*Nr 1 Hillevi Alfsdotter, Helena Lundin: Dokumenthantering i en föränderlig organisation - en studie av arkivfunktionen i ett medelstort företag (Document Management in an organization in change, a study of the function of the archive in an averagesized company)
The purpose of this essay is to illustrate Document Management in an organization in change, in a medium-sized company. We have interviewed three groups of employees: the archivist, six archive co-ordinators and all employees in a small department. We have gathered the questions around three different themes. The first theme is about how they experience the function archivist, the archive co-ordinators and the department. The second theme is about how they experience the information systems, and the third is about how they experience document retrieval. We also have made extensive studies of relevant literature around these issues. Based on our findings from the interviews and from the literature, we then interpreted the results. We find that it is important to work towards a vision and in order to reach that vision one must have goals. We also find that organization culture, participation when decisions are made and motivation are very important factors in Document Management. The leaders of the company must realize the benefit of a well-functioning Document Management. Otherwise there will be no change of attitude among the employees.
*Nr 2 Karen L. Tøsse: En studie av Internetanvändning bland medlemmar i Amnesty International (A Study of Internetuse amongst Members of Amnesty International)
For human rights organisations the Internet has become an important new tool in their work, being used to promote information about human rights and protect victims of violations. The organisations are provided with new opportunities for communication and also for obtaining, storing and distributing information. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate how members of Amnesty International, Norway, use the Internet. The study has been concentrated around four specific areas. How is the Internet used? What advantages has Internet provided for activists? What are the disadvantages? To which extent are the human rights organisations' umbrella sites known and used? In order to investigate these questions I undertook three personal interviews and one group interview. Ten people were included in the study. The result showed that all but two people used e-mail in their involvement with AI. For the interviewees employed by Amnesty International, the Internet provided quicker and more effective means for distributing information to the members. There are also economic advantages for Amnesty, as information can be distributed to members, and reports published via the Internet. Negative aspects to effective use of the Internet such as unevenly developed infrastructure on a global basis, language barriers, knowledge of Internet use, information overload, did not effect their work adversely. More problematic was to find reliable sources of information and to retrieve information effectively. The umbrella sites of lager human rights organisations was known to few of the members, and used regularly only by one of the employees. No information or courses on Internetuse had been offered to the members of the organisation. For the members of the local Amnesty group the introduction of Internet did not alter their way of working. The International headquarters of Amnesty provided the information needed for their work.
*Nr 3 Jenny Westlin Green: Den gränslösa samlingen: de fria webbresursernas plats i beståndsutvecklingen på några svenska forskningsbibliotek (The Boundless Collection: Free Internet Resources in Collection Management)
The aim of this master's thesis is to describe the management of free Internet resources in three Swedish research libraries. With the starting point in the increased quantity and importance of these resources, together with reflections on the change of the concept of collection, the thesis shows how and to what extent these freely accessible Internet resources are being integrated in the day-to-day work with collection development. It also elucidates the problems with the free Internet resources from the research libraries’ points of view. The study is based upon analyses of collection management literature and qualitative interviews with librarians at the chosen libraries. The thesis shows that the research libraries still have not come very far in their work of integrating the free Internet resources in their collections. Only one of the examined libraries mentions the free Internet resources in its collection development policy, and none of them have worked out routines for how to manage these resources. What characterizes the management of free Internet resources in the examined libraries is a kind of uncertainty of what is possible to do with them, a fear of the uncontrollable part of the medium, and an expectant attitude. There are no signs of a fundamental transformation of collection management, but rather of a cautious modernization of already existing structures and routines. The barriers for a more widespread use of the free Internet resources that were found, are almost identical with those mentioned in the literature, and consist of institutional inertia as well as the transient character of Internet resources.
