This bachelor´s thesis analyzes the debate in a number of Swedish media regarding the introduction of video games as a new medium in the public libraries. The theory and method used is discourse analysis. Three questions were asked: how the introduction of video games as a new media in libraries is discussed, how is it motivated and in what way the authors of the articles analyzed are speaking about new media and the mission of the library.   The selected articles were divided into four themes and the analysis resulted in the identification of two main discourses, one which is positive to the introduction and integration of new media in the libraries’ collections, and one which has a more negative approach and uses quality and culture as an argument.   The conclusion is that video games are a medium so widely used that librarians have to decide whether or not they want to include it in the libraries’ collections, and by deciding this they reveal their attitude towards the mission and purpose of the public library.

Den här utvärderingen undersöker vilken typ av folkbibliotek användare vill ha idag. Den inriktar sig främst på tre teman; miljö, öppettider och utbud. Utvärderingsobjektet är Skellefteå stadsbibliotek och till viss del även närbiblioteken i Skellefteå. Jag använde mig av en kvantitativ metod i form av webbenkäter, för att få reda på svaren på mina frågeställningar. Jag tog även hjälp av litteratur som redan fanns skrivet om ämnet. Jag fick 62 svar på min webbenkät. Min huvudfråga är: Vilken typ av folkbibliotek vill användarna i Skellefteå kommun ha? Vilka underliggande frågor kommer jag att kortfattat presentera nedan, tillsammans med de slutsatser jag har hittat om respektive fråga. Miljö Vilken miljö vill användarna att folkbiblioteket ska ha? Det fanns tre olika miljöer som alternativ; lugn, tyst och rofylld miljö, spännande och stimulerande miljö och social och vardagsrumsmiljö. De flesta svarade att de vill ha alla tre miljöer i biblioteket. Min tanke kring detta är att man skulle kunna ha olika rum eller avdelningar som har olika miljöer så att man kan välja vilken typ av miljö man vill vistas i när man besöker biblioteket. På andra plats efter alla tre miljöer kom lugn, tyst och rofylld miljö som är den mer traditionella biblioteksmiljön. Öppettider Är användarna nöjda med öppettiderna på de bibliotek de besöker? Besökarna på biblioteken verkar överlag vara rätt nöjda med öppettiderna, även om det finns undantag. Användarna är nöjdare med Stadsbibliotekets öppettider än med närbibliotekets öppettider. Vilka dagar och tider skulle de helst vilja besöka biblioteket? Alla dagar verkar folk vilja besöka biblioteket, men måndagar och torsdagar var populärast. När det gäller vilken tid de vill besöka biblioteket, så har de flesta svarat mellan klockan tio på morgonen och klockan åtta på kvällen. Den allra populäraste tiden för besök var mellan klockan 18 och 20. Skulle användarna kunna tänka sig att besöka biblioteket obemannat efter ordinarie öppettider och med begränsad service? Mer än hälften av de svarande kunde tänka sig att besöka biblioteket obemannat efter ordinarie öppettider och med begränsad service. Utbud Vad brukar användarna göra, använda eller låna i det fysiska biblioteket? Av de som svarat är det vanligast att de lånar och återlämnar, läser/lånar fack- eller skönlitteratur i det fysiska biblioteket. Väldigt få av de som svarat brukar låna tv- och dataspel, musik, använda databaser och söka samhällsinformation. Vad brukar användarna göra, använda eller låna på bibliotekets webbplats? De flesta respondenterna som svarade på frågan om vad de gör på bibliotekets webbplats angav att de brukar låna om och reservera. Det fanns ett stort bortfall på den här frågan. Vilken typ av medieutbud tycker användarna är viktigt på biblioteket? De utbud som fanns med i enkäten var nyutgivna böcker, böcker som många vill läsa, böcker som kan vara svåra att hitta, tidningar och tidskrifter, ljudböcker, musik, film och tv- och dataspel. Många av respondenterna tyckte att de olika utbuden var ganska eller mycket viktiga. Det finns dock tre undantag musik, film och tv- och dataspel. Dessa verkar vara mindre viktiga än resten för de flesta av respondenterna. Detta betyder att de flesta verkar tycka att det är viktigare att biblioteket har ett bra utbud av litteratur än av andra nyare medier.

Firstly, this study focuses on the public libraries in VästraGötaland, Sweden, and to what extent they work with thedigitisation of analogue materials and, if so, what reasons aregiven. It also investigates local librarians' attitudes todigitisation. The study was conducted using an onlinequestionnaire, sent to the fifty main public libraries in theregion. Thirty replies (60%) were received. The questionscovered the digitisation in the informants' libraries and thelibrarian’s opinion on digitisation projects; both in their locallibrary and in the library sector in general.No study concerning digitisation on local or regional levelhas been done previously in Sweden. The results indicate thatvery few of the public libraries undertake digitisation work.However, a majority perceive the work as important,especially within the library sector at large. Overall, librariansbelieve in the benefits of digitisation, especially wherematerials of cultural heritage significance are concerned. Themain perceived obstacle to digitisation projects is lack offunding both for the digitisation process and for the long termpreservation and curation of digital collections.

