This thesis aims to investigate the elements in the implementation of information technology at the National library of Namibia and the library at the University of Namibia. It examines different components that have an impact on the two libraries use of information technology. It deals with the personel, support from the government and foreign aid donours, the users, co-operation with other institutions, the situation for libraries in Africa and the development of information technology in the African and Namibian society.The paper also illustrates the present situation at the two libraries, with their different experiences of the computer equipment, internal databases, on-line connections, CD-ROM and plansfor the future. Prospects for the successful use of information technology at the libraries are also discussed.

The aim of this master thesis is to examine discourses and practices in the handling of materials from the ex-treme right in the Swedish national collection at Kungliga biblioteket (the Swedish national library). Questions posed in this study concern what practices have been used in the handling of the material, the discourse sur-rounding the material and its relation to power structures. The source documents in this study come from the library’s archive records between the years 2000 and 2010. As a complement, the study also uses correspond-ence with librarians active during the time period as well as an interview with an expert on the Swedish extreme right. This study uses Foucauldian discourse analysis as a method and searches for discursive patterns and power structures in the source documents. The essay sees a complex progression in how materials from the extreme right have been handled throughout the time period 2000-2010. In summary, the researched material contains two discursive patterns. Although on opposite terms, they can both be linked to the restrictions of the material. During the time period, a separate collection was set up for extremist material, a collection which is now taken apart. This study argues that “extremism” is a relative term by definition and therefor unsuitable for labelling any material in the long run. This study is a two-year master‘s thesis in Library and Information Science at Uppsala University.

The National Libraries task to save and preserve the national cultural heritage has turned to a new challenge in a digital world. The preservation of born-digital material for future use requires not only saving the digital object itself but also information about the object, preservation metadata. This is a relatively new issue and the library community has very little experience in this area. It has become evident that international cooperation is necessary to solve the task and that the development of international standards is of fundamental significance. This thesis investigates what has been done to meet the problems with the fast obsolescence of digital material with the focus on metadata. It examines the international collaboration in this area and the results. Ten European national libraries were inquired and their approach to long term preservation of the born-digital heritage concerning collection and strategies for handling of preservation metadata. The study shows that the Scandinavian countries began collecting with web harvesting while most countries in Central Europe work with deliveries. It is also shown that the regional differences are becoming smaller and that today most of the countries are following a combined approach. Web harvesting requires a different management of metadata than digital deliveries. However, within the different methods the solutions are rather close. / Uppsatsnivå: D

National libraries hold large, valuable repositories of often unique materials. How can we ensure that the knowledge is accessible without endangering the materials that hold the knowledge? Digital preservation is meant to solve this problem. With more and more material being accessible digitally, users are expected to do more and more of the finding on their own, instead of being guided by librarians. What kind of knowledge do the librarians have, that cannot be mediated through a system? How is the knowledge of experienced librarians passed on to new librarians? What is the difference between physical and digital materials? I have interviewed senior and junior librarians of Det Kongelige Bibliotek in Copenhagen, Nasjonalbiblioteket in Oslo, the National Library in Helsinki, and Kungliga Biblioteket in Stockholm to learn about their journey to knowledge of their collections. These collections are meant to function as a national memory. In discussing the how they learned, I compare this with how this knowledge is being passed on, preserving the nation's memory. I conclude that the focus on digitization of the collections is risking to close off the regions of the closed stacks even more, as librarians are either not allocated the time to do research, or not replaced when they retire. For the memory of the nation, and for the progress of knowledge, it is important to have staff trained in research, and also to have time allotted to pursue the advancement of their fields.

Abstract Introduction. The aim of this thesis is to examine use of library didactics in two prominent national libraries. A second aim is to identify digital resources used in the digital library spaces. The study uses “the four-space model” to examine this relation.  Method. Document analysis is used to examine the two national libraries´ websites. In addition to the websites, affiliated sites like social media are also included. Categories from the four- space model are used: learning space, inspiration space, performative space and meeting space. Digital resources are identified and presented in each category respectively.   Theories. Library didactics, as developed by for example Jochumsen, Rasmussen and Skot- Hansen, is the subject of the thesis and main theoretical focus. The digital library rooms are seen as places for possibilities and for developing innovative library practices.  Conclusion. The results imply that of the four spaces, the smallest one is the performative space and that the activities for creating are few. Different social media are to a large degree used as meeting space and thus possibilities for meeting and participation are subject to the companies’ business models and policies. In relation to the visitors the two national libraries mainly use their collections as resources in the inspiration space. One clear example is Gallica, described as a digital library with focus on digitized documents.  In the learning space the format is primarily texts with illustrations and this could be seen as an attempt from the libraries to adapt to a traditional learning environment. Furthermore it is concluded that the search functions can be a hindrance to both the visitor and to the libraries´ objectives. In the discussion, a question concerning competences is raised in regard to innovative library didactics. This is a two years master’s thesis in Library and Information Science.