Sweden is today often defined as a multicultural society. The implications on organizing and providing information in public libraries are many, since the systems presently used in the western hemisphere are not adapted to multi-cultural information. This thesis aims to outline ethical and practical problems that arise when organising and providing information concerning cultures other than western, and not least, when dealing with material in other scripts. With this theoretical framework the thesis examines the website of the International Library in Stockholm, a website built to serve users of different languages and scripts than Swedish. The research questions in this thesis are: 1, what specific problems can be distinguished within library work in a multicultural and multilingual environment? 2, what problems and needs were considered in the creation and design of the International Library’s website? And 3, can examples of problems and possible solutions of these be seen in the information and it’s organisation on the International Library’s website? The empiric material consists of the International Library’s website, and interviews with three informants involved in developing it. The study of the website has been conducted in two parts; in the first I have examined what kind of information has been made available on the website and how this connects to the library’s mission. The second part is a study of the material that has become searchable on the website, on how it is searchable, how it is classified and catalogued, and what kind of information is included in the records of the catalogue. The result of the thesis is that both practical and ideological problems arise in information organization and -provision in other languages and scripts. These problems can result in difficulties for users to find the information they need, an effect that in turn counters the thought of everybody’s equal right to public libraries and the information they provide. The study of the website shows the possibilities and limitations of providing multicultural and multilingual library services on the web.

The purpose of this Master’s thesis is to examine the function of public libraries on the social web, focusing on reading promotion and reading stimulation. For an understanding of the larger context regarding public libraries on the social web, we conducted online interviews via email with people in the Swedish library profession, together with a content analysis of various texts on the subject found in library journals and on the Internet. Furthermore to identify the public library's practice on reading promotion and reading stimulation on the social web, we did interviews with librarians at a public library on their use of a blog for this purpose, together with a questionnaire handed out to the library's users on their use and conceptions of the blog.The conceptual framework of this study consists of four key aspects in the theoretical and empirical definition of Library 2.0 presented by Holmberg, Huvila and Widén-Wulff. The results showed that the public library can create a substantial value through its use of the social web, but it’s necessary to have a clear vision of the desired outcome. The study also showed the importance of seeing the social web as one of several possible channels for the public library's work, and that it can be specifically useful to reach the younger generation. Moreover the study showed that the social web is a useful tool for the public library’s reading promotion and reading stimulation, as it provides beneficial features for conversation.

The aim of the study has been to find out children’s librarians’ views on and management of media that contains topics with a controversial nature and also to find out how this affects the public library as a democratic institution. We have conducted the study by interviewing six children’s librarians. By using Vestheim’s terms value rationality and instrumental rationality, we have been categorizing the answers from our informants and thus identified two different points of view. Our study shows that topics that the children’s librarians consider controversial among themselves and their users are: racism, discrimination of women, violence, sex, drugs, the use of language, stereotypical gender descriptions, pee and poo, Christmas and religion. Our informants also point out that it is the description of the topic in question that is most important. Our informants generally manage media with controversial topics by showing an open attitude towards the media and by not doing anything at all, but sometimes they replace it, remove it or choose not to purchase it at all. Controversies with the users are not common and if they do occur it is often adults who criticize media that they consider inappropriate for children and teenagers. Our informants mean that it is of most importance to listen to children’s and teenagers’ opinions, and they also point out that no topic is off limits on their public library. This shows that the public library can function as an important democratic arena for the children and teenagers in our society.

