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.

In this master thesis, I investigate four Public Librarys´ program activities. The purpose is to explore what the library program activities contribute to as a part of a well functioning democracy. The theoretical points, I have brought from political science. I assume three different ideals of democracy; electoral democracy, participation democracy and deliberative democracy. All have different views on what can be characterized by a well-functioning democracy.My empirical material consists of library program guides, the libraries´ target documents and interviews with staff at the libraries who work with or have overall responsibility for program activities in their respective libraries.

The digital era has led to technical advances that have transformed the role of the public library from being a place that is used only through physical visits and material, into also being a virtual space that can be accessed by users from outside the library through Internet-based access to e-media such as e-books and streamed or downloadable audiobooks.The aim of this study is to examine how the role of public libraries in Stockholm County has changed in the process of developing into digital libraries: how this has affected their organisation, work methods and strate- gies, as well as their accessibility. The theoretical framework of the study draws on Michael K. Bucklands theory of information accessibility, which is based on six factors of access that are determined by different types of barriers. The methodology is based on a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods. Primary data was gathered through an empirical survey, which consisted of a structured questionnaire distributed to most of the public libraries in Stockholm County and semi-structured interviews with selected librarians and experts for further in-depth understanding.

This master?s thesis investigates how six Swedish public libraries integrate equality aspects in their user oriented activity. The theoretical starting point for the study is that Sweden is a part of a gender system characterized by gender separation and male superiority, as described by the Swedish historian Yvonne Hirdman and theories that argue that femininity and masculinity are social constructions. Another starting point is that the library sphere cannot be separated from the gender inequality in society. Since the library is part of a gender system that value individuals who are seen as males and separates men and women, some of the library users may be neglected.

Futurum.kom is a collaborative marketing project with the aim of strengthening the internal organization of Länsbibliotek Sydost, Regionbibliotek Kalmar and the 25 public libraries within the southeast region. The project intends to externally build the brands of the public libraries in Blekinge, Kalmar and Kronobergs län. This thesis is a study and evaluation of the implementation and results of Futurum.kom?s first campaign "Låna dig rik" at a public library. The analysis is based on the following issues:? What goals does the library have with the "Låna dig rik"-campaign.? What is the feedback from the staff's experience of the users in terms of needs and demands?? In which way does the library choose to implement the marketing campaign and what role do the users have in this process?? What is the internal performance of the library's marketing campaign, what was the experience of the staff of the campaign?? What is the external result of the library's marketing campaign?The method is based on a case study of a single library, with a series of interviews and document analysis of written and electronic documents.

The aim of this thesis is to investigate the content in Swedish library weblogs. We want to examine what the posts contain, especially on the subject knowledge organization. Which themes do the weblogs have in common? How the weblog authors categorize their posts and how the readers use the comment function, are other questions we seek answers to in the thesis. We have performed content analysis where we created the code units during the process.

The purpose of this master's thesis is to describe and analyse the origin and development of the libraries in the town of Värnamo, between the years 1908 and 1960, when a new modern public library was inaugurated. The method I have used is, to a great extent, examining and analysing source material from the archive of the municipality in Värnamo and the popular movement in Jönköping. As a background to my study I describe the development of the Swedish society, from the end of the nineteenth-, until the middle of the twentieth century. I also describe the local development of Värnamo, during the same period. Furthermore I also give a general description of the progress of the libraries in Sweden during the same time.

The purpose of this Master's thesis is to examine whether a web-based library catalogue is to be considered user-friendly. We have examined this from a user-perspective by interviewing users of a web-based catalogue at a public library. In order to get a picture of the user-friendliness of a catalogue, the thesis is centred upon the following questions: How is a web-based catalogue used? What problems do the users experience? How is the catalogue perceived by its users? Since the producers of these catalogues now are taking into account the research upon human-computer interaction, we are also interested in finding out whether a web-based catalogue is more user-friendly than a more traditional OPAC. We do this by comparing the results of our examination with earlier studies of OPAC use.

The purpose of this thesis is library work in exile, more specifically The Kurdish library in Stockholm (?Kurdiska biblioteket?). The Kurds have a long history of exile, forming a part of their national and cultural identity. I have therefore chosen in the analysis three concepts: nationalism, ethnicity and culture. The Kurdish library is unique and is different from a traditional library in many ways.

The purpose of this study is to find out how and to what extent doctors use the hospital library?s collection of print and electronic medical journals. Major changes have the last years occurred in the journal collection. The journals are very costly and little is known about the user satisfaction with them. Therefore it?s important to examine how satisfied the users are with the collection and how they utilize it.

The purpose of this Master?s thesis is to investigate the library needs of fourteen-to-fifteen-year-olds. We have limited the investigation to the significance of libraries for the teenagers in their leisure time. Our focus is the public library with a particular reference to the plans for a new local public library with a youth profile in Malmö. With a departure point in the idea that young people?s use and view of libraries is to a large extent depending on factors such as social and cultural background and lifestyle, we chose to do a qualitative interview study with eight teenagers.

This Masters thesis concerns epistemology in Knowledge Organization KO, as a field of study in Library and Information Science LIS. Using a theoretical model by Birger Hjørland and foucauldian discourse analysis as springboards, this study analyses three epistemological discourses in the practice of KO. The aim of the study is to show how these discourses are constituted and demarcated in relation to KO, as well as to examine how they fit into Hjørlands model. A brief historical outline of some epistemological trends in LIS is sketched, as well as examples of how different epistemological schools influence different parts of KO, e.g. information retrieval, indexing- and classification theory.

The transition from paper to electronic journals in induces a major change in academic libraries. The library must focus on customising the service to meet user needs in order to compete with other actors on the market. This situation entails the need for a marketing and management approach in library organisations. Linda Ashcroft has in previous research focused on marketing of electronic journals. She has stated the importance of simplifying the user environment of electronic journals and the importance of regaining control over electronic journals from publishers and vendors.

The purpose of this Masters thesis is to analyze the research front within medical ethics. We wish to identify which research themes that are included in the subject field of medical ethics. The research themes can be identified by a couple of bibliometrical methods and techniques. In our case, it is bibliographic coupling combined with a cluster analysis. The analysis is accomplished by the extracted references from articles in the two journals Bioethics and Journal of medical ethics.

The purpose of this thesis is to describe how principals apprehend the school library. In order to respond to this I formulated three questions: How was the improvement of the school libraries carried out in one municipality? Is the school library experienced as a part of the schools organization? How is the use of the school´s library experienced? To be able to answer these questions, for the purpose of this thesis, I have studied relevant literature on school libraries, the school organization and literature on qualitative methods. I have made six qualitative interviews. The objects of the interviews were three librarians and three principals.