Informationen från dessa intervjuer analyserades sedan efter de utvalda organisationsteorier som valts ut efter uppsatsens syfte. Resultatet av analysen visade på en skillnad i synsättet hos respektive bibliotek både på ett organisatoriskt plan och i det utbud bibliotek erbjuder till medborgarna. Detta kan ses i relation till en allmän förändring i samhället i synen på bibliotekets samhällsuppdrag.

The purpose of this bachelor thesis is to seek knowledge about how children and their parents use the children’s section in a newly built library, and what function it has for its users. We also want to seek knowledge about how the children’s section is seen as a meeting place by the parents.Our research questions are: How is the children’s section at the public library of Lidköping being used as a meeting space, performative space, inspiration space and learning space? What are the functions of the children's section at the public library of Lidköping for families with children? Do the parents see the children’s section as a meeting place, then in which way?The theoretical approach is based on The Four Space Model by Henrik Jochumsen, Casper Hvenegaard Rasmussen and Dorte Skot-Hansen. We used qualitative interviews and non-participant observations to answer our questions. The results show that the library is mostly being used for reading, playing and to consort within the family. The children’s section functions as an entrance to books and reading, and it also has a function as a place where you spend time with your family. We discovered that half of the parents in our study did see the children’s section as a meeting place because they thought it is a good place to meet and consort.

The purpose of this Master’s thesis is to identify the potential and the limitations of e-book lending in Swedish public libraries through a case study of Sollentuna Library. The theoretical framework is made up of concepts derived from the work of both Rogers and Winston concerning the diffusion of innovations. The main obstacles and supportive factors for e-book lending in a public library were identified. The study reveals that contracts with e-book distributors are costly for libraries. First-time users find use of the service complicated and the library experience a loss of control over their e-book stocks through the current licensing system. Factors supporting e-book lending include the library’s decision to include the distributors’ entire e-book supply. This led to a significantly increased number of e-book loans. Ongoing work with the development of e-book help services such as workshops and individual assistance supports use of the service. Furthermore, e-book reading is actively encouraged through the library web service. In conclusion, the complexity of the e-book as a separate technical phenomenon requires public libraries to find new methods of working that suit the e-book's potential as a technological innovation. E-book lending has become a compromise between the interests of the library users and the commercial interests of the publishers.

By examining newspaper articles from two different timeperiods in a public library’s life, specifically the main citylibrary of Gothenburg 1964-68 and 2004-2015, thismaster’s thesis studies the discourse of library practice aswell as its societal role during the building and re-buildingof the library. The empirical material is examined byapplying the discourse theory and method of ErnestoLaclau and Chantal Mouffe. With this methodology wealso aim to analyze how the power is distributed betweenthe different roles that emerge depending on in what waythey speak about or is being spoken of in the material.In the analysis of the material, we have identified severalmore or less dominant discourses that construct certain,and often contradictory, views on the city library’s practiceand role in society. The major discourses that emergedin the material during the 1960’s were the book discourseand the cultural centre discourse. The book discoursepromotes traditional and authoritarian views of themediation and conservation of printed, quality books aswell as being associated with strong ideals of enlightenmentand education. The culture centre discoursepromotes a wide library practice, entailing many differentcultural and political activities as well as a wide range ofpeople. The book discourse can be seen all the waythrough the 2000’s, but the later period is dominated bythe information mediation discourse that places the userand its needs at the core of the library’s mission.

Syftet med uppsatsen är att sammanställa vad Open Source är och försöka kartlägga hur användningen av Open Source-program ser ut på de svenska folkbiblioteken.Jag tittar även på vilka Open Source-program som kan vara aktuella för ett bibliotek att titta närmare på. Resultatet visar att Open Source inte används i någon större utsträckning men att man är positivt inställd till rörelsen. Några få program har börjat användas men man är orolig för hur supporten fungerar för Open Source-program, sen verkar biblioteken inte ha någon större kontroll över vilka program som faktiskt används utan är styrda av de regler som kommunens IT-avdelning har satt upp.

