This master thesis is about access to literature translated into Swedish sign language for deaf at the public libraries. It is by now a well-known fact that there is produced very little literature in sign language for deaf. This is so even though the policies for the library nationally and internationally, and the public law for libraries in Sweden says there should be literature available for all groups of disadvantaged people. People who have problem reading ordinary ink books have the right to get the book adapted into a medium accessible for them. The goal of the Swedish law for disadvantaged says that in 2010 Sweden should be accessible for all irrespective of weather you are deaf or not. By studying parts of the public argumentation for and against a national library which would provide service and literature for deaf by the method of argumentation analysis I have found pro and contra arguments for books translated into sign language for deaf. I have also studied literature written by Päivi Fredäng about the identity and culture of deaf. In my discussion I found implications from the theory of Fredäng on my material. I found that the public attitude towards deaf and books in sign language for deaf slowly are changing towards better understanding and that this fact slowly will make the production of books in sign language for deaf grow. / Uppsatsnivå: D

The National Library of Sweden Kungliga Biblioteket has been assigned by the Swedish government to establish resource libraries for the Swedish national minorities. The library of the Finnish Institute in Stockholm is the resource library for the national minority Swedish Finns (also known as Sweden Finns) and the national minority language Finnish. This study examines how a collaboration between the Finnish Institute’s Library and public libraries can support the public libraries in their efforts to pay specific attention to, protect and promote the national minority Swedish Finns and the Finnish language, according to the Swedish Library Act and the Act on National Minorities and Minority Languages and Sweden’s minority policy goals. The theories guiding the study are R. Putnam’s theory of social capital and A. Vårheim’s and R. Audunson’s et. al. theories of public libraries as places creating social capital. The data was collected through qualitative interviews with seven librarians, representing both the Finnish Institute's Library and four public libraries in designated municipality level administrative areas for Finnish. The results show that public libraries could enhance their services and increase social capital of the minority group by cooperating with the Finnish Institute’s Library and make use of its resources and knowledge of the target group. This could support public libraries in paying more attention to children, young people, elderly people and also those in need of Finnish language revitalisation. Though the public libraries participating in this study had less cooperation with the resource library than expected, they’ve got much support from their municipalities and were more active in their library services for the Swedish Finns than many other public libraries in Sweden.