The aim of this study was to examine the social relationships between children and librarians during reference interviews. Using qualitative interviews with five children's librarians I illustrate attitudes and behaviours during a reference situation which take place in psychological, social and even in pedagogical contexts. The literature review comprises studies of the reference interview with children and youth, a description of interpersonal communication and finally social interaction and dialog between teachers and pupils. The main result of this study was the demonstration of a dichotomy in modes of interpersonal communication. In one mode, the social frame is emphasized.

The Swedish concept of bildning, related to the German Bildung, finding its correspondence in English in refinement, formation and culture, is an important, though traditional rather than modern concept in cultural policy and sphere. The concept connected to the activity of the public library is relevant, as the library uses the word as a description of parts of its work. The meaning of the concept can easily be seen to be complex as well as disputed, borders on and is related to other concepts. The paper discusses different meanings to the concept according to different Swedish authors, as well as the connection of the concept to related ones. The varieties and differences are expressed as differences in discourse.

The aim of this thesis is to accomplish a user study on how e-book users experience the electronic book, the e-book, as an instrument for reading fiction. The study is based upon qualitative interviews with twelve e-book users and a small survey carried out at the Stockholm City Library. The purpose is to identify the users' incentive for choosing the e-book as a medium for reading fiction, elucidate if and how the interface of the e-book affects the reading experience, and distinguish if there are any factors common to the users in their choice of reading e-books. How the users look upon the future of the e-book is also discussed. Among the people asked in the survey we note little if any demand for the e-book as an instrument for reading fiction.

The purpose of this study is to look into what part libraries take in the integration of mentally disabled persons into the society. What I wanted to know more about was how the mentally disabled persons experience the library. I also wanted to find out what librarians and persons working with mentally disabled persons have to say about the part libraries take in the integration of mentally disabled into the society. The study is based on interviews and literature studies. I have interviewed two librarians, four mentally disabled persons and two persons working with mentally disabled people.

Syftet med denna uppsats har varit att undersöka hur lärare och skolans bibliotekarier uppfattar skolbiblioteket och dess roll i undervisningen på högstadiet. Studien baseras på intervjuer som gjorts med lärare och bibliotekarier på två skolor. Vi har inspirerats av fenomenografin men använder en deskriptiv metod och beskriver i vårt resultat fyra delar: användning av skolbiblioteket, undersökande arbetssätt, skolbibliotekets roll och dess miljö och skolans bibliotekariers roll. I resultatet kommer vi fram till att skolbiblioteket har en viktig roll och att det finns en positiv inställning till skolbiblioteket. Skolbiblioteket används till studier, arbete och skönlitterär läsning.

This thesis examines information seeking and information needs at the Swedish Government Offices. The Government Offices comprise the Prime Ministers Office, the Government Ministries and the Office for Administrative Affairs. Approximately 4 500 members of staff are employed, of whom around 120 are political appointees. For this study, interviews have been conducted with 15 senior officials and political appointees at the Government Ministries and the Prime Ministers Office. The interviews have been supplemented with literature studies based on user studies research in library and information science.

The main purpose of this paper is to examine librarian's opinion of computer filters, to bring order in the debate on these filters and also to encourage future debate on this subject. The main problem is whether librarians themselves think they have the right to limit the public access to information on the Internet by using computer filters. We will also see how many public libraries are using filters, why they have chosen to use or not to use them, what is the librarians' opinion of filters, what rules exist regarding the use of the Internet, and finally if it is legal to use filter programs in public libraries. We have also included a short report on what filters are and how they work. This paper deals only with Swedish conditions on a number of public libraries.

AbstractBarns litterära intresse skapas i de tidiga åren. Förskolan har del i detta intresseskapande. Genom att lärarna på förskolan använder en pedagogisk teori eller planerat arbete med barnlitteratur kan de göra skillnaden för om barn tar till sig denna kulturform.Det svenska skolsystemets mål är att eleverna skall lära sig alla sätt språket kan användas på.Vi hade som syfte att försöka förstå hur förskollärare arbetar med att förankra barnlitteratur hos barn inom förskolan utifrån Läroplanens direktiv. För att kunna få information om detta arbete gjorde vi en undersökning bestående av fyra kvalitativa intervjuer med förskollärare. Resultatet vi fick fram ur intervjuerna var att arbete med barnlitteratur görs omedvetet från Läroplanen.

The aim of this thesis is to study librarians attitudes towards fiction and reading. I have examined librarians fiction reading habits and how they handle the expectations that users may have regarding their knowledge in fiction literature. There have been many studies concerning the librarians information literacy. This work explores librarians competence in fiction literature. The primary question posted in this thesis is: What kind of fiction are librarians reading and how do they feel that they can correspond to the users expectations? The data collection is based on literature on the subject and qualitative interviews with eight librarians from different kinds of libraries.

The aim of this thesis is to accomplish an understanding on how librarians experience their professional role at private companies. The study is based on qualitative interviews with persons who have a degree in Library and Information science, but does not work as an ordinary librarian. To answer why the respondents work at private companies, this thesis dwells on how the education in library and information science prepares their students to face an alternative career; why the respondents wants to work at private firms instead of a library; if the salary is a key factor in order to choose a career; if the respondents think the companies appreciate their qualifications, and finally, if the respondents think they intrude on other professions' territory? Working at a private company, with a degree in library- and information science, is not, according to the respondents, easy. Although appreciated by their knowledge in the field of information, the interviewees think that the title librarian is hard to cope with.

The aim of this masters thesis is to examine the synthesis and the structure of the main class for linguistics F in the Swedish classification system SAB. We want to find out whether F has developed towards a more faceted structure or not. Our theoretical perspective is based on fundamental principles for modern classification. To carry out our investigation the first, the fourth and the seventh edition of SAB is analysed and compared. The results of our study show that the main class F has become more faceted and therefore the possibilities to use synthesis have increased.

This masters thesis aims to explore the branch libraries in Kalmar municipality and their relation to the Information and communication technology ICTsociety. How do they adapt to and assimilate with, the ICT-society? What are their roles in local social networks and do they make a difference there? To answer these questions, critical discourse analysis, CDA, as founded by Norman Fairclough is applied to four interwievs with branch library managers. Other theorists used are Michel Foucault, Chaïm Perelman and Ludwig Wittgenstein. A solid description of todays society on different levels is also given.

Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur tre rektorers samt tre lärares perspektiv ser ut på läsinlärning, faktorer som kan påverka läsningen samt den pedagogiska miljön i årskurs ett. Tre av intervjuerna var med lärare från årskurs ett och där observerade vi även en lektion, de resterande tre intervjuerna var med de rektorer som arbetade på samma skola som lärarna. Vi valde att jämföra en liten-, mellan- samt stor skola och med vår kvalitativa studie intervjuade vi både lärare och rektorer för att få en bredare syn på läsinlärning på skolan där de arbetade och på sätt se om de svarade olika. I resultatet kan vi se att svaren skiljer sig åt men att det även finns likheter mellan skolorna och att lärarnas arbetssätt skiljer sig åt. De faktorer som kan påverka elevernas läsning samt läsinlärning är klassrumsmiljön, bibliotek, läxor, hemmiljö, lärare (kön, ålder, erfarenhet, engagemang) samt schema (hur ofta förekommer läsning?)..

The aim of this Master's thesis is to analyze the relation between the discursive formation and the optical formation in the public library-apparatus. An ongoing individualization process in the library field and in society at large is used as a backdrop in the analysis. Discourse analysis is used as a method to explore the main Swedish library periodicals Biblioteksbladet, Bibliotek i Samhälle and DIK-forum. All issues from the years 1999 and 2009 have been used as material. The main analytical instruments applied in the analysis of this material are Michel Foucault's terms dispositive, apparatus and diagram.

This master thesis deals with classifications schemes in multicultural societies. The aim is to investigate how well the Swedish classification scheme SAB has been adapted to the multicultural society of today. I have done a comparative analysis between the SAB and the UDC to see if an international classification scheme would have better possibilities to represent a multicultural society. I have asked some institutions that have a large collection of documents dealing with minority cultures how they experienced the SAB. I have also read literature about classification theories and compared universal enumerative, facetted and special classification schemes to see if the possibilities to classify documents on, or related to minorities differed from each other.