Z39.50 is a standard protocol designed to create an interface between diverse computer databases for diverse information needs. Since it has to be adjustable it is also complex and demands a certain degree of expertise when being set. However, the aim of this paper is not to make a theoretical description but to examine certain conditions in practice. From the perspective of Swedish research libraries two principal hypotheses are examined: 1) the implementation of a given technology (Z39.50) is primarily influenced by social circumstances, and 2) the way in which the technology is implemented will bias the results of information retrieval. For this examination we need a framework of theories concerning the relationship between technological development and society, organisational theories and database theories.

In an international perspective the Russian children s library is a unique institution, being solely committed to children up to 14 years of age. In Russia of today it is, however, being exposed to hard pressure as the economical and social conditions have changed dramatically since the collapse of the USSR. My interest lies in examining this change of living conditions for the children s libraries and how this in turn affect their work and role in the present state. In order to view this change in a longer perspective, I compare the situation for children s libraries during the time of communist regime with that of today using documents about and from children s libraries. I have studied its legal position and conditions, financial and political state, and how the modern society affects children and youth, especially their daily cultural life.

The purpose of this master´s thesis was to investigate the role and function of the annual reports of public libraries: for what purpose are they put together and how are they evaluated and utilised. The study presents different views on the structure and content of library annual reports. Focusing on a specific public library and its municipal administration, the authors identify and describe problems and possibilities regarding the library annual reports. The study also provides a general view of their occurrence, their addressees and the importance attached to them.In a review of current literature on accounting and activity reports the authors place the annual reports of public libraries in a wider context. The study also presents two current models of performance measurement - the Intangible Assets Monitor and the Balanced Scorecard - which were developed in the private sector, and the authors discuss their relevance when applied to public libraries.Data were collected both in interviews and by means of a questionnaire.

Examensarbetet berör frågor kring arkivering och dokumenthantering på stads-byggnadsförvaltningen i Trollhättans kommun. Problem som kommunen har är dagslägets hantering av digitala filer..

The aim of this Master's thesis is to study the public library identity from a brand perspective, how the public library brand identitity is communicated through blogs and what is communicated in them.The authors analyse the public library identity through selected concepts and a model within Aaker´s and Kapferer´s branding theories. These theories have been applied on literature and blogs as a method. The authors have examined literature about the public library identity in different works within Library and Information Science and political documents that applied to public libraries. An empirical study has been carried out on blogs published by public libraries in Sweden.The result of this study has lead to the identification of different core and extended identities for the public library brand. The core identities have been identified as democracy, adult education (the swedish word ?folkbildning? has no correct translation in english, adult education is the recommended related term) and lifelong learning.

There are reasons to believe that recent changes in the Swedish academic library environment create new images of identity. New information technology, changed educational methods and increasing numbers of students in higher education heavily influence the professional basis for librarians. The purpose of this essay is to examine and describe how the images of identity are conceived and expressed by staff in two university colleges in Sweden, Malmö University and Södertörn University. We define identity as the images of what the library is, what it is aiming to be in the future, what it should do and how. In a qualitative study attitudes towards and opinions of the role of the library in the university environment are investigated.

In Swedish school library research, the role of the school library has seldom been studied in a subject-specific context. When it has been, the subject has usually been a theoretical subject such as Swedish or Social studies. The purpose of this master's thesis is to study what role or roles the school library can play in a different context, in the program-specific subjects at a trade oriented program in the Swedish upper secondary school, and to determine what factors affect the possibility for the school library to play a role in such a context. The Food Programme was selected as the specific program to be studied. In this program, the students learn a trade, in this case bakery, and the teaching in the program-specific subjects can be expected to be practical in nature.

The aim of this Master?s thesis is to present guidelines for making a digital repository. To attain this, useful factors for creating an archive were examined. Also different organisations? strategies were analysed.