The subject of this master thesis is the outsourcing of publiclibraries in Sweden. The purpose is to investigate theexperiences and notions that public librarians have of thephenomena of outsourcing public libraries, in relation to theirprofession and professional identity. I also investigate howtheir experiences and notions of the outsourcing of publiclibraries can be understood on a social level using GeirVestheim’s theory of the rationalities that influence culturalpolicy. The study is conducted through qualitative interviewswith six public librarians.The questions asked are: what approaches exist among publiclibrarians when it comes to the outsourcing of public libraries?Are there any connections between these approaches to theoutsourcing of public libraries and the public librarians’ selfexperienceof their professional identity? And how can theseapproaches and professional identities be understood on asocial level with the help of Vestheim’s theory of rationalitiesof cultural policy?My first conclusion is that the debate surrounding theoutsourcing of public libraries in Sweden is reflected in theway that the six interviewed librarians speak of the phenomena,but also that they express greater nuances when discussing it.The issue does not seem to be as binary as the polarized debatewould claim. My second conclusion is that the publiclibrarians’ self-experienced professional identity is notdependent on the library’s organizational form. Finally, I makethe claim that although the six public librarians have differentoutlooks on the phenomena of outsourcing public libraries, theyall share the same view of the library as an upholder ofdemocratic, cultural and social values.

This essay was to investigate what self-image public libraries convey on Facebook and what image is received by the users, along with comparison of those. It was investigated if the received image corresponded with the users’ previous image of public libraries. The method used was interviews with the Facebook administrators and surveys with the users. The theoretical framework was Kotler’s model for image creation.The research is mainly American and shows Facebook as an accepted marketing tool for libraries among students, but as not taken seriously by the library staff. Also the Swedish studies show that Facebook is used for marketing. They show there are no policies for working with Facebook image and that the process is randomized.The results of the interviews show that the main purpose for the libraries’ participating on Facebook is marketing and conveying a positive library image, although there are no specific guidelines. The results of the surveys show that the majority has a positive view of the pages. The negative image is due to a lack of correlation between the recipients’ earlier image of libraries and the mediated image. The receivers believed that the pages were created for marketing.The analysis of the results showed that the libraries that used Kotler's model for image creation got more positive response among users than those who did not. The most important factor in library image creation on Facebook is how well it reflects reality and how well the image corresponds with the recipients' perception of reality.

The purpose of this essay is to examine how officials within the Swedish public libraryorganisation view the IT-development, how the IT-development progresses within theorganisation and if there is a need for a national IT-strategy for the public libraries in Sweden.Four unorganized interviews with officials within the regional- and county libraryorganisation and one within the national organisation where conducted. This study is aqualitative examination where the phenomenographic approach has been used as inspirationfor the analytic model. The analytic result has been compared to the system theory of how anoptimal system should be constructed to perform in an optimal way and to be able to producegood results. The results of this study show a wish for a better national cooperation regardingthe IT-development for the Swedish public libraries. Today’s library structure should bereviewed over in order to enable the libraries to produce even better results from the cooperation’s.

Recent papers and bills from the Swedish Government deal with the possibilities  of giving all Swedish citizens the possibility of their own creative actlvities in the cultural sector. This work is about where such actlvities shall be placed in order to make them obtainable  for all. As an example of creative work this work takes computer-based music-making. At the public library in Odense, Denmark there is a weil functioning sound workshop where the public gets the opportunity of making music with some assistance from the staff. This work shows  that also in Sweden  the public libraries are the most suitable  institutions  for placing studies for computer-based music-making  for the public depending  on the public libraries'  traditions in adult education. The conclusion of this investigation is that as soon as possible there should be established studies for computer-based  music-making at the public libraries in Sweden. / <p>Sidorna 10, 34, 52, 62, 74, 82 är blanka.</p>

This master's thesis aims to study the relationship between two publiclibraries and Berättarministeriet, a foundation that offers free writingworkshops for children in areas with high levels of unemployment. Theworkshops are located in spaces that formerly belonged to the libraries.Questions posed in this thesis are How can the relationship between thelibraries and Berättarministeriet be described?, Why did the relationship turnout differently in the two places? and How does the library see itself, inrelation to Berättarministeriet?The theories used are Ögland's taxonomy for relationships between librariesand local organizations, and Folkesson's theory on interaction betweendifferent professional groups, and this was studied through interviews. Theresults showed a relationship without much interaction, beyond a "handover"of children from one place to the other, with time and shortness of staff beingcontributing factors to the low level of collaboration. Regarding the differentrelationships in the two places the results were not conclusive, butnevertheless showed tendancies of issues in the legitimacy dimension, fromthe library towards Berättarministeriet. This may be due in part to a lack ofconcrete evidence of success, a high staff turnover, and not having naturalspaces in which to meet. As for the libraries' self-image, it showed aninstitution and a profession that sometimes feel overlooked. Several repliesbring up how libraries need to make themselves heard and let people knowhow important they are.

The topic of this bachelor thesis is the promotion of easy-to-read fiction for 10-12 year old children in public libraries. The number of easy-to-read fiction books is increasing on the book market. This can be expected to affect the public library. The hypotheses for the study are: 1) Public libraries expose easy-to-read fiction and use it in their reading promotion activities and, 2) The acquisition of easy-to-read books and the use of easy-to-read books in reading promotion activities have increased over the last five years. A self-completion questionnaire was distributed to 44 public libraries in Sweden. The response was analyzed using quantitative data analysis, qualitative data analysis and content analysis. The analysis show that public libraries expose easy-to-read fiction and it is included to a great extent in book talks. An increase in the acquisition of easy-to-read books has been experienced as well as in the extent to which they are recommended to readers.

The purpose of this study is to investigate how public libraries in Norrbotten provide multilingual media and how the commitment is legitimized. In January 2014 there was a change to the guidelines for the International Library’s service for providing multilingual media. The responsibility for the provision of this service was also changed. The result shows there has been different ways of implementing the guidelines in practice; this has led to inequalities in the local library service.We have assembled data through qualitative interviews with five different public libraries in the north of Sweden. The result has been analyzed thematically based on Dorte Skot-Hansens culture political theory. Our study shows that the way the libraries legitimize their work is basically in the social field with overreaching values as democracy and equality.