The main subject with this master thesis is to take a closer look on how some of the university libraries of Gothenburg have evaluated their electronic services (such as search-systems, Internet-based services, CD-ROM etc.). The information technology has made its way into the library field during the past century and needs to be evaluated and quality measured to ensure the best possible service to the users. Since evaluation of electronic services is a new area in the evaluation field, some problems has arisen in terms of choosing evaluation strategies and finding the appropriate performance indicators for the evaluation process. The main questions asked in the thesis are; - Which are the most common theoretical strategies for evaluation? - How do some of the university libraries of Gothenburg perform evaluation in practice? - How does the various strategies for evaluation apply to the context of this thesis? The results show that specific strategies for evaluation aren't used in the reports discussed in this thesis.

The main focal point of this study is about public libraries and its possible roles in today's society. Going from having had a clear educational orientation, public libraries has with time amassed several other roles, which all need to relate to the swedish law regarding libraries and other governing documents, as well as business plans. This thesis focus on a qualitative investigation, which was conducted through in-depth interviews with librarians and other staff at a public library in Stockholm, named bibliotek Plattan, to ascertain the prevailing opinions within this facility about the role of libraries and librarians. The choice of examine this particular library was based on the fact that bibliotek Plattan differs from the public library in general and only offers material for adults. Their collection of litterature is primarily based on fiction novels.

This Master's thesis concerns the classification of compact discs according to the Swedish classification system, SAB. The purpose of this thesis is to critically study and discuss category Y of the SAB-system and its application in Swedish public libraries. The classification system has undergone great changes from the first edition in 1921 until today. In 1921 there were no musical recordings in Swedish libraries, today they are responsible for a large part of the loans. We discuss how the system's category Y has corresponded with the musical development.

This is the first investigation of the activity with feature film (video) in Swedish publiclibraries.Due to the Swedish copyright legislation, the activity with feature film in Swedish publiclibraries was not possible until an agreement was set between Kommunförbundet and SverigesVideodistributörers Förening in 1989.My investigation is based upon a form that I made in cooperation with Statens kulturråd.The form was sent to the main public libraries in the 286 municipals in Sweden. 250 (87 percent) of the public libraries answered the questions. 130 (52 per cent) of the libraries whoanswered had an activity with feature film.The main reason the libraries bought feature film, was that they hoped that feature filmwould attract new visitors to the library. The investigation also showed that high costs forhiring feature films has a negative influence on the lending of feature films..

This essay concerns sponsorship of libraries within Sweden. It takes its starting-point in the libraries economical situation where resources are decreasing. The main purpose of the essay is to investigate how sponsorship is used in public libraries. The main questions are:o Why are sponsorships appealing to libraries? o What does the processes of sponsoring look like? o What are the possible risks concerning sponsor-ships ? could it endanger libraries democratic role? o How does library staff reflect on the role of libraries in contemporary society? In our study we chose to investigate the sponsorship issue from the sponsored libraries perspective.

The aim of this essay is to try to find the differences and similarities of two public librariesin the town of Kristinehamn and the rural community of Vara during the year 1994. Especiallyinteresting was if the different political traditions of the two communities -left wing majorityin Kristinehamn and right wing in Vara- have influenced the forming of the public libraries.The comparison contains accounts from the annual reports produced by the libraries between1987 and 1994, a more thorough study of the activities and interviews with decision makers in1994. The interview with the decision makers indicates that there is a distinct difference betweenthe librarians and the rest of the informants, this distinction shows, that in a tight budgetsituation the librarians prefer not to cut down on staff while the other informants actuallyfavour to make cuts on the procedures handled by the librarians. The general opinionthough, is that they all agree that the role of the public libraries is to defend democratic rights.The final conclusion is that the material of this essay supports the opinion that the idea ofpublic libraries is stronger than the political differences in Vara and Kristinehamn..

