Bookcrossing ? vad är det? En kvalitativ användarstudie av bookcrossare
The purpose of this thesis was to explore the phenomenon called bookcrossing. To fulfill this I have asked the following research questions: Why do people participate in bookcrossing?What functions do books have for bookcrossers? The method used is qualitative, semi structured interviews. Four active bookcrossers have been interviewed. These interviews revealed that bookcrossing as an activity in a medium sized town is very small. It also revealed that many of the books that the respondents place out are never registered on the website, and probably get picked up by people who do not understand the concept of bookcrossing. Theories by Tveit and Ross have been used on the social function of books, and reading as a social activity. The results confirm the notion presented by Ross et. al, that reading is becoming an increasingly social and collective activity. One of the lessons learned from this study is that bookcrossing activity probably is greater in bigger cities. If a bigger city had been investigated, the result may have been much different. For bookcrossing to function well it probably requires a large population to draw from.