This study investigates attitudes towards human nature in reports published by the Swedish Library Association and the National Library of Sweden between 2015 and 2018. By using ideological analysis, I was able to focus the study on three dimensions of human nature: the worth of human beings, human behavior and human needs. The study area was further specified using Anders Jeffner’s (1989) theoretical framework. Jeffner has formulated 20 components that together create a view of human nature. Of these, four components were used for the study: assumptions of human rights, social equality, free will and strategies to improve human well-being. The reports express a humanist ideology. Some reports emphasize the library’s mission to prevent social inequality and helping marginalized groups. The reports also demonstrate a view of humans as critically thinking and independent citizens by highlighting the importance of intellectual freedom, freedom of thought and freedom of expression. Two broad themes emerged from the analysis: social justice and freedom of the individual, which were used to describe two different missions of the library. When the library’s mission is described as working towards social justice, the library becomes active and partial. On the other hand, the library is described as neutral and impartial when the mission is seen as working towards the freedom of the individual. In conclusion, the Swedish Library Association and the National Library of Sweden present themselves as good through a humanist ideology and a view of human nature that emphasize freedom, welfare and personal development. However, many different ideologies and values can be applied to the library, and it is not necessarily fundamentally good or humanist. The findings of this research also indicate that the word neutral is used in a misleading way, and that there is a need to redefine the meaning of neutrality. This is a two years master’s thesis in Library and Information Science.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:uu-387544 |
| Date | January 2019 |
| Creators | Andersson, Rebecca |
| Publisher | Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för ABM |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
| Relation | Uppsatser inom biblioteks- & informationsvetenskap, 1650-4267 ; 756 |
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