Patienten och sjukhusbiblioteket. En diskursanalys av uppfattningar om sjukhusbibliotek och deras betydelser för patienten i tre svenska bibliotekstidskrifter
The aim of this Masters thesis is to study opinions about the Swedish hospital libraries and their activities for the patients, in a selection of Swedish library journal articles. The theoretical starting point is grounded in Laclau and Mouffes discourse theory. The empirical material consists of 43 articles from three library journals; Biblioteksbladet, Blänkaren and DIK-forum, published between 1990 and 2004. These are analysed through a reading scheme in four levels. In the empirical material two themes appear; the culture theme and the patient information theme. Opinions about the patients need of culture and of patient information and the role of the library and the librarian in relation to the themes emerge. There is a difference between how the themes are described in relation to the marketing of the library and the patients needs. The discourses identified are the culture discourse, the user discourse and the profession discourse. The culture discourse focuses on culture and how it may better conditions for the patients. The conservative approach within this discourse complicates the development of hospital library activities. The user discourse is characterised by its focus on the patients and their rights. Within this discourse there is a will to develop the hospital library according to the patients needs. The profession discourse has a library-centred approach where the competence of the librarian is of great importance. The main concern is information and information techniques, and culture is seen as a less powerful argument for the existence of the library.