The aim of this thesis is to examine an easy reading book club as a public libraries language activity and investigate it's contribution to integration of immigrants. The study is based on six semi-structured interviews with four participants of the book Group and two librarians who lead this group. The functions of the book club's activities were analysed from the perspective of Rydbeck's theory of social reading. Findings have also been compared with earlier studies of integration of immigrants, library-based book clubs and social reading.

Titel:Folkbibliotekens läsecirklar för ungdomar: HBTQ-representation i litteraturvalet.Författare:Elin NordqvistInstitution:Sociologiska institutionen Handledare: Jonas LindahlFärdigställd:2020Sammanfattning:Syftet med uppsatsen var att undersöka i vilken grad som litteratur med centralt HBTQ-innehåll inkluderas i den litteratur som läses i läsecirklar för ungdomar.Totalt ingick 13 stycken bibliotek från 8 av Sveriges län i studien. Vidare syftade uppsatsen på att utröna huruvida  det  fanns någon  relationmellan  den  grupp  som  valde titlarna  och förekomsten  avHBTQ-litteratur.Det  förs  även  en diskussion  angåendeeventuella för-och  nackdelarsom  finnsberoende på vilkasom väljerlitteraturen som ingår i läsecirklarna. Slutligen    undersöktes    även vilka    HBTQ-personer    som representerades i litteraturen.Undersökningen    utfördes    genom    att    litteraturlistor    från läsecirklar för ungdomar under perioden 2018-2019 analyserades med  hjälp  av  LIBRIS  ämnesord  och  bokbloggar,  förlagens-och/eller författarnas hemsidor och Goodreads användarbaserade digitala bokhylla för att söka utröna huruvida titlarna innehöll ett centralt HBTQ-tema.Av  totalt  146  titlar  var  det  17 stycken(11,64  %)som  innehöll HBTQ-relaterade  ämnen,  och  dessa  var  ojämnt  fördelade  på  9 stycken  bibliotek.  Av  dessa  var  det  majoriteten  som  skildrade olika  former  av  homosexualitet.Flest  andel  titlar  med  HBTQ-innehåll  fanns  när  deltagarna  själva  valde  (13,33  %),  och  minst HBTQ-inkluderade var det när bibliotekarierna på egen hand stod för litteraturvalet (7,14 %).

Bibliotherapy as a concept and method has in recent years become increasingly established where, among other things, courses in bibliotherapy have been started. However, there is an uncertainty about the concept of bibliotherapy where some librarians are reluctant to call themselves a therapist. The aim of this study is to investigate how the concept of “bibliotherapy” is portrayed in the library sector´s journals. To do so I used discourse analysis as a theoretical and methodological foundation. When it comes to the method, I used selected discourse analytical concepts taken from Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe´s discourse theory. The empirical material of the study consists of articles from three library journals that address bibliotherapy and Shared Reading. The results of this study show how the methods in bibliotherapy differ and how this in turn creates various views when it comes to the choice of literature, the role of literature and which participants the bibliotherapy is aimed at. The study also shows that there is an ambivalence among librarians when it comes to the therapy part of bibliotherapy and that they have established different strategies for dealing with this ambivalence. When it comes to the role of libraries and bibliotherapy, the empirical material shows that it is mainly reading promotion that is mentioned as one of the main reasons why libraries should be interested in bibliotherapy. Finally, the study shows that Shared Reading, with its similarities and differences when it comes to library therapy, seems to have created a more stable foundation for its discourse compared to bibliotherapy. In the discourse on bibliotherapy, clarifying what the therapy part entails could be beneficial for those who feel uncertain about bibliotherapy and to work as a bibliotherapist.

The aim of this master‟s thesis is to investigate the value and impact that reading groups organized by Swedish Public Libraries, have on its participants, role of the librarian and the Library as whole, according to librarian‟s conceptions. In literature and earlier research reading groups are described to represent an important reader pro-motion tool for Public Libraries. At the same time the typical reading group member is often described as a per-son with a familiarity of reading. Another purpose is therefore to investigate the contribution of reading groups in promoting reading, according to librarian‟s conceptions. A phenomenographic approach was adopted and qualit-ative interviews were carried out with five librarians at five Public Libraries. The phenomenographic analysis of the interview-material, concerning reading groups impact on its partici-pants and the Library as a whole, resulted in the following categories: reading groups perceives as a natural part of the Public Library service, reading groups inspirer to reading and literature interest, reading groups leads to human interactions and shared reading experiences, reading groups has a democratic function, limitations of reading groups and reading groups part in reading promotion. Comparisons have also been made to how reading groups fit the Public Library task, as it is described in Swedish Library law and Unesco‟s Public Library manifes-to. The analysis of the interview-material shows that reading groups in many ways fit the task of Public Library service, like promoting literature and reading, supporting individual development and be available to everyone. The phenomenographical analysis of the interview-material, concerning the librarian‟s part in reading groups, resulted in the following categories: administrator, educator, social inspirer and competence and interest for fiction. Comparisons are also made to Jofrid Karner Smidts thesis concerning the five different roles a libra-rian should fulfill working with literature promotion. Based on her thesis it´s foremost the librarian as a critic and literature expert, educator and as ordinary person that correspond with the interviewed librarians perceptions about what part they play and should play in reading groups. One distinct conception that transpired in the interview-material is that reading groups organized by Swe-dish Public Libraries do not necessarily have a specific reading promotion purpose, but that reading groups have potential to have a positive impact on the participants reading habits. Further that more active work from the librarians is required, in order to fulfill a reading promotion function. One of this thesis most important conclu-sions is that there seems to exist a need to make the literature-promotion task of Public Libraries more visible, that it is important that librarians is given the opportunity to develop their competence to fulfill this task and that reading groups can fulfill an important aspect in that context. This study is a two years master´s thesis in library and information science.

