Purpose – The notion of neutrality as a core value for public libraries is currently under debate within LIS. The purpose of this paper is to examine how the public libraries' democratic mission is presented in Swedish national library strategy and to examine how different aspects of the mission are affected by notions of neutrality. Design/methodology/approach – The recent proposal for a national strategy for libraries, as well as the previously published draft of the strategy and four referral bodies are examined using discourse analysis. Findings – The findings indicate that the notion of neutrality is widely recognised as a core value for public libraries within the strategic documents analyzed. Ambiguity surrounding the concept is however being manifested in the strategy when notions of libraries' independence, social responsibility and capacity for defending democracy are being expressed as means to attain the goal of democracy. The ambiguity surrounding the concept of neutrality that is present in the text is nevertheless largely unaddressed by the Royal Library of Sweden. Originality/value – This paper is a contribution to the ongoing debate regarding the concept of neutrality and the public libraries' democratic mission. Rather than examining LIS professionals' views on neutrality, this paper addresses the viewpoints expressed on the national strategic level of the swedish library institution, which as of yet rarely have been examined within swedish LIS. Paper type - Bachelor thesis

Previous studies of library display have mostly focused on the librarian’s point of view. This study aims to examine library display from the users’ perspective. We wanted to find out if users found library display to be helpful, and whether it was possible to connect their thoughts on display to their thoughts on the librarian’s work. A questionnaire was distributed to users exiting a public library. It included questions on the users’ reaction to the displays they had encountered and their thoughts as to how librarians choose the books to be displayed. The users were also asked whether they approved of displaying books in general and their reasons for doing so or not. The results were interpreted in the light of a model proposed by Raber (1996) and developed by Sandin (2011), which divides librarians into three categories: social activist/emancipatory, traditionalist/conservative, and populist/pragmatic. In this study, the model was used to define and categorise users’ views on librarians and display. The results suggest that users tend to view library display as helpful in the library. The users’ views on display could largely be divided according to Raber’s/Sandin’s model. The dominant perspectives among the users were the social activist/emancipatory perspective and the populist/pragmatic perspective. The traditionalist/conservative perspective was expressed by a significant minority of users.

The purpose of this bachelor’s thesis is to examine which skills Swedish public librarians consider necessary for their work with e-books regarding the acquisition and handling of e-books, as well as the meeting with the user. This study also examines how the librarian’s role as mediator has changed due to e-books, according to librarians. The method used to collect the data was a digital survey that was distributed to 75 public libraries in Sweden and Lundmark’s “skill flower” and Abbotts theory of professions were used to analyze the results. The survey received answers from 132 respondents that showed that it is important for librarians to have technological skills in order to assist users with problems regarding e-books. Librarians should also have a good understanding of how the relationship between the library and the e-book provider works in order to understand why there are certain limitations surrounding e-books. It is also important for librarians to be able to communicate and listen to the users’ problems, as well as inform the users of e-book services at the library. The biggest change for librarians role as mediator is that there are new things that needs to be mediated to the users and librarians need new skills, such as technological skills, to be able to do this. Other skills such as pedagogical skills and literature knowledge the librarians already possess, they simply need to adapt them to newer technologies.

The subject for the bachelor thesis is functions on public library websites in Sweden. The purpose is therefore to compare the functions of five Swedish public library websites with the goal of finding similarities, differences and possible patterns. The reason behind this is a lack of studies on public library websites internationally, as well as studies on library websites at a national level. The examined websites belong to Stockholm stadsbibliotek, Göteborg stadsbibliotek, Malmö stadsbibliotek, Uppsala stadsbibliotek and Umeå stadsbibliotek. The method used was a comparative content analysis. An observation schedule based on Mierzecka and Suminas’ model was also created for the material collection process and organization. Rogers and Scaifes’ external cognition theory was used as teorethical perspective. The findings show that there are similarities between the examined websites, which could be explained by their shared library type. There were also differences, that could be attributed to the fact that they have different levels of independence from the respective municipality's website. Lastly, there were patterns between the websites as well, that could be explained by their shared goal of meeting the users’ needs. But this is a limited study conducted on a small sample within a limited time frame. More research is therefore needed on this subject.

This thesis investigates the discussion within the Swedish library community about making e-books available through public libraries. With the digitization the public libraries encounter new technology, new organizations and new media formats. The purpose of the thesis is to make the process of making e-books available in Swedish public libraries visible through a sociotechnical perspective. By using this perspective the complex consequences of the digitization can be enunciated. The study is carried out by using three research questions about which aspects of making e-books available in Swedish public libraries are discussed in the library press, which organizations are a part of the discussion and lastly which problems and opportunities the e-books can offer public libraries. The study is a text analysis of articles published between 2014 and 2019 in the Swedish library press Biblioteksbladet, bis, and noll27. A sociotechnical perspective is being used both when processing the empirical material and during the analysing process. Dolata’s three transformative levels of technology is being used to both sort and present the collected empirics. By using these three levels the findings are that the aspects being discussed in the library press shows how making e-books available in Swedish public libraries is a complex process. The collective view is that the e-books offer both new problems and opportunities for intermediation, e-books come with both technical and contractual limits, and lastly that cooperation is significant for the continued development of both the format and for making e-books available in the library.