The purpose of this Masters thesis is to investigate the reasons for public libraries to have story-time today and also the reasons for story-time at the public library historically in Sweden. Why is the phenomenon of story-time still existing at public libraries today? The study is based on a questionnaire that was sent to childrens librarians in the Västra Götaland region. The material collected in this questionnaire was put together and resulted in six different categories showing the libraries purposes and thoughts of their story-time activities. The categories were: cultural heritage/tradition, joy of reading, language and imagination, library visits, storytelling and mutual experience.

During the late 1990s a movement with the intention of forming independent libraries emerged on Cuba. They were seen as an alternative to the public libraries which were supposed to be suffering from censorship by the Cuban government. The purpose of this thesis is to compile and bring structure in a debate regarding public libraries on Cuba and what have become known as independent libraries. In this thesis a textual analysis has been approached for examining articles, websites and reports concerning what attitudes and position the library support organizations Friends of Cuban Libraries FCL, Cuban Libraries Solidarity Group CLSG and IFLA/FAIFE have regarding the two different library types. These positions is throughout the survey connected with the concept of intellectual freedom.

The purpose of this thesis is to study to what extent the methodological theories are being reflected in the construction of user surveys at public libraries in Sweden. The study has been conducted as a qualitative literature study in two parts. The first part is an examination of literature concerning survey methodology; the second part is a study of three user surveys conducted at Swedish public libraries after 1995. Our main results indicate that the theories about methodology are followed in part, though it cannot be determined whether this is due to any actual methodological studies, common sense, or just copying other surveys. In our study we have found some areas of user survey construction that need further attention and that would benefit from more extensive methodology studies on the part of survey designers.

This bachelor?s thesis describes a qualitative case study of a public library as ?third place?, a place besides from home and workplace visited frequently for conversation. The subject is chosen because of the many roles of public libraries. The main query of the study is ?What view does the public library have of its role as third space and how does that relate to the way utilization of the public library as third place is seen??.

This paper describes the development of direct and indirect service at the former Gothen­burg city library. This was during this period of time not the public library of the town, but a scientific library mostly serving the college, although also open to the public. Furthermore the services offered in Gothenburg are compared with those of the two old Swedish university libraries in Uppsala and Lund. The investigated direct serviceforms are "making material available", "guidance", and "localities". The indirect service areas are "the catalogue" and "the personnel and their competence".The conclusion is that the differences weren't that big and that Gothenburg city library was a modern library providing about the same services as you could find in Uppsala and Lund.

The aim of this thesis is to find out how users and libraries are constructed at public library websites in Sweden from a web 2.0 perspective. We discuss the development of public libraries in Swedish history and the change from an system oriented perspective to a individual oriented perspective and how these perspectives correspond to needs of the library user. We also discuss the concept of web 2.0 and library 2.0. These concepts are open for different interpretations. Some writers believe that web 2.0 and library 2.0 is something radically new and that it will change the public libraries, while other writers claim that these concepts is just a marketing plan.

The purpose of the following thesis has been to study librarians' attitudes towards comics for grown up people. I have compared the attitudes among the staff in two public libraries in Sweden, Malmö public library and Lund public library. I have conducted five interviews with librarians and observed how the comics are handled in each library. I have also carried out a literary study of the history and theories of comics. Initially a definition of comics is presented, and then an overview of the development of comics and of some theories regarding them is offered.

This study deals with the Swedish public library in our changeable time. New technology, an altered media situation with a growing digitalization, globalization and a society focusing on the individual and the market have put the public library in a new, indistinct position. It is described as facing an identity crisis. The aim of this thesis is to, by interviewing a group of young people ages 15-16, find out what the public library is for this user group and what it ought to be according to them. How do they value the services provided by the public library? Are there services they miss? The thesis also aims at relating the opinions of the young people to earlier research.

This is a comparative study of six public libraries in the city of Gothenburg and its neighbourhood. The main purpose of this master thesis is to describe these libraries relating to a reform in the city council of Gothenburg and its neighbourhood. The comparison deals with a period of ten years, 1990-2000. In order to respond to this I formulated two questions: Are there any differences in the activities of these libraries? Has this reform influenced the librarians in their way of working and if so, why? I have studied relevant literature such as annual reports, investigations and analyses in order to be able to formulate the questions.