We believed that knowledge organisation of manga and manhwa with homosexual (including lesbian) themes might be a challenge for Swedish public libraries. One of the reasons for this is that these themes in manga and manhwa usually occur in genres not directed towards an LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer) audience. To see how Swedish public libraries treat such titles and why they treat them as they do, we examined a selection of public libraries, their collections, acquisitions, cataloguing and shelving of relevant titles. The theory used is mainly Grant Campbell’s binarisms, subject access to LGBTQ literature and critical analysis of knowledge organisation. Three methods were utilised: online directory searches, a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews with librarians. We found a number of relevant titles. Among the selection criterions used, librarians mentioned acquisition requests and title reviews. Several libraries did not perform original cataloguing or did not use subject headings indicating homosexual themes. Some of the subject headings used to indicate such themes were manga terms, others were terms directed towards users seeking literature with homosexual themes. Shelving practises varied slightly, depending, among other things, on what librarians perceived to be the target audience. Some libraries displayed titles with homosexual themes during occasions such as pride festivals. Overall, the libraries we examined claimed not to give any special treatment to titles with homosexual themes. How much work the librarians put into facilitating searches for these titles varied by their personal interest and time available.

The aim of this Master’s thesis is to examine how librarians in two Swedish public libraries view the subject of face-front marketing and literary hierarchy. The questions posed in this thesis are: How do two public libraries in Sweden market fictional literature? Which literature does get marketed? How do the librarians view fictional literature? How do the librarians view marketing? and Does Herbert Gans’ literary scale work to examine the marketing of fictional literature in two Swedish public libraries? The theoretical starting-points are Niels Ole Pors’ thoughts on stock development, Philip Kotler’s thoughts on the responsible non-profit organisation and Herbert Gans’ thoughts on taste-publics and taste-cultures. The empirical material was gathered through qualitative interviews with library staff in two public libraries in the south of Sweden, and by reading a sample of the fictional literature exposed in these libraries. This material was then analyzed using the theories listed above. Results showed that librarians in public libraries in similar sized communities have very different ideas on which literature that should be marketed through face-front marketing, but they use the same argument as to why they choose to expose a certain kind of literature.

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the functions of the public library for parents of infants and how they see the ideal library. The research questions are: How do parents of infants use the library and what are their experience of it? What opinions and wishes do parents of infants have regarding the library? How can library services be developed to better match the needs of the parents of infants? The theoretical approach is based on Marianne Andersson and Dorte Skot-Hansen’s model of the public library’s functions and the model of classification by Ellen-Merete Duvold and Gunnar Sæbø. To answer my research questions I have carried out three focus-group interviews with parents of infants. The study revealed that the public library functions as a cultural centre, a social centre, a knowledge centre and, to a certain extent, an information centre for the parents. Baby Story Time and other library programs for infants and parents are examples of a combination of the functions cultural center, social center and knowledge center. These programs also function as information grounds. The parents of infants would like to have a library that is practical, safe and cosy. The programs for infants and parents are popular and there is a need for more of these activities. Evening programs concerning the role of parents could be held at the library. Inviting pregnant women to the library may open possibilities and facilitate greater use. Focus-groups could be held at the library to improve the communication between parents and the library.

The purpose of this masters´ thesis is to examine the attitudes of public librarians towards easy-to-read literature and see whether a connection between these attitudes and accessibility can be made. The study has been performed with a qualitative approach and consists of four depth interviews with emphasis on how librarians relate to and experience easy-to-read literature and its´ users. As complement to the depth interviews, two micro interviews were made. The study can be seen as a follow up to a survey I made 2005, commissioned by The centre for Easy- to-Read. As analytical tools the cultural sociological theories of Pierre Bourdieu, with his concepts field, cultural capital and habitus, have been used. The results show that easy-to-read literature often seems to be disregarded at public libraries, and that the cause for this seems to have several facets. The following three main interrelated themes and factors are discernable from the empirical material: lack of knowledge (both in relation to the literature and the users), snobbery and feelings of shame. Lack of knowledge is related to a lack of education in the area of special media in large. An attitude of snobbishness is discerned in the area of special media in general and easy-to-read literature takes a position far down in the rather hierarchical institution of public libraries. Low wages as well as low status are said to be common to the area. In the analysis this is linked to the general low position of the easy-to-read literature in the literature field as a whole. In accordance with this there is as well little symbolic capital and power to gain, whether you be a librarian, producer, author or publisher. The general associations connected to easy-to-read literature as being dull and uninteresting can probably be seen as a consequence of low expectations from all operators involved. The last factor; feelings of shame, seem to be prominent in connection with this kind of literature. The informants avoid showing users the easy-to-read literature, considering it shameful to assume that the user has a reading disability. Taken together, these factors make the accessibility of the easy-to-read literature at the public libraries unsatisfying. / Uppsatsnivå: D