*Nr 4 Mattias Åström: Automatisk textsammanfattning: en experimentell studie (Automatic text summarization: an experimental study)
The principal aim of this thesis is to test if extracts, produced by the automatic summarizer "Copernic Summarizer", are possible to use as abstracts. The aim is also to give a picture of what automatic summarization is and why it is motivated. Three questions are asked: What is automatic summarization and what can it be used for? Is it possible to replace the author-written abstracts with extracts from "Copernic Summarizer"? Is automatic summarization motivated for the different areas of use that are identified in the first question? An automatic summarizer is a program that is intended to summarize text automatically and it can be used for different purposes, for example for summarizing WebPages or scientific articles. To answer the second question an experiment is carried out. Five empirical articles are summarized with "Copernic Summarizer" and a qualitative method is used which is intended to evaluate the content and readability of the extracts. The content of the extracts is compared against the author-written abstracts. The results show that two of five extracts could replace the abstracts, though one of the acceptable extracts was a borderline case. The conclusion is that in most of the cases you can not replace abstracts with extracts from "Copernic Summarizer", even though the result sometimes is acceptable. The last question is discussed and the author suggests that automatic summarization might be more useful on the Internet than for producing abstracts from scientific articles.
*Nr 5 Krister Nyeland: Klassifikation av musikalier – En komparativ studie av Klassifikationssystem for svenska bibliotek och The British catalogue of music classification (Classification of printed music – A comparative study of Klassifikationssystem för svenska bibliotek and The British catalogue of music classification)
The purpose of this Master thesis is to study the structure and some central themes of classification in two different classification schemes for scores. These are the Swedish system Klassifikationssystem för svenska bibliotek (SAB), and The British catalogue of music classification (BMC). The examination is focusing on comparing the structure and division of musical classes and the notation and auxiliary tables in the schedules. One of the purposes is to show advantages and disadvantages with the different practical applications of the main schedules. The study is giving a theoretical framework by covering some central topics in the theory of classification and by giving examples of how scores have been treated in various different universal- and special schemes. The results showed that SAB has a better and more intuitive approach and an easier systematization of the schedules and the different categories. The notation is also generally shorter with SAB, and the different elements within it are easier to distinguish. BMC have a highly specialized structure that lacks some of the more intuitive steps that SAB has. One reason for this is that the two systems have different users and also different applications.
*Nr 6 Inga Lundqvist: KOM LOSS – En studie av Läs- och skrivstugans verksamhet på tre bibliotek i Västra Götalandregionen (KOM LOSS – A study of the "Reading and Writing Corner" at three libraries in the region of Västra Götaland)
The purpose of this Master Thesis is to investigate whether the technical service available in the "Reading and Writing Corner" has an influence on the total quality of service in a public library. This service is intended to give sensory/print-handicapped persons access to information. The title KOM LOSS is a Swedish expression for "come on" and LOSS is short for reading and writing support. I have chosen to study three libraries in the region of Västra Götaland, Sweden. The thesis examines total quality from the aspects of goal steering, accessibility, education and marketing. I have also investigated how well the library itself is adapted to disabled persons. In order to inform myself about library service for the disabled I have studied literature on the subject. My thesis contains a summery of these documents and is also based on interviews. I have used Total Quality Management as a quality theoretical starting point for my analysis and discussion. The results of the analysis show that the service provided for sensory/print-handicapped people is of good quality in the "Reading and Writing Corner", but in order to create a more effective utilization of the resources, the library ought to frame distinct goals for the "Reading and Writing Corner". The library staff should have a working knowledge of different kinds of disabilities and they should be trained in how to interact with disabled persons. It is also important that they can evaluate and consequently adjust the services provided at the "Reading and Writing Corner" when necessary.
*Nr 7 Jessica Lindström, Hanna Söderlund: Personaltidningen i organisationen - en användarstudie på Volvo Information Technology (The in-house magazine – a user study at Volvo Information Technology)
The purpose of this thesis is to explore how the organizational information is carried out through the in-house magazine at Volvo Information Technology, furthermore to identify its functions, according to the employees and literature within the discipline. Through a readership survey on the web which was sent out to 200 employees worldwide, we received results which have been compared with literary conclusions. The main findings showed that attitudes and behaviour differ among the employees but in general the in-house magazine is highly estimated. It also revealed that they desired different kinds of information through this channel, such as activities in the different departments throughout the world, competitors, marketing of products and technology. The in-house magazine should, among other things support solidarity and democracy by letting employees participate in the magazine in different ways. It should also reflect processes and goals in the company. Our recommendation is that the organization should stimulate the participation of the employees in the in-house magazine and develop more specific goals for this information channel.
