The study is based on three Swedish novels published in 1945,1956 and 1964, and three Swedish novels published in 1998, 2008and 2009. The aim has been to investigate how Librarians are portrayed in Swedish literature, as well as a comparison between the older and the newer literature. What librarian images are portrayed in the analyzed literature? Is the portrayal mostly positive, negative or neutral? Are there any clear differences in how Librarians portrayed in newer and older Swedish fiction? If so, what are they? The method used has been qualitative content analysis where relevant paragraphs have been coded and divided them into categories of appearance, personality, and professional identity. The conclusion is that the librarian is often portrayed as an intellectual and somewhat high-strung bibliophile.

This Bachelor?s thesis is about crime-fiction in Swedish public libraries and aims at investigating the attitude of Librarians employed within the public library sector with regards to crime-fiction writing. Therefore, our aim is to examine how public sector Librarians assess the quality of crime fiction writing compared to other forms of fiction. And research has shown that Librarians haven't always looked upon crime-fiction favorably. The established view of crime-fiction was widely seen by the majority of public sector Librarians as a lower form of literature and regarded it as a form of mass culture.

The aim of this master thesis is to examine which criteria are generally used to guide pub­lic Librarians in their acquisitions' decision. The study went ahead in France, principally at La Bibliotheque municipale de Lyon. It also includes a view of some special library services in the social field.Twenty persons were interviewed and an attempt was made to divide their answers into three sections: acquisition routines and criteria for media purchase, how to receive the library visi­tors and their influence on the acquisitions, and, finally, the Librarians' own opinions on the matter. One important question was whether censorship is applied and in that case, would it be a deliberately way of acting or rather a spontaneous reaction, more or less unconscious.Censorship in real or manifested through a self-preservative reaction turned out to be a factor closely dependant on the library's financial situation. Many Librarians affirmed they would find useful some kind of a written practical library acquisition policy..

The purpose of our thesis is to take a closer look at what lies behind the display of fiction in public libraries. Through interviewing ten Librarians and analysing their statements, it examines the mechanisms behind the displaying of books. The analysis was conducted through the application of two different theories, one by Aant Elzinga and one by Douglas Raber. Elzingas theory concerns methods of working, while Rabers theory concerns the purpose of public libraries and attitudes towards power. The following conclusions were drawn from analysing the statements.

This thesis deals with questions about competences and qualities that Librarians inpublic libraries find that they need to be qualified suppliers of literature (books andmagazines).Our aim is to problematize the competence of the profession in relation to promotingliterature, knowledge in literature and reading habits. We want to know what Librariansthemselves think about their own competences when it comes to supplying andpromoting literature. Does it have to be a leisure interest or do they get the possibility toread during working hours?What do Librarians think it means to be a qualified promotor of literature and how dothey acquire the right competence? Do they believe that their competence correspondswith the occupational requirements? How much of their knowledge about literature andpromoting literature comes from personal interest and commitment?We primarily used the theories about competence by Per-Erik Ellström. One of thetheories is the one of implicit and explicit knowledge.

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the relationship between Librarians and library support staff in public libraries regarding status, distribution of work and working climate. We were interested to know if there is a conflict between the two occupational groups and how it can be explained. We also wanted to learn what the future holds for the library in terms of professional categories and tasks according to library staff of today. This study is based on twelve qualitative interviews with four heads of libraries, four Librarians and four library assistants. Three theoretical approaches were used in the analysis of the interview material: professionalization strategies, conflict theories and theories from group psychology.

This master?s thesis concerns the performance of professional children?s theatre in public libraries. With qualitative interviews I have looked into how four children?s Librarians and two theatre consultants appreciate professional children?s theatre, and furthermore I have looked into their view on the importance of theatre for children. My intentions have also been to investigate their views on the function and status of children?s theatre in public libraries and also the relationship between library and theatre activities for children.

The purpose of this thesis is to examine projects for readingpromotion, aimed at boys, between 8 and 16 years of age. Therelations between Librarians approaches to reading and methodsfor reading promotion are analysed with a gender perspective.The study is based on qualitative methods. Librarians involved infour reading projects have been interviewed. In the analysis, ourempirical material is related to theories of approaches to reading.Results have also been compared with earlier studies regardingboys reading, reading promotion, gender and male stereotypes.We find that an emancipatory approach towards reading is themost common. The Librarians´ views showed that discussion,development, reading for pleasure and focus on the content of thebook were central to the methods used in the projects.

Children's library's primary task is to encourage children to read. Promoted readingleads to increased reading skills. A common method for this purpose is booktalk. This studyaims to examine how children?s Librarians work with booktalk aimed towards children andhow it can be developed as a working method to support the library's reading promotionactivities.

The purpose of this this thesis is to evaluate the books that the Library Project "Give me five" uses accoring to their own project objective. Starting in the discussion of censorship that took place in Swedish media, the goal of the project is to defend picture books that portray child's inner and outer worlds. Some of the books are selected by Librarians and some preschool teachers themselves have chosen. I have a in a thematic analysis examined if the books' themes meet the requirements of the project goals and if there is any difference on the books that preschool teachers chosen and the ones that the Librarians have selected. I have in a image analysis investigated whether they have used books that challenge children's imagery, and if the books portray children's outer world.

This is a qualitative interview study of the importance of the non-verbal communication related to the reference situation at public libraries. The experiences of both Librarians and users of the reference service have been explored with regards to non-verbal communication. Eight interviews have been carried out. The results reveal that the users and Librarians consider that it is important that the librarian find eye contact as well as give affirmation through nodding and smiling. To demonstrate interest and involvement in the questions through attentive listening is also of great value.

The aim of this bachelor?s thesis is to gain deeper knowledge about how Librarians in public libraries in Sweden view theirprofessional role with regard to the last decades of change in the library field. Especially concerning the technical evolution and towards a higher user orientation and market mindset, and in which ways this has influenced the Librarians everyday working tasks. A particular focus has been placed towards the reference transaction, the use of computers and e-media, and the stock development. We believe that there currently is a changeover, from the libraries traditional line of function, towards them as more of service institutions.The method used in this study for answering the research questions and to gather empirical information is semi-structuredinterviews.

This bachelor thesis examines the library as a public sphere in the notion of Jürgen Habermas? theory from 1962. The questions asked concerns how the public sphere is discussed in relation to Swedish public libraries today in our late modern society. The analyzed material consists of the Swedish Cultural Bill of 2009 and five qualitative interviews with Librarians. The material is analyzed with two of the four social actions presented by the sociologist Maw Weber: value-rational and instrumental.

The purpose of this Master?s thesis is to discuss marketing as it applies to some school libraries. Today?s marketing is about relations. It involves the establishment, maintenance and development of relations with users, non-users and other library related relationships.

In today?s´ multicultural society increasing numbers of school Librarians are faced with a relatively new target group of pupils. This group is linguistically less homogenous than previously and this requires modern adaptations of pedagogic methods.Information literacy and reading promotion are two important topics that school Librarians work with. Information literacy is essential for problem based tuition and to increase it requires a well developed language. This study is focusing of the school Librarians work with reading promotions.