In recent years, library researchers, as well as IFLA, have emphasized the responsibility of libraries to promote environmental education, especially in light of the UN's Agenda 2030 and the SDGs. Previous research has focused mainly on ”green” library buildings. There is, however, a knowledge gap concerning which methods libraries can use to encourage environmentally friendly behaviours among their users. Thus, the purpose of this thesis is to investigate which methods libraries use to facilitate environmental literacy, as well as which experiences librarians have regarding this work. The empirical data was collected through interviews with five public librarians involved in a wide array of environmental activities at their respective libraries. The data was then thematically analyzed. The results show that the libraries use many different methods which mainly revolve around promoting connections to nature and one’s surroundings. The study also shows that libraries obtaining ”environmental leadership” can serve to inspire change within their communities. Finally, the underlying conditions for this work are affected by the lack of directives and coordination within the Swedish library sphere.

Tidigare studier visar att läsupplevelser aktualiserats på ett nytt sätt inom ramen för folkbibliotekets litteraturförmedlande arbete. I ljuset av detta syftar denna studie till att skapa förståelse för hur folkbibliotekarier förhåller sig till läsupplevelser, både som personliga läsare och yrkesverksamma litteraturförmedlare. För att åstadkomma detta genomförs kvalitativa semi-strukturerade intervjuer med fyra folkbibliotekarier. Studien visar att folkbibliotekariernas läsupplevelser är komplexa och mångfacetterade, vilka kännetecknas och påverkas av en mängd olika faktorer. Alltifrån den inställning med vilken de tar sig an litteraturen, till den specifika text som läses och de omständigheter som omger lässituationen, har inverkan på den läsupplevelse som genereras. Läsakten kännetecknas av en känsla av att vara uppslukad, vilken i sin tur påverkar bibliotekarierna på ett sätt som gör att de bär läsningen med sig även efter att den avslutats.  I mötet med biblioteksanvändarna är läsupplevelser ständigt närvarande, inom ramen för det litteraturförmedlande arbetet. Detta tar sig uttryck i situationer där användarna ber om bokrekommendationer och i mer generella samtal om läsning. Bibliotekarierna använder sina egna såväl som användarnas och tredjepersoners läsupplevelser för att rekommendera böcker, i syfte att uppfylla användarnas behov. Genom att undersöka bibliotekariernas förhållningssätt till användarnas läsupplevelser, visar det sig att de att förhåller sig till dem på ett sätt som reducerar dem.

Den här uppsatsen behandlar ämnet marknadisering i platsannonsernas kravspecifikation för bibliotekarier till folkbiblioteken. De metoder som har används är tematisk analys av platsannonsernas innehåll för år 2020 samt 2000 och kritisk diskursanalys med utgångpunkt i den tematiska analysen samt intervjuer som gjorts på e-mail med bibliotekschefer på folkbibliotek. Det uppsatsens resultat har påvisat är marknadisering inom tre områden när det gäller platsannonsernas kravspecifikation för bibliotekarier till folkbiblioteken, 1. marknadisering av känslor, i form av empati, trygghet samt servicevänlighet, 2. marknadisering av språk, i form av engelska samt övriga språk samt 3. marknadisering av kunskap, i form av akademisk examen. Vidare har serviceaspekten tagit allt större plats från år 2000 och framåt i platsannonsernas kravspecifikation i kombination med att arbetsköparnas kravlista för arbetarna blivit längre samt en mer uttalad självklarhet att arbetarna bör ha vissa personliga egenskaper och kunskaper.

The aim of this thesis is to investigate how Swedish public libraries work with LGBTQ-subjects and issues, map out thoughts and attitudes of librarians in these libraries regarding specific LGBTQ shelves, also known as rainbow shelves, as well as examine how many libraries use these rainbow shelves. The study was conducted through an online survey which was sent to 428 Swedish public and integrated school libraries, and the results were analyzed using thematic analysis against a theoretical framework of queer theory. The results showed that a small majority of public libraries have chosen not to implement rainbow shelves, with many finding them excluding and discriminating with risks of outing LGBTQ-persons. Those with shelves found them to be easier to use for personnel and users, and was a powerful tool to show inclusivity toward the LBGTQ-community. Author talks, exhibits, book tips, reading lists and book clubs were the most common ways of working with the subject regardless of whether the library had rainbow shelves or not. Those with rainbow shelves were however more likely to label their LGBTQ materials, while the majority of those without the shelves didn’t label them at all, and if they did, they did so through the subject headings. The study also showed that the library staff is just as important as the library’s policies when it comes to furthering the development on social justice and LGBTQ-issues. The findings of this study show that discussions about LGBTQ-issues are prevalent public libraries and that through those the library can keep its legacy of social change alive.

Syftet med den här uppsatsen är att undersöka bibliotekariers upplevelser av att arbeta med barns muntliga berättande. Metoden som används är kvalitativa intervjuer, där sammanlagt sex bibliotekarier intervjuas. I analysen presenteras resultatet från informanterna i tre olika delar, upplevelser och erfarenheter av barns muntliga berättande, arbetssätt som fungerat särskilt bra och särskilda utmaningar för att arbeta med barns muntliga berättande. Utöver detta går analysen även in på specifika områden som pedagogiska svårigheter, svåra ämnen, samarbeten och skillnader mellan äldre och yngre barn. Uppsatsen förankras kontinuerligt i tidigare forskning och i slutsatsen konstateras att bibliotekarierna är positiva till att arbeta med barns muntliga berättande, men att det inte görs i särskilt hög grad. De anser att det är något som är värdefullt för barnen av flera skäl, men upplever också att det finns svårigheter att genomföra detta arbete, trots att det är en uttalad uppgift för folkbiblioteken. Förhoppningsvis kan uppsatsen vara ett bidrag till att öka kunskapen i arbetet med barns muntliga berättande på biblioteken.