Folkbibliotekariens yrkesidentitet
vad den består av och hur den formas
YrkesrollerBibliotekariekompetensFolkbibliotekBibliotekarierDocumentationInformationLibrary scienceArchivisticsArkiv- och bibliotekskunskapDokumentationSocial Sciences
This master's thesis reports on our investigation of how the public librarian's professional identity is formed and what it is formed of. We have considered factors such as: education, competence and daily tasks. In order to fulfil this aim we have used a literature study on concepts such as competence, education, professional identity and profession. We have also carried out an empirical study where we have interviewed nine librarians on public libraries. The method of analysis is qualitative. The library education in Sweden has undergone extensive changes since the early seventies. Library education during the seventies and eighties were characterized by vocational training. The education since the nineties is instead characterized by an academic alignment. At the same time the society as a whole, and individuals within society, have been significantly affected by IT. This development has also affected libraries and librarianship as well as the education. Our conclusion is that depending on when the librarian got his/her degree the education to a certain extent forms the professional identity. We have also found that professional identity is mainly constructed by two competences; information retrieval and communication ability. All of the interviewed librarians agree on that the width of knowledge in information retrieval is unique for the librarian. We conclude that this constitutes the core of their professional identity.