The aim of this bachelor-thesis is to study how postgraduates approach open access during times of change within scholarly communication. Our theoretical framework is based upon Knorr Cetinas epistemic cultures and Cullen & Chawners theory that there is a paradigmatic conflict within scholarly communication due to the fact that open access has failed to reach the same level of prominence among researchers as it has within research libraries. We interviewed six postgraduates at Malmö högskola in order to find answers to our research questions. We identified a shared epistemic culture among the postgraduates, which can be explained by the fact that being postgraduates, they all share similar experiences and values. We chose to call this epistemic culture the horizontal epistemic culture. During the interviews institution-specific cultures were expressed as well. These institution-specific cultures we chose to call the vertical epistemic cultures. Our study shows that the basic principle of the open access movement, namely to make all research freely available, has encountered difficulties when it comes to being incorporated within both the horizontal and the vertical epistemic culture. The statements of the postgraduates unanimously show that open access is viewed neither as a concept nor as a real publishing-alternative for them. We can conclude that the statements of the postgraduates show a similar conflict between the traditional publishing system and open access publishing that Cullen and Chawner identified. Research libraries should be aware of these cultures in order to be able to collaborate more efficiently with the postgraduates. / Program: Bibliotekarie

This thesis takes its point of departure in how the digitization of research libraries has changed how researchers search for information. The study examines how digitization has affected the library and librarians. It investigates the information seeking and information needs of researchers within a specific context i.e. the Institute of Biomedicine at the University of Gothenburg. It explores how researchers search for relevant information and whether the support provided by the Gothenburg University Library is sufficient for their (information) needs. Interviews were conducted with seven researchers at different stages of their career. This was complemented with a review of user studies research in library and information science (LIS) as well as reports from different universities.The results show that on one hand the researchers are satisfied with the information they retrieve from searching in PubMed and Google and do not want assistance from the library regarding this. On the other hand they do want support with other specific tasks i.e. data curation, making graphic figures, registration of information in the university’s repository. The study concludes by discussing how librarians have become invisible to the researchers due to digitization of the research library and to gain visibility the library needs to proactively seek the researchers’ attention and create places to interact.

This bachelor thesis aims at investigating how librarians at university libraries experience privacy and user data when using the digital library, and to relate their views to an era of Big Data. Protecting the library user’s privacy is part of the librarian profession and established in the ethical codes published by the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA). Privacy issues have also been of interest for the library- and information science over the years, some studies which have investigated the expectations of privacy by library users. The results show that library users expect the library to protect their privacy and feel safe about the library as an institution for doing so. Earlier studies, as well as my result, shows that this is a major challenge in an era of Big Data, when the digital library depends on third party suppliers and the exchange of data between libraries, suppliers, and library users.  The thesis takes on a qualitative approach. Interviews were held with five librarians using the semi-structured interview as a method. To analyse the result, the thoughts presented by Mai (2019) about personal information in an era of Big Data, and the models of privacy and information presented by Mai (2016, 2019) and Agre (1994), have been used. The result shows that the librarians view on privacy and user data correspond with the perspectives reflected in the Panopticon Model and the Capture Model. That is a traditional view on privacy and information, seeing personal information as a certain type of information that can be controlled. According to this view, violation of a user’s privacy is about not being able to fully protect that personal information. According to Mai (2016, 2019) this is not a satisfactory view on privacy in an era of Big Data. He therefore suggests the Datafication Model. Privacy should, according to Mai (ibid.), be less about the information and more about the situations where the information is being used. This view on privacy and information couldn’t be seen in the result of the study.

The outbreak of the corona pandemic has led to various restrictions within society and thus also within higher education. In March of 2020, all teaching at colleges and universities in Sweden became remote. This included library instruction. The aim of this study was to describe the teaching academic librarian’s role due to the corona pandemic and the transition to distance education it has entailed. The study applied Huvila’s terms work role and work task together with Kuhlthau’s levels of instruction as well as a model of emerging roles for academic librarians identified by Vassilakaki and Moniarou-Papaconstantinou as its theoretical framework. A mainly qualitative study was carried out. A questionnaire was sent to teaching academic librarians nationally. This resulted in 61 responses. Data gathered were analysed using conventional content analysis. The study’s results indicate that the role has changed due to changes in how tasks are carried out, for example how the library instruction is carried out, cooperation with faculty, requirements regarding technological competence, the use of digital learning resources and how the students’ needs are highlighted. The study’s results also indicate that this transformation will remain to some extent, and that blended learning will become more common.

The aim of this study was to develop knowledge about the librarians role as a stakeholder to a current research information system (CRIS). These systems can be seen as a possibility to manage the vast amount of information that surrounds research projects and this investigation directed focus to the system Chalmers Research that was developed by a project group in the library of Chalmers University of Technology. The librarians of Chalmers were sent a survey and four of them were interviewed about their involvement in the work with Research. The study has had an abductive approach with stakeholder analysis as a theoretical framework. The result from the survey and interviews was analysed using qualitative analysis of content with the categories from stakeholder analysis. The findings were that librarians can make good use of the power to manage a CRIS and that it was a good use of their competence. They could see both what was of use for the organisation and the user as well as trying to further develop the administration of the system. The result also showed that there was a difference in the librarians' relation to the system dependent on their work tasks. Those administrating the system have more power and legitimacy relating to Chalmers Research, but all librarians might have reason to use the system in their work.

