The purpose of this study is to examine if digital public libraries are serendipitous environments. Serendipity in this instance is defined as finding something unexpected and valuable, while searching for something else.A survey was conducted at two Swedish digital public libraries, where the patrons were asked to fill in a questionnaire online. The questions were based on the work on serendipitous digital environments by Lori McCay-Peet, as well as considerations of human factors that could possibly influence serendipity.The result indicate that a majority of patrons experience serendipity at the digital library, although it?s still more common to do so at the physical library or on other web sites. The result also confirms the importance of taking human factors into account when studying serendipity.

Abstract: The aim of this study is to investigate the attitudes towards the labour movement?s strategies, goals and organisational issues in Swedish Miners? Union?s (Gruvindustriarbetareförbundet, hereafter Gruv) paper, Gruvarbetaren 1917-1925.The theoretical starting point is Engels? view on the class state. This perspective turns the question of socialism and the way to get there into an issue of working class power over the state. Another theoretical perspective is the partition of the labour movement into a trade-unionistic branch, seeing unions as financial organisations of interest, and a pro-state one, considering unions as political organisations.During the period investigated Gruvarbetaren was quite radical and advocated a firm class struggle strategy towards employers. Since these were considered unreliable, class struggle was seen as the only way to better the conditions for the working class.

The main purpose of this Bachelor´s thesis is to investigate the visions chief librarians have for their public libraries. The world around us and our way of living is changing as the society is changing ever more rapidly. This evolvement also influences the public library, its role for society and individuals, its activities and its design. The question is how the public library can face these changes and what function and role it can get and make for itself in the future. Through qualitative interviews with five chief librarians our aim is to answer the main question of this thesis: What are the visions that chief librarians on public libraries have for the public library´s future? This study also contain the role the chief librarians give the public library of today and what they mean is necessary for their visions to be achieved.

This Bachelor's thesis examines and describes the ideas and ideological traits surrounding the public library within the governmental cultural policy. The Bachelor's thesis demonstrates how the public library ? even though its relevance in the modern society has shifted over time ? has maintained a connection to the governmental cultural policy and has therefore been shaped by the ideological changes in the political sphere as a whole. The main issues are: Which ideas concerning the public library's functions are expressed in the governmental cultural policy? Which ideological tendencies can be identified in the national cultural policy? Which ideas concerning the public library can be extracted through the found ideological tendencies? The method used in order to study the governmental bill is an ideology analysis based on a framework created by Dorte Skot-Hansen.

Syftet med denna undersökning är att få en inblick i om och hur förlusten av sockenkyrkan påverkade livet i Nedertorneå-Haparanda församling socialt samt religiöst och i så fall hur eventuella förändringar yttrade sig när de efter kriget 1809 förlorade hemkyrkan på Björkön-Pirkkiö till Ryssland. Församlingskyrkan blev efter gränsdragningen kvar på ryskt område. Eftersom kyrkan ansvarade för ett flertal nuvarande statliga uppgifter under denna tid, har jag funderat på hur undervisning, fattigvård samt sjukvård fungerade utan kyrka och prästerskap. Hur förrättningar och gudstjänster fungerade i en sådan komplex situation är ytterligare faktorer jag studerat närmare.För att ta reda på hur det förhöll sig med detta under den här tidsperioden har jag ägnat mig åt litteraturstudium; vilket till största delen varit av historisk karaktär. Det har rört sig om kyrkohistoria, studium av samhällsutveckling, samt allmän global och lokal historia.Utifrån det samlade materialet har jag kommit fram till att livet påverkades ur flera aspekter för invånarna i Nedertorneå-Haparanda församling när de förlorade sockenkyrkan 1809.

The purpose of this thesis is to explore what possibilities Swedish public library has to work with and promote integration. The possibilities are examined on the basis of internal requirements of integration, the role of public library in the civil society and its policy documents. Further, the thesis examines what Swedish National library politics could contribute to this particular field. The experience of integration politics shows that a genuine commitment from all parts of the society is required in order to build an integrated society. The part of a society that public libraries are closest to and have the greatest impact on is undoubtedly the civil society.

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate what functions the public library has for parents of small children. If and how they make use of the library and what their opinion is about it. The research questions are: Which functions does the public library have for parents of small children? How do parents of small children use the library and what opinion do they have about it? Which factors have an impact on the parents of small children and how do they influence their use of and opinion about the public library and the functions of the library? The theoretical approach is based on Henrik Jochumsen and Casper Hvenegaard Rasmussen?s model of the social room and the lifestyles and Marianne Andersson and Dorte Skot-Hansen?s model of the public library?s functions. To answer our research questions we have made seven qualitative interviews with parents of small children.

