This Master’s thesis explores and describes the beliefs, values and norms in a selection of five Swedish municipal cultural policy documents approved 2005-2007. The comprehensive question is: Which ideological traits characterize cultural policy in the chosen municipalities as communicated in their respective cultural policy vision document? The method used is ideology analysis. Ideal types based on a model by Dorte Skot-Hansen are used as a conceptual framework, illustrating three different rationalities in relation to cultural policy: the humanistic, the sociological and the market oriented. The analysis shows that the policy documents are based on different conceptions of culture. Concepts with a marked presence in the material as a whole are availability, participation, prioritization of children and youth and culture as a means for social development and economic growth. In terms of rationality the market oriented and the sociological rationalities are strong, whereas the humanistic rationality is relatively weaker. However, the results are not unambiguous. One conclusion drawn is that the municipal policy documents display a relatively high degree of independence towards the Swedish national cultural policy goals from 1996. Another conclusion is that in the midst of the 21st century it has been possible for the municipalities to choose different paths for the cultural policy on the local level.

This thesis reports on a study of official political documents for Falköping and Fagersta public libraries, aiming for a deeper understanding of how they were affected by local culture policy. The period researched is 1991 – 2001. The comprehensive questions were: how did the strategic plans of the two municipalities follow the development of cultural policy in Sweden during the period, and what differences appeared in the development of the strategic plans of the two municipalities during this period? A document analysis was conducted with an empirical focus on historical policy documents. The analysis was guided by a model by Dorte Skot-Hansen. The model served as an analytical tool while comparing the strategic documents of the two libraries. Skot-Hansen illustrates three different rationalities in relation to cultural policy; the humanistic, the sociological and the market oriented. The analysis showed that both Fagersta and Falköping mainly followed the market-oriented line in the Dorte Skot-Hansen model. The study also points put that the local cultural policy was influenced by a humanistic and sociological line of reasoning.