The main scope behind this thesis is to examine the Bernadotte library at the Royal Castle in Stockholm, in its function as an institution of the cultural heritage, research library and museum. This unique combination constitutes an interesting object of research. It is a field that needs to be examined. The Bernadotte library is a unique example of a library museum. The thesis has been accomplished through a narrative study of literature. The thesis shows that the Bernadotte library today is a living example of a good combination of respect for the cultural heritage, an effective research library and a unique museum.

The purpose of this study is through the research librarians, to shed light on their perceptions, competencies and strategies related to open science at the Swedish research libraries. The transition to open science is ongoing nationally and globally and research librarians at research libraries at universities have extensive knowledge while constantly facing major challenges in the field which develops their competencies and strategies in open science. A valuable aspect in order to develop open science for the future is studying the individuals behind. Semi-structured interviews with five research librarians at two main research libraries at two stateowned Swedish universities were conducted, and the interviews were analyzed thematically. The theory of fenomenology is applied to the study for the purpose of throughly examine every individual – every research librarians perceptions, competencies and strategies related to open science. The analysis maps the empirical material and a selection of previous ones research on librarians and open science to put the study in a relevant context. Also the empirical material helps to identify the possibilities for the development of open science for the future. The study identifies several areas of interest. The results show that Swedish research librarians perceive open science as comprehensive, with many different challenges, unclear and transparent – overall open science is complex. Research librarians acquire skills in open science, primarily when they collaborate, read as well as when they apply open science. The open science strategies that are particularly prominent are partly the work with research support, partly the strategic work. The prerequisite for the development of open science is the human aspect in the life world of research librarians. Findings reveal that research librarians mainly educate themselves in open science. The prerequisite for selfeducation and to develop strategies is their driving force. The study also show that Swedish research librarians have a potential to influence the development of open science. It is important to highlight that open science needs to be supported and developed within the research community so that open science becomes a natural part of contemporary and future research culture. In the unstable situation of the world in times of permacrisis, it is even more urgent to share research. Open science can provide opportunities to change human rights such as equality, democracy, social development, climate and health for the better – naionally and globally. This is a two-year master´s thesis in Library and Information Science.

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate how the research library of Linnæus University is used by students as a meeting place. Building upon Putnam's theory of bonding and bridging social capital and Audunson's conception of high and low intensive meeting places, it aims to explore the research library's potential for creating social capital and thus strengthening both learning and democracy in a university context. Borrowing part of the survey design from a study conducted as part of the Norwegian PLACE project, this study collects responses from 134 students as to their use of the library as a meeting place. The results show that the Linnæus University library is used for a variety of meetings of both high and low intensity, why it should provide a good setting for the creation of social capital. There seems to be a connection between how often one visits the library, as well as to which department one belongs, and how one uses the library as a meeting place. The thesis concludes that the research library may aid the creation of social capital and that emphasizing this role would benefit both learning and democracy.

Introduction: The subject of research data management is highly topical and university libraries around the world are working hard to establish a well-functioning support as well as technical solutions to deal with sharing and storing research data. Swedish university libraries are no exception, and this study aims to give a clearer view on how these support functions have come to take the form they have today, what they look like now and what the plans are.  Method: For this study eight people working with research data support at six Swedish university libraries were interviewed about the work of the support groups they are part of. These interviews were recorded and transcribed, and then analysed thematically by colour coding themes in the text.  Analysis and results: The findings show that the persons working with data managing support at these six university libraries agree on many points of how the support needs to be developed to meet the students and researchers needs. One of the most important things of what the research data managing groups need to do are to supply more information sessions, workshops, and teaching to reach out with their knowledge and to make people more aware of their existence and competences. Another is making sure technical solutions are in place to store data throughout the different steps of the research data lifecycle. The training and development of the professionals working in the support groups is also a very important part, as this is a changing subject and the rules and regulations do change. Lastly the interviewees underline the importance of solid motivating factors for researchers to share their data. The data support groups can simplify the process of data sharing and make it easier and smoother for the researcher to do it, but if it is unclear why it should be done it will not happen.  Conclusions: The development of the research data support has been, and is, slow and still ongoing. There is still a fair amount of work to be done, especially when it comes to the technical solutions that will enable safe and FAIR data sharing and storing. But the work that needs to be done cannot come only from university libraries and other university support functions, it must come from publishers, funders and other organisations that have the power to change the norms of data sharing. One of the main blockers of open data today is the lack of motivation for researchers to share their data and to be able to reach the goal of open data 2026 the entire system of merits for researchers needs to change and somehow include data sharing as an important part.  This is a two-year master’s thesis in Library and Information Science.

The aim of this master’s thesis is to examine how social media, specifically Instagram, is utilized in three special collections libraries in Sweden. The intent is to understand why Instagram is a plausible platform for the purpose of showcasing the libraries’ cultural heritage collections, how this is done and who the target audience is. The theoretical framework for this study is based on Roland Barthes’s visual semiotic terms denotation and connotation. The study also applies Lorri Mon’s analytical tools when examining how libraries can use social media in a successful manner. The three selected libraries are Uppsala University Library, Lund University Library and Roggebiblioteket. Six Instagram posts, between October 2018 and Mars 2019, from each library are analyzed, and e-mail interviews have been conducted with the librarians behind the accounts. Finally, the results are compared to showcase their differences and similarities, but also to compare them to previous studies on social media use in libraries. The results show that Instagram is used to display the libraries’ cultural heritage and make the collections more approachable to the general public – specifically to foreign researchers. The librarians also use Instagram as a platform to connect with other cultural heritage institutions and librarians all over the world. Through publishing esthetically pleasing pictures of old historical books, maps and other materials, they want to attract new users and put their library on the map. This is a two years master’s thesis in Library and Information Science.