The public libraries were quick to adapt to the changes that the Internet brought on, and today library websites are an important part of the public library. To meet the needs of teens today, the library website could offer a range of contents to make it an attractive place on many levels; both the academic needs as well as social and recreational needs should be addressed. The aim of this thesis is to evaluate public library websites for teenagers in Sweden, and to examine how well the websites address the developmental tasks and needs that teenagers have. The method used is website evaluation, one quantitative and one qualitative. A total of 60 public library sites for teenagers were evaluated, using 11 criteria based on Havighursts developmental tasks. The quantitative evaluation measured how many functions each website had per criteria, and showed that the majority of the sites had one or two functions for most of the criteria. The qualitative evaluation showed that the websites with the highest score often offered more interactive solutions, had more dynamic content and therefore met the needs of teenagers better than the websites with a lower ranking. Overall, the public library websites for teenagers could gain from developing their content and services further, taking into consideration the needs and developmental tasks that teenagers have that separates them from other user groups.

Public libraries in Sweden shall include all visitors in the library activities. When studying public libraries in small to medium sized municipalities and the accessibility they provide in terms of both physical and technical aids, it is not always clear if and how this inclusion is achieved.The purpose of this thesis is to investigate if and to what extent Swedish public libraries fulfill their ambition to abide by the legislation regarding the inclusion of library visitors with special needs, first and foremost with focus on elderly patrons with various disabilities.The method of the study is quantitative and the empiric results were collected through an online survey. The survey questionnaire was sent to respondents in administrative positions at the public libraries of thirty-four municipalities located in the proximity of Sweden’s three largest cities.The theoretical framework used to investigate how the public libraries work to include elderly patrons with disabilities is the four-space model developed by Casper Hvenegaard Rasmussen, Henrik Jochumsen and Dorte Skot-Hansen. The results show that Swedish public libraries largely abide by the legislation in the matter of inclusion, that they have implemented ways of including all their patrons in their everyday work and that they generally succeed in communicating with their elderly patrons with disabilities.

The purpose of the thesis is to investigate how information seeking processes,librarians and users are formed and constructed in web-based search guides ofpublic libraries. Questions raised are: How are information seekingprocesses presented in the search guides? How do libraries and librariansappear in the texts? How are users presented in the search guides?The thesis analyses web-based search guides from two large public libraries insouthern Sweden, eight texts in total. The texts are analysed through asystemic functional text analysis based on ideational meta-functions,interpersonal meta-functions and also register and context.Based on the textual analysis, effects and consequences of the design andformulation of the texts are discussed. Theories and previous research aboutinformation literacy, user education and expertise are used. Mainly fourdifferent approaches to user education are identified to further clarify anddeepen the discussion.The conclusion is that the design of web-based search guides hasconsequences for how information seeking processes, libraries and librariansand users are shaped and created in the web-based search guides.

Since the opening of the first staff-less public library (meröppna biblioteket) in Sweden in 2009, the number of staff-less libraries has been growing at an increasing rate. Still, there has been little research published on this recent phenomenon in the Swedish library sector. The aim of this thesis is to fill a part of this gap by focusing on librarians employed at staff-less public libraries. The study targets their experiences with regard to changes in work content, competence requirements, and professional role. The findings are based on eight interviews conducted with ten librarians at staff-less libraries in six Swedish municipalities. The material has been analyzed using part of Wrzesniewski and Dutton’s job crafting model as the theoretical framework. In addition, Ellström’s concept of actual competence (rather than formal competence) and Ørom and Schreiber’s definition of librarians’ professional identities have been used to support analysis. The findings show that the introduction of staff-less opening hours impacts the librarians’ work content in terms of tasks, cognition, and patron interactions. This in turn makes room for librarians in staff-less libraries to develop existing or new competences. Changes in the professional role due to the introduction of the staff-less library are more difficult to identify. These changes seem to be triggered by developments in society rather than by changes at the local level.

The purpose of this paper is to study what happens to the librarian and it´s profession at the public library when it is developed or converted into a Library and Cultural center. This study take bearing on how the librarian experience the difference in working at a public library and a Library and Culture Center. The method used is a semi-structured qualitative interview, and the theoretical framework is Andrew Abbott's System of Profession. The material consists of interviews with five librarians who previously worked in a public library and subsequently in Library and Cultural Center. The findings of the study show that librarians have a positive attitude towards working in a Library and Culture Center and that they to some degree still work with traditional tasks. However, the work in Library and Culture Centers have changed in the sense that it consist of working with programs, e.g. music and author events. Additionally, public education and a closer collaboration with the end user. The study also revealed that the librarians believe in an increase need for more up-to-date knowledge on new technology as a consequence of the user’s new demands and wishes. Furthermore, adding various community services is part of the integration of public libraries and Library and Culture Centers, making it a large meeting-place for the local residents.