Det öppna vardagsrummet ? Folkbiblioteket som mötesplats i den svenska dagspressen.
The purpose of my essay is to study the current debate on public library as a meeting place in the Swedish daily press. I have examined how the meeting function is used and how it is perceived and what it might mean to the public library. Through a selection process, I chose 18 relevant newspaper articles from the year 2006 to 2012. By implementing a content analysis, three themes were distinguished; ?the meeting place as a place to reside on?, ?the meeting place as an inclusion? and ?the meeting place as a culture and activity house? I have used Andersson, Scot-Hansen and Rabers theoretical models of the library's roles for my analysis. My study shows that the library's function as a meeting place is appreciated by the majority of the people. The library facilities are used for socialization as well as for the individual to be at peace. Many library users find social interaction through the cultural activities. The results indicate a development towards a library with sofas, cafeterias and scenes. The literature, however, has a secondary role in the modern library. Idea stores and hybrid library occurs in collaboration with other recreational activities to generate local hot spots. Ideologically, the library tends to give the market what it wants; it?s a populist strategy to ensure the library's benefit to the society. But the library´s social centers also remain a strong position among the library users.