The purpose of this master’s thesis was to study literacy practices in a reading group of nine women discussing fiction in Swedish sign language. The following research questions were examined: What patterns of action have taken form in this practice and what meaning is attributed to these patterns? How can this reading group be understood in the light of Päivi Fredäng’s research on identity and cultural changes in the Swedish Deaf world? How do the participants handle using two different languages and modalities during the discussions, and to what extent can this be understood using Mary Louise Pratts concept contact zone? Finally, the last question aims to explore the reasons behind the very scarce number of reading groups in Sweden discussing fiction in sign language. An ethnographic study was conducted through one participant observation and three semi-structured interviews face to face recorded on camera, one email interview and one recorded phone interview. The interviews in sign language were translated into written Swedish. What Peplow terms a ‘mimetic’ reading practice was the most dominant way of discussing literature, whereas thematic or synthetic reading practices were less frequent.  The participants found that the reading group broadened their reading habits and that the discussions sometimes had bibliotherapeutic elements. They often discussed issues related to the oppression of women whereas questions related to Deaf people and sign language were not often discussed. The reading group could be understood in the light of the changes that the Swedish Deaf world, and society at large have gone through over the last decades. The collective Deaf identity is more frequently based on shared values concerning sign language rather than ideological standpoints. More individualized perspectives and interest-based networks based on sign language become more common. This falls under what Fredäng describes as co-culture where deafness loses its superior position in the identity. The participants’ audiological and linguistic backgrounds were diverse, only around half of them had Swedish sign language as their first language. The literacy practices were to a great extent influenced by the diversity concerning the participants’ backgrounds. Some of the informants said that one main reason for joining was to improve their skills in sign language. To others, the reading group seemed to strengthen their skills in written Swedish. One aspect of the literacy practices of this reading group was language preservation, where the participants helped each other to a more ‘pure’ sign language. Using the theoretical framework developed in New Literacy Studies, the lack of reading groups discussing fiction in sign language could be understood as a result of the literacy practices used in the Swedish Deaf education system that followed the Milan Conference that took place in 1880. The conference led to the banning of sign language in favour of oral methods. Contemporary literacy practices in the Swedish Deaf world can be traced back to these practices in the education system. Further research is needed to study literacy practices among Deaf people in Sweden, for example among younger generations that have taken part of a bi-lingual education. This is a two years master’s thesis in Library and Information Science.

Introduction: The first aim of this study is to gain more knowledge about why public libraries choose to organize reading groups for adults. The second aim is to shed light on the possible transformative potential of public libraries’reading groups for adults. Method: Semi-structured interviews with six librarians at Bibliotek Uppsala were conducted. Three of the librarians had an overall responsibility for the reading group activities within the organization. The other three librarians led reading groups themselves. The interviews were recorded and transcribed. Analysis: A thematic content analysis was conducted to interpret the transcripts of the interviews.  Results: The librarians’ thoughts regarding what participants can gain from reading groups were categorized within the following themes: They can inspire more or more extensive reading, they can promote democracy and participation, they can encourage people to meet and fulfill an important social function, they can promote health, personal growth, and can give the participants new perspectives. This is largely consistent with previous studies reagarding what participants themselves state reading groups contribute to their lives. The result further shows that there are many favorable conditions for transformative learning within the library’s reading groups. Conclusion: The librarians see that the reading groups can fulfill more functions than promoting reading. Among other things, they point out that the reading groups, for several different reasons, are in line with the library’s democratic mission. Based on the theory of transformative learning, it is possible to see the potential of reading grups to promote critical reflection. According to the theory of transformative learning, it is believed that it is of the utmost importance that citizens of democratic societies develop their critical thinking. Thus, reading groups that develop the participants' ability to reflect could therefore also be justified on the basis of the library's democracy mission.   This is a two years master’s thesis in Library and Information Science.