Biblioteksreportage
dagspressens bild av folkbibliotekens verksamhet
The aim of this bachelor?s thesis is to investigate how the activities of the public library are portrayed by the Swedish press. It poses the following questions: What kinds of public library activities are portrayed in the Swedish press? What image does this depiction purvey to the general public about the societal role of public libraries?A model of four library spaces developed by Skot-Hansen, Hvenegaard Rasmussen, and Jochumsen is used as the theoretical framework for this study. Qualitative content analysis is applied to 173 Swedish newspaper articles that describe public library activities.The analysis reveals that articles about many kinds of public library activities get published in the Swedish press, but that some activities occur more frequently than others. Articles depicting the public library as a place of literature, a place for lectures, and as a place where you can spend your free time are common, whereas articles depicting the library as a place for seeking information are rare.The essay concludes that if the public libraries want the press to give an accurate account of the roles of the modern public library, they need to make sure that more articles are published which highlight the library?s role not only as a tool for entertaining people, but also for empowering them.