Uppsatsens syften är att undersöka hur kulturarvsbegreppet används i svenska kulturpolitiska utredningar och propositioner med särskilt fokus på arkivväsendet, samt att sätta detta i relation till hur kulturarvsbegreppet används i tre regionala arkivinstitutioners verksamhet och i respektive institutioners direktiv och styrdokument. Särskild tonvikt har lagts vid enskilda arkiv, vars bevarandevärde ofta motiveras med att de tillhör kulturarvet.En genomgång av utredningar som fokuserar på kulturpolitik i allmänhet eller arkiv i synnerhet visar att kulturarvsbegreppet används på ett ambivalent sätt med varierande räckvidd och betydelse som varierar mellan ett enhetligt, nationellt särpräglat kulturarv och en mängd mindre kulturarv, där minoriteter och tidigare underrepresenterade grupper ska lyftas fram och ?allt? kan ingå.Arkivinstitutionerna i Sverige har inte samma långa tradition som museer av aktiv insamling, skapande av källmaterial och utåtriktad förmedling av det material som förvaras på institutionen. Om kulturpolitiken och kulturarvsbegreppet får en betydelse som mer riktas mot exempelvis underrepresenterade grupper kan konsekvenserna bli att arkivinstitutionerna måste ta på sig en mer aktiv roll och självkritiskt granska vilka värderingar eller principer som format verksamheten.För att komplettera den kulturpolitiska bilden har ett antal kvalitativa intervjuer med representanter för arkivinstitutioner i Skåne, samt studier av institutionernas presentationsmaterial, gjorts. På konkret vardagsnivå tycks skiftningar i kulturpolitiska direktiv och kulturarvsbegreppets potentiellt förändrade betydelse ha relativt liten betydelse.

Cataloguing electronic documents makes new demands on libraries. This thesis discusses the metadata formats Dublin Core and MARC which are, individually or in combination, commonly used for object description in the digital library.The formats are studied with particular emphasis on characteristics such as underlying reasoning (ambitions during the development of the formats), flexibility (possibilities of expansion and adaption to new demands) and interoperability (cooperation between different metadata formats). The formats are dealt with in their context, i.e. we discuss what types of documents the formats are meant to describe, what environment they were originally created for, what functions they are meant to fill (to find, identify, select and acquire/obtain entities), and also how these factors are related. The Swedish projects SAFARI (which uses Dublin Core) and NetSök (which uses MARC) are presented briefly.

This master's thesis is about alternative career opportunities for library and information science graduates. Ever since the beginning of our education we have been interested in working outside of the traditional libraries. Now that we are about to receive our degrees in library and information science we are doubtful if the competence we have obtained is enough to meet the demands of the labour market. The employment field we have been studying in this master's thesis is information management, since this is a field that we find comparable to library and information science. Our study involves a qualitative survey amongst recruiting companies to investigate how the recruiters value different educations, competences and personal skills when they employ staff within the field of information management.

The Internet provides the common user with a variety of both traditional and non-traditional news sources, and a vast range of possibilities to contribute to the flow of information. By their participation in the production of information ordinary citizens can sometimes function as non-traditional news sources them selves and reach a potentially unlimited audience. The interactive nature of the Internet blurs the line between producers and consumers, and challenges traditional definitions of what counts as "news" as well as who qualifies as a "journalist". The main purpose of this thesis is to examine the potential consequences of this decentralization regarding the information behaviour of newspaper journalists and their perception of their professional role. The study consists of qualitative interviews with six journalists, employed by four of the leading Swedish newspapers, and a review of earlier research in the field.

SammanfattningHur gör lärare i praktiken som får sina elever att använda engelska som arbetsspråk? Hur uppfattar elever detta? Vilken roll spelar läraren? Dessa frågor ville jag försöka få svar på.Mitt syfte var att försöka förstå hur lärare skapar en lärandesituation där eleverna använder engelska som arbetsspråk. Därför sökte jag upp en lärare som jag hade hört lyckades med detta. Jag samlade in data genom att intervjua, observera, anteckna, videofilma och spela in på band. Läraren i studien engagerade sig mycket i eleverna och ingav respekt.

Som motiv har åldrandet inte fått alltför mycket plats i litteraturvetenskapliga studier. Denna uppsats granskar på vilket sätt åldrandet skildras i Bo Carpelans postuma roman Blad ur höstens arkiv (2011)..

The information flow of today is endless and the advances in information technology astounding. In today's information society it is of utmost importance not only to be able to find the right information but also to evaluate the information. The expression ?information literacy? is not a new one but it has never been as pertinent and essential as today. Information literacy is however not something which is easily and swiftly achieved.Swedish youth education is based on problem based learning in which the students are expected to research for material, evaluate their finds and use their skills to produce a good written or oral presentation.