The purpose of this master’s thesis is to study the perceptions of accessibility among users and staff at a Swedish public library in a sparsely-populated area. The subject of public libraries in sparsely-populated areas has been studied in a number of previous theses, but a lack of user perspective is evident. This thesis poses two questions: What are the similarities and differences in the users’ and the staff’s perceptions of accessibility in the library services? What are the similarities and differences between users’ and staff’s perceptions of accessibility and their perceptions of the roles of the library respectively? The study’s theoretical frameworks was derived from Michael Buckland’s model of information barriers, and Andersson and Skot-Hansen’s model of the four roles of the public library. The method of data collection was primarily semistructured interviews with users and staff, to a lesser degree document analysis and observations. The results show that users focus on the barrier of too short opening hours, and lack of certain content in the library collection, whereas the staff view the strained human resources as the largest barrier to accessibility. Perceptions of the overall library operation can help to explain the differences. The users view the library as a somewhat static range of services associated with culture and knowledge, whereas the staff perceive the library as playing a active role in promoting culture and knowledge.

The main purpose of this master thesis is to investigate the information seeking of lay politicians, part-time politicians and professional politicians in connection with the possible upcoming fusion of the two administrative regions, Västra Götaland and Värmland. The focus of this study has been to study how politicians use and evaluate information and sources of information, and to investigate if there are any differences in how different categories of politicians seek information. Seven politicians were interviewed using semi-structured questions, and a phenomenographic approach was used to analyze the data. In Sweden there are few available studies of how politician seek information, but some international studies have focused on information needs, information sources, selection and evaluation of information. I have used previous research, and data from respondents to compile and analyze my results in three descriptive categories. The politicians viewed information seeking as:- Being well prepared with up-to-date information- Reaching a comprehensive view using different perspectives- Sorting and evaluating informationThe study identified both similarities and differences in how the regional politicians viewed information seeking as a phenomenon. All of them found it important to view information from different perspectives. The professional politicians have an advantage in access to information, especially if they belonged to the party holding the majority. Both part-time politicians and professional politicians received information through cognitive authorities. Their differences in views were more dependent on the context in which the politicians work, than on their being a lay, part-time or professional politician.

This master's thesis’ purpose is to contribute with knowledge about access to public library service in sparsely-populated areas in Southern Sweden. Previous similar studies have focused on Northern Sweden, leaving a lack of knowledge regarding the southern parts of the country. The study takes place in Blekinge county. Three questions are posed: How are the public library’s roles perceived in control documents regarding library service and rural policy? What roles do public library service play in the lives of participants in rural Blekinge, depending on whether they live in the northern forestal area or the southern coastal area? What, according to the participants, contributes to enabling and hindering library use? The theoretical framework derived from Skot-Hansen and Andersson’s model of four public library roles, Jochumsen et. al. 's model of four rooms at public libraries and Buckland’s model of information barriers. The methods of data collection were semi structured interviews and qualitative content analysis of documents. The results show that the perception of public library access depends on where in the county the participants live. In general, participants from the sparsely-populated rural forestal northern Blekinge perceive public libraries as less accessible than participants from the rural southern coastal area. The participants express a lack of access to public transport, which in return affects accessibility to public libraries and increases dependency on car transport. The analysis of regional and municipal control documents confirms that there is a widespread problem with unequal service availability in rural Blekinge county, including public library service.

The aim of the thesis is to gather knowledge about how public libraries work with cognitive accessibility in marketing and communication activities and to investigate opportunities for knowledge sharing. Users with disabilities are a priority group for public libraries, but research on working methods is lacking. The result therefore carries both scientific and societal relevance. The research questions are: How do librarians describe the abilities they have and the conditions they need to communicate in an accessible way? How do librarians view the possibilities of making their work useful in a broader context, for other librarians? The study is based on four interviews with staff from four public libraries with a work in progress to improve accessibility in their communication. The result was analysed through the theoretical framework of relationship marketing (Gummesson) and access to information (Buckland). The result shows that important priorities for management are to provide time and resources for knowledge acquisition. Internal as well as external collaborations have been initiated, but the librarians want primarily to develop cooperation with people in the target group, which has not been done sufficiently so far. The participants attest that the library field is well suited for exchange and collaboration. For further development they suggest national and regional networks, publications and informal groups on social media. The acquired knowledge within the organization combined with already established working methods and relationships can provide continued development.