*Nr 8 Anna Rydén-Hamström: Folkbibliotek och resursfördelning. En jämförande studie av sju folkbibliotek i Uppsala kommun. (Public library and allocation of funds. A comparative study of seven public libraries in the community of Uppsala.)
Allocation of funds to public libraries is uneven and this study will try to explain the reasons and clarify why the allocations of funds are distributed like they are and what calculations influenced the financial apportionment. This master thesis accounts for allocation in seven public libraries in Uppsala. The study shows that one reason for uneven allocations is demographic. Another reason is that the library has come into a good or bad circle. There are no models for allocation of funds to public libraries in Uppsala, that’s why their allocations are given after a percentage increase of earlier years allocations, and that leads to a good or bad circle. If the bad circle trend is to be broken the Library managers have to observe the factors that influence their allocation. The conclusions in this study are that these factors are, first of all, how adapted the public library is to its local environment and its political society. Other factors are how co-ordinated different individuals in public organizations are and how these individuals act together with the inhabitants in its local environment and also how prepared the Library manager is in the meeting of politicians and in the budget process. To break the bad circle the Library managers have to adjust the goal of the library regularly and also become responsive to the community and adjust the goal according to the political environment. It is also important to influence the cooperation between different individuals in society, like politicians, inhabitants and other individuals in the public organizations in the local environment of the library.
*Nr 9 Ola Törjas: August Strindbergs arkiv – från privatarkiv till kulturarv: En studie i proveniensprincipens tillämpning och nationalistisk historietolkning. (The Strindberg Archives – from Private Archives to Cultural Heritage: A Study of the Application of the Principle of Provenance and of a Nationalistic Interpretation of History.)
In this thesis I examine the events that followed the death of August Strindberg and resulted in his private belongings becoming an important part of Sweden’s cultural heritage. My purpose has been twofold: firstly, to identify which aims were sought to be achieved when dealing with Strindberg's archives and his home and to relate these to a nationalistic interpretation of history, secondly, to relate this work to the then newly introduced archival principle, the Principle of provenance. I identified three different aims: firstly the economic aim must be seen in the light of an increasingly expanding publishing market. I argue that the author gained a new and important role in the general social debate (a nationalistic one), an important point with regard to my following conclusions. Secondly, the aim to store and display the material in a museum is discussed in relation to different views of cultural history and the interpretation of history. August Strindberg was himself involved in this debate and therefore a close connection can be found between different theoretical views and the practical problems of presenting history in a museum. The third aim was research which is, of course, also related to the previous aspects and which is furthermore affected by an individualisation of historical research and the scientific belief that a distance in time is needed before the researcher can fully understand what is being studied. I discuss the introduction of the Principle of Provenance from a practical and theoretical angle. A connection between the principle's respect for the integrity of the individual and the individualistic historical view of the Swedish nationalism is made. Through different agents with different aims, we can also see several ways of interpreting the meaning of the principle and how they practise it.
*Nr 10 Andrea Landström, Martina Lindblad: Att söka samhällsinformation. En användarundersökning (Seeking citizenship information. A user study)
Citizenship information is defined as the information the citizen needs to be able to take part in and influence the society. Since it is a democratic issue that information concerning the citizens’ role in society really reaches the citizens, it is of importance to study how the citizens proceed when they have a need for this information. The aim of this Master’s thesis is to investigate how our eight informers proceed when they experience this need in a non-work situation. We performed qualitative interviews. The most important part of our interviews was the introduction of some fictitious problems to the informants. We wanted them to tell us how they thought they would go about to find information revolving the problems. We placed the answers in a model over the human information behaviour. It showed that the informants mostly used the Internet, mass media and personal contacts when they had a need for citizenship information. The problems’ character, problems concerning simple facts or problems of a more orienting character, was of importance when it comes to how the informants choose to proceed. The more personally involved the informants became, the more an active search they performed. We were interested in whether the public library were used as a source of citizenship information or not, and it was evident that it wasn’t.
*Nr 11 Malin Håkanson: Genus och vetenskaplig kommunikation: en bibliometrisk studie av amerikansk biblioteksforskning (Gender and