This study deals with the Swedish public library in our changeable time. New technology, an altered media situation with a growing digitalization, globalization and a society focusing on the individual and the market have put the public library in a new, indistinct position. It is described as facing an identity crisis. The aim of this thesis is to, by interviewing a group of young people ages 15-16, find out what the public library is for this user group and what it ought to be according to them. How do they value the services provided by the public library? Are there services they miss? The thesis also aims at relating the opinions of the young people to earlier research. By using different models discussing the mission of the public library and its function in local society, the opinions of the young people are analyzed. It is shown that the user group values social activism the highest, focusing on the public library´s social responsibility and the importance of including everyone in its activities. The democracy aspect is central for the young people interviewed. It is further shown that the market adaptation of the public library is not embraced by the young people. Neither is the public library in the role as a meeting place. The populist initiative is rejected by the user group and thus, the public library’s populism of our time could be described as misdirected. Instead, more of the public library’s traditional services are inquired for. / Uppsatsnivå: D

The view on which kind of fiction that should be mediated to the public through the Swedish public library system has since the late 60´s been dominated by what in this Master’s thesis is called: ´the discourse on quality of literary fiction´. The aim of this thesis is to examine to which extent this discourse still plays an active role in the Swedish public library system or if that discourse has been replaced by a more market-led, demand responsive view, where the features of ´quality´ and ´culture´ have been downplayed and replaced by a ´customer’s service view´ on how and why fiction should be mediated to the public. The methodological and theoretical perspective in this thesis is led by the understanding of the discourse analysis in Michel Foucault’s ´The Archaeology of Knowledge´. The material of analysis has been the Swedish Government reports: (SOU) concerning the issues of mediating fiction. Another source of empirical material used in the study is a survey distributed to librarians throughout the country .The conclusion which I have been able to draw from the analysis of the textual material and the survey is that the discourse on mediating fiction has changed from the 70´s and 80´s ´quality view´ on how and why a non commercial cultural institution like the public library should mediate fiction, to a market-led ´customer’s service view´ on the public libraries functions, where the customer’s demand should be met even at the expense of the quality features of the fiction mediated. / Uppsatsnivå: D

The underlying purpose of this study is to see whether a library focused solely on providing literature in other languages than Swedish serves as a unifying, integrating force, or as an agent for division and exclusion. The study focuses on the International Library in Stockholm. The authors have created a profile of the visitors of the selected library, concerning their characteristics, their library habits and their perceptions of the International library. This profile has then been compared with the staff’s perception of the visitors as a group. To assemble data in order to create a profile of the visitors, a survey has been conducted looking into factors such as age, language, native country, educational level, reasons for coming to the library and attitudes towards the library. A small group of the staff, five persons, have been interviewed to inquire about their attitudes towards and perceptions of the visitors, as well as attitudes towards issues such as multilingualism, and their estimation of the importance of and right to literature in ones mother tongue. The authors found that the visitors are a very heterogeneous group of people, with various backgrounds and language skills. A larger number than expected were Swedish speaking and ethnic Swedes. The staff’s impression of the visitors was largely in accordance with our findings. The staff expressed a strong belief in the idea that access to literature in one’s mother tongue can actually be helpful when one is trying to settle in a new country. Although other libraries may be reluctant to handle literature in foreign languages, the staff of the International Library feels that their expertise helps to ensure the inhabitants of the greater Stockholm area good quality and access to literature in many languages. / Uppsatsnivå: D