The aim of this masters thesis is to examine what intentions handbooks, laws and regulations have had about children and childrens literature, as we think that they can serve as guiding principles for Childrens libraries in Sweden. The questions are: what signals have the Childrens libraries got from the documents concerning the view of children and childrens literature during the 20th century? What has the social opinion about children been during the 20th century? How have children been seen during the 20th century? The method we used is a qualitative source analysis of mention above documents seen from a hermeneutical point of view. This analysis is woven together with the social opinion on children during the 20th century. Our results show that the aim of childrens literature before 1945 was a pedagogic and moral one.

The aim of this master thesis was to find out about librarians opinions of Childrens libraries on the Internet, if it is a resource to reach children. Qualitative interviews were conducted with three librarians who had participated in the construction and development of Childrens libraries on the Internet. IT and the Internet play an important role in childrens lives and children are using it to a greater extent. Libraries have begun to integrate IT and Internet into their services and are offering service on the Internet. The public library websites are usually for grown-ups and very few are directed to children.

Barnens bibliotek, a Swedish Childrens Library on the Internet with a nationwide assignment is compared to three Childrens Library in the USA with local assignments. All four Childrens libraries on the Internet are compared in terms of content, form, purpose and if they stimulate childrens intelligences according to Howard Gardners theory about multiple intelligences. Three different instruments are used to review the websites. The instruments are created on the basis of literature and the website Barnens bibliotek. To complement these instruments, written interviews are performed with librarians responsible for each reviewed website.

The aim with this thesis is to examine how childrens librarians apprehend and use the nationally initiated reading project Bokjuryn as an instrument in their work. The main question is as follows: How does Bokjuryn work related to the way public libraries pass on literature? Two questions are asked: How does the childrens librarians use Bokjuryn as an instrument and how do they motivate their work with it? and How do the childrens librarians view the reading project Bokjuryn as a method of passing on literature? The study is based on qualitative interviews with five childrens librarians. As a theoretical starting-point Jofrid Karner Smidt´s work about mediation of literature has been used. A model has been created and used based on Louise Limbergs analyses of the differences between school libraries and public libraries to analyse the result of the interviews together with other literature.

The aim of this essay has been to find out if children can identify themselves in childrens literature describing children who have immigrated. We wanted to investigate if the interest in reading books about children who have immigrated was the same whether the investigated childrens origin was Swedish or not. We chose two books for this purpose. We also wanted to see what the access to books about children who have immigrated was at three libraries. The locations for the libraries were; in the investigated children´s school, at the main library in the municipality and at a smaller library also located in the municipality.

The aim of this Masters thesis is, with an exploratory stand, to examine the thoughts regarding gender perspective at childrens library service that are expressed from childrens librarians as well as the staff in administrative management. The purpose of the study is to generate ideas for further research and discussion regarding a gender perspective on the childrens library service. A total of eight interviews have been carried out. Three persons at the administrative level and five childrens librarians were interviewed. We also have examined if a gender perspective is expressed in the control documents, from international level to a local level, which the libraries could use when developing and planning their work.

The aim of this study is to examine the interaction between a group of multilingual, twelve-year-old children, and three libraries. The children live in a suburb of a larger city. The three libraries are their school-library, the library in their suburb and the main library in the city. We have examined if and how the children use the libraries, what the libraries mean to them in their daily life and what their possibilities are when it comes to participate in and influence activities and collections at the libraries. We have pursued qualitative interviews with sixteen children in grade six and three librarians, working with multilingual children at the three libraries.

BarnOPAC is a Swedish library interface for children. It was launched in public libraries in Sweden in 2001 and has now become a part of library software equipment in several public libraries. The purpose of the thesis is to investigate the interface BarnOPAC on the basis of the childrens perspective. The questions raised consider: how children experience and handle this interface, how library staff experience it and what viewpoints librarians have on childrens use of it. For this purpose we implemented a user study including eight children using the interface in a school library.

The purpose of my Masters thesis is to investigate how childrens librarians in public libraries perceive and meet imposed queries during the reference interview with children and young people. What do childrens librarians think about imposed queries from children and young people? What problems can arise during a reference interview with children and young people, and what strategies can be used to solve them? How can childrens librarians prepare for imposed queries from children and young people that have arisen in school related situations? The study was carried out at public libraries in Sweden. In the review of the literature results from prior research and other relevant material are presented. The theoretical framework includes a communication model on imposed queries developed by Gross, and two other models Levels of Mediation and Zone of Intervention, developed by Kuhlthau.

This thesis analyses how friendship between children is described in four Swedish childrens books, published in 1995-2001 and recommended in Barnbokstipset, which is used in libraries for recommending books. Today there are many childrens books that describe various aspects of childrens everyday lives and these books can have an influence on the children who read them. But I found that there has not been much research about how friendship is described in childrens books, although much has been written about the importance of social relationships with peers for childrens lives and development. I analyze the books one by one with the help of a number of questions and categories that I have constructed beforehand. In the analysis I apply Zick Rubins theory of two different stages in childrens understanding of friendship and William Corsaros theory of interactive space which deals with who is allowed to join in games and friendships and who is not allowed to do so and how this is played out.

The aim of this masters thesis is to examine how some childrens librarians in public libraries reason about Wahlströms series books. During the 1970s, there was a discussion about the series books, and the general meaning was, among other things, that the books should not be available at libraries. Therefore, we also want to study if the arguments for and against the series books presented today are any different than those presented in the 1970s. For this examination, two methods have been used. We have done qualitative interviews with nine childrens librarians, and in order to find the arguments presented in the 1970s, we have studied the literature regarding the mentioned discussion.

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 purpose of this master thesis is both to interpret the articles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child from a public library point of view and to investigate how childrens librarians in the county of Norrbotten view their working situation in their relation to the users. This purpose leads to the main question: How do the childrens librarians and the childrens library consultant describe the present and the future of the childrens library activities in the sparsely populated regions in the county of Norrbotten? The subquestions are: What articles from the Childrens Rights Convention are the most relevant for the public library? In what way can you notice the Childrens Rights in the way the childrens librarians work towards the users? What part of the childrens library activity is the most important according to the childrens librarians and the childrens library consultant? The thesis is based on qualitative interviews with childrens librarians and the childrens library consultant of Norrbotten and field observations. The result of the study shows that the articles we found most relevant for the public library are 2, 3, 6, 12, 13, 14, 17, 23, 28/29, 30, 31 and 42. The Childrens Rights can be noticed in several ways in the childrens library activities.

The aim of this masters thesis is to investigate how childrens librarians deal with gender issues in their work when acquiring and mediating books to children, and how reviews in Bibliotekstjänsts Sambindning can be of help in this aspect. The thesis focuses on children between 6 and 12 years of age and their reading of fiction. Four interviews with childrens librarians and an examination of reviews in Sambindningen have been carried out. The reviews were examined both by finding out with what frequency gender issues are dealt with and by studying 20 childrens books from a gender perspective, comparing my judgement with the one they got in the reviews. The examination of Sambindningen showed that the reviews therein only sporadically bring up gender issues.

The purpose of our master thesis was to investigate how a multicultural society is reflected in childrens books picture books, books for children and young people, published in 2002. We found this issue interesting since children of today experience a change in society, where people of many ethnicities, cultures and religions live together to a greater extent than before. Since children in their everyday life are exposed to these different cultures, we think they also should be exposed to them in the books they read. In order to enhance an understanding of why such books are important to children, especially immigrant children, we have in our thesis included a passage with childrens linguistic development, identification and stereotypes. Other passages concern libraries and their roles in a multicultural society.