The aim of this Masters thesis is to understand how librarians develop their reference service. The purpose was to find patterns in how librarians work with reference questions. As a theoretical framework we have used research in the reference field. Where do the skills of the search process come from: education or experience? Answers were sought to the following questions: - How different are the search process in practice compared to theory? - Which similarities and differences are there among the informants? - How important was the education in comparison to the knowledge about the libraries collections? - How did the changes in the school system in 1993 influence reference education and what could the consequences be to the reference knowledge among librarians? We sent out a question form and a search question which was answered by 12 librarians in university and university college libraries.

The main purpose of this master thesis is to explore a selection of Swedish librarians view of professional ethics. The latest master thesis written on the subject was published in 1997, which concluded that the Swedish public librarians had a poor awareness concerning professional ethics. We wanted to investigate if something had changed. We interviewed six librarians from five public libraries, asking them questions concerning ethical guidelines, responsibility, censorship and selection, pressure from lobbyists, and ethical problems relating to Internet. The answers we got gave the impression of a divided profession, and the librarian?s awareness of professional ethics can hardly be said to have been improved since 1997.

The purpose of this Master?s thesis is to investigate how public library users consider the knowledge of the librarians and to examine what the users expect from the librarians. To begin with, we contemplate our own view of the librarians, their knowledge and what help we expect at the library. Realising that we do not expect particularly much from librarians, although we have studied to become librarians for two years, we assume that the regular library user does not expect much either. This assumption resulted in our decision to investigate this particular question.

The purpose of this Master's thesis is to make suggestions as to how librarians can promote young reluctant readers to help them find the joy of reading. We want to show how the comprehension of these children and adolescents can be translated into action in the librarians work with reading promotion.Our main questions are:? What attitudes do the librarians find that children and adolescents, ages 9-15 with reluctance to read, have towards reading?? What do public- and School librarians do to stimulate children and adolescents, ages 9-15 that are reluctant to read, to feel the joy of reading?? What role or which roles can the public- and School librarians have in the work of reading promotion, targeting children and adolescents with a reluctance to read?We have used Beers's theories about reluctant readers and reading promotion, Chambers's model and theory ?Reading Circle? and his theories about conditions that promote a ?good reading environment?. We have also used Smidt's theories about the librarian's different roles in the work of supplying literature.The method we have used is qualitative and based on literature and interviews with 7 children- and School librarians that all of whom work or have worked with reading promotion for children and adolescents in the ages between 9-15, that are reluctant to read.Our results show that in order to gain understanding about the attitudes towards, and relationship to reading, our targeted group have, the librarian has to be aware of the inner conditions that these children and adolescents have. These inner conditions are going to affect the work and the result of the reading promotion activity.

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 paper has been to study the relationships and attitudes of a few teachers and librarians as to their co-operation in a combined public and upper secondary school library and to find out what circumstances there may be to exert an influence on their work. The paper has been based upon qualitative interviews with upper secondary school teachers and librarians as well as on studies of literature relating to our issue. We believe there may be different approaches to the learning process, as these are the relations and attitudes of two professions from different trades. That is why our point of departure has been Roger Säljö's theory about learning and, in our analysis, a few of Jean Donham van Deusen's ideas of joint planning and flexible timetabling. All respondents agreed that co-operation could be better, but the teachers were of the opinion that it must not interfere with their time.

The aim of this Master's thesis is to understand public library users' perceptions of librarians' attitudes to users and professional knowledge. The purpose was also to investigate the relative importance to the user of pleasant or a knowledgeable librarian. As a theoretical framework we use theory from business economy where the experience of the user is in focus. Answers were sought to the following questions: How do users perceive librarians attitudes to users? How do users perceive librarians professional knowledge? How do users want to be treated by public librarians? What kind of knowledge should public librarians have, according to users? We interviewed twelve students in university education that are users of public libraries.

The purpose of this Masters thesis is to study how librarians experience reference work. We wanted to get a better understanding about librarians assignments through the study. We chose to limit the study to public libraries, and to the south of Sweden. The questions used in our study are: How do librarians interpret the conception of reference work? What values do librarians have concerning reference work? How do librarians experience reference work? How do librarians look at different roles in reference work? We chose to use a fenomenographically inspired method.

This master's thesis examines information literacy and students in secondary education. The study is framed within a sociocultural perspective of learning and the method used is questionnaires. The major question posed is how and where students seek information. Other questions are if the students critically evaluate and analyse in­formation sources and if teachers and School librarians cooperate with each other in order to help the students with their assignments.The findings indicate that most students regard information seeking as fact-finding or finding the right an­swers to the question. Only one third of students experienced information seeking as seeking and using informa­tion for understanding a topic.

The aim with this thesis, based on five childrens librarians statements, is to highlight their view of their work, and what they deem to be of importance when working with small children within the library sphere. My main question is as follows: What motive compels childrens librarians in their work with small children, and will Vygotskys theories be recognised in their statements. I have two questions as a base for this main question: How do childrens librarians work with small children, and do they utilise any special methods in their work? How do childrens librarians view their work tasks, and what do they deem to be of importance regarding small children and libraries? The thesis is based on qualitative interviews. As a theory I have decided to concentrate on Vygotskys thoughts on imagination and creativity, the Zone of Proximal Development, and childrens language development.

The aim of this thesis is to study through discourse analysis how users talk about librarians and the librarian profession and what perceptions they have regarding it. I have tried to do this by asking the questions: How do the users describe librarians and the librarian profession? Are there any patterns in what they say? The method and theory I have used is Laclau and Mouffes? discourse theory and partially structured interviews. The material consists of interviews with eight users that are both women and men, both students and members of the public and they were between 25 and 50 years old. In the material I found two discourses: the discourse about librarians and the discourse about the librarian profession.

The purpose of this study is to investigate? how a professional librarian can support the work with pupils, age six to twelve years, in their reading and linguistic development? how the conditions at the school have to be for this to become possible? what kind of attitudes the teachers have, and how they relate to the impact of a librarian for the pupils reading and linguistic development.The methods used are analyses of steering documents concerning school libraries and analyses of the means of the local school culture. The latter has been carried out by literature studies and through interviews of eight teachers and two School librarians. The result of the interviews showed a limited insight into how a professional librarian can support and assist teachers and pupils in the work with reading and linguistic development. They also showed the influence of existing traditions and local school culture for the use of a librarian?s services, and also how all the teachers, once they have become used to the services a librarian can provide, now find their support invaluable.

In these days we can witness a growing number of combined school and public libraries in Sweden. It can be explained as an economy measure or as an attempt to develop the library work. The aim of this thesis is to picture how working in combined libraries affects high School librarians? own apprehensions of their professional identity. The results are based on in-depth interviews made with four high School librarians, working not only towards the students but also the public.

The aim of this Master?s thesis is to investigate different ways of illustrating the information literacy of librarians and with a pragmatic view survey what has been written about marketing the librarians. The thesis is based on a marketing theory introduced by Philip Kotler. He believes that marketing is a social process and that everything can be marketed. I have reviewed three marketing strategies and their significance in marketing the information literacy of librarians.

This thesis is about School libraries and the honour "School library of the year". I have examined the questions - Whats to say about school libraries in the curriculum and the library law? - Who administer the honour "School library of the year" and whats demanded to get it? - What have made the school libraries I have examined to school libraries of the year"? As theory I have used the Taxonomies of the School Library Media Program by David V. Loertscher. I have given a background to and defined the school library as a function, a room and in the teaching among others.