Lustfyllda möten med böcker och bibliotek
barnbibliotekariers läsfrämjande metoder för sexåringar, samt läsning och böcker för den åldern
In this thesis I investigate what librarians working with children do for six-year-olds at the libraries in order to stimulate them to read. I also investigate how children of this age read and what books are like for these beginners. The background for the thesis is that reading decreased a lot in ages three to eight during the 1980s and 1990s. My aim is to see what projects, methods and other strategies there are to get children to read. The method used is case study. I did my survey at three libraries, in Kungsbacka, Gothenburg and Partille. I interviewed three librarians, did observations of the childrens library and looked to the steering documents. I found that the most common way that librarians encourage six-year-olds is library visits, where the children get to know the library and experience books in different ways. The librarians are also well aware that they need to stimulate reading, and therefore they arrange different activities for the children. It's important to cooperate with adults who are close to the children. Furthermore it's important to make the books interesting and appealing; their shape and content should fit the six-year-old. Also the child area in the library needs to communicate with the child, e.g. through signs and furnishing. Books are important for children's growth and maturity for example they can bring about knowledge, imagination, therapy and linguistic awareness. Librarians need to think broadly about the selection of books they present children need a rich variety of books with different content, style and shape. The librarians find that most six year olds are in school now, not so much in preschool as before and that makes some difference to their tasks.