The purpose of this master thesis is to investigate how the public library can support adult learning through collaboration with other actors in the community. This is done by examining the activity of Linköping municipal library towards the user group adult students. The questions raised consider; the political view of supporting adult learning, the role of the public library, who are the actors in Linköping, the experiences of collaboration and finally what promotes and restrains collaboration. The investigation is done as a case study with qualitative methods. The qualitative methods was found to be the most appropriate for this study, since the majority of the empirical material has been collected through interviews.

The aim of this essay has been to study six female seniors use and view of the library and its roles. The two Danish scientists Jochumsen and Rasmussen talk about the library in terms of a social center, cultural center, knowledge center and information center. Depending on what lifestyle the seniors belong to in the social room, they use the library differently. The social room consists of four lifestyles, north-west, north-east, south-west and south-east. The things that are important to consider in order to be able to place each senior within the different lifestyles are education level, economic standard, interests and so forth.

The purpose of this thesis is to examine how the public libraries work towards SFI (Swedish For Immigrants) based on the views of the overseeing librarians. To study this we have asked the following research questions:What distinguishes the public libraries? work towards SFI according to the responsible librarians? What distinguishes the communication between SFI teachers and the librarians according to the responsible librarians? What opinions are held by the librarians in regards to their work with SFI?We have used a semi structured interview method with seven librarians in charge of the activities with SFI at small and medium sized public libraries in a rural area of Sweden. The theoretical framework is composed of Marianne Andersson and Dorte Skot-Hansen?s model for analysis of the local public library profile and the authors? definition of collaboration.

In the last few years there has been an ongoing debate concerning the methods of assessing the quality of public libraries and their services. This study investigates the opinions and needs of the users at four different public libraries in Malm : the local libraries in Bellevueg rden, Limhamn, and Kirseberg, and the main library in central Malm . The purpose was to find out whether different user groups display different patterns in their library use and, in addition, to identify what library services they prefer. The data were collected through interviews with users and librarians, and by means of a user survey ccarried out at the four libraries. The results indicate that certain differences in the usage patterns do exist between the main library and the local libraries.

A vivid democracy requires participation from those who live in it, including children. Unlike adults, children have special laws and regulations to ensure them their democratic rights. Librarians? decision on what to buy makes an impact to someone else, which puts the librarian in a hegemonic position. Therefore, the purpose of this bachelor thesis is to, out of the child librarian?s perspective, view children?s participation at the public library in the matter of purchasing literature.

This masters thesis aims at a discussion about whether the public library will be an educating and cultivating society institution in the future. The method used is a combination of interviews with library staff in leading position and studies of the public librarys relationship to cultivation and adult education in a changeable society. The work concentrates on two main questions. One is about what, and in which way, changes, that are important for the public library and that take place in society now or within the next ten years, affect the future activities of the library. The other is about the public librarys relationship to cultivation in general and in the future.

This study examines the cultural place and status of video and computer games in the Swedish public library. Using works on popular culture and the theories of Pierre Bourdieu, this study employs quantitative methods, as well as textual analysis, to analyze the results of an online questionnaire with 19 questions focusing on selection criteria, shelf placement, perceived competence, as well as reasoning for having or not having these games in the library. 286 out of the 440 libraries contacted is participating in the study, and the libraries consist exclusively of public libraries in Sweden that are found in the database of the Royal Library.The results of this study show that a larger number of libraries than previously indicated have started to provide electronic games to their patrons. At the same time, patterns in the data and comments suggests that these games in many cases still do not enjoy the same level of cultural recognition as other media. Indicative of this is the way most libraries seem to focus on the medium being exclusively for their young patrons, with seem-ingly very little in the way of investment for adults.

The aim of this master?s thesis is to examine which ideas about the public library that appear in a selection of municipal library plans and to examine if these ideas are unanimous. The comprehensive questions are: Which ideas about the public library appear in each municipal library plan? How do the ideas agree in the different municipal library plans? The sub questions are: Which judgements of reality appear in the different library plans concerning each municipality and its library needs? How do the municipalities define the concept of development and future demands in the municipality on the basis of the judgements of reality? Which recommendations do the judgements of reality give and how is the plan of action that is established in each library plan justified? Which fundamental views of reality, i. e.