After W.W. II the Social democratic government wanted to modernize and rationalize the Swedish society. The university system was reformed[INS: :INS] to support growth of industry and science. But the reform did not reach Swedish academic library system and it was not well organized. The aim of this thesis is to analyze the reaction of the Swedish academic libraries to the new era in the framework of ideological criticism.

The main purpose of this master thesis is to study the information support by the head office of the Swedish social insurance office to its administrators. The thesis only focuses on information that concerns laws, regulations and instructions. The study is based on an interview with the head of the division of law at the social insurance head office and a questionnaire answered by administrators in four different counties. The purpose with the interview was to find out about the information strategy of the head office and in the questionnaire the administrators could describe their opinion of their information support. Our special interest was the information channels and how the administrators were able to absorb the essential information.

The majority of managers of public libraries in Sweden also work as librarians on an operative level within the organisation. This thesis discusses how the manager role is affected by his/her specific assignments and multiple tasks. Seven public library managers, who work in districts with around 10 000 25 000 inhabitants, have been interviewed. They reflect upon their experience of leadership and different assignments. The main focus lies on: - leadership - communication - decision making - organisational development The interviews show some positive effects, the manager is present most of the time, has a great knowledge about everyday work and daily routines, and is also able to represent the library successfully in the local community.

The aim of the following thesis is to examine if the ideology behind the copyright laws of today poses a threat to creativity and the cultural heritage. The organizations Association of American Publishers and Authors Guild are subject to an ideology- analysis which seeks to examine their ideological views on copyright and the possible threat to creativity such a view brings. The conflict between the two organizations and Google Book Search is used as a context where the ideology is being brought to light. Stanford Law School professor, Lawrence Lessigs work is used as theory and an alternative to the examined view on copyright. The result suggests that the organizations see copyright as the only effective incentive to creation and therefore they think stronger intellectual property laws are needed.

The objective of this thesis is to examine which form value-adding qualities specific for the Web take and to what extent they exist in a selection of electronic scholarly editions of literary works. The examination was concentrated on the qualities hypertextuality, interactivity and hypermediality. Besides extent and form, the research questions focused on whether or not the form of the editions correspond to theories and guidelines about how electronic scholarly editions should be designed to generate an added value from a scholarly point of view. The empirical approach was qualitative and the selection consisted of 31 editions. They were examined according to theories about the value-adding features of the qualities.

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.

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.

he purpose of this master thesis is to learn more about the ancient Alexandrian Library. The method used in this thesis is methodology of history, especially a critical attitude when it comes to evaluating the ancient texts. I put forward three questions to which I desire to find answers. First: What do the sources from Antiquity tell about the Alexandrian library? Second: How do modern writers of books on the subject use these sources? Thirdly: I look into the possible historical and cultural reasons that the first of the Ptolemaic kings could have had for establishing the Mouseion and the Library of Alexandria.

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 purpose of this study is to examine what readers of fiction literature are influenced by when they choose books. What libraries and bookstores do to influence readers in their choice of literature and how readers perceive the librarys and the bookstores influence on them in their choice of fiction literature. We have also studied which factors outside the library and the bookstore that readers are influenced by when borrowing or buying a certain book and to what extent readers are influenced by the books appearance. To answer our questions we chose a public library and a bookstore, where we interviewed six persons in each place. We have interviewed a librarian and a bookstore manager for information about how these two cultural institutions work with marketing of their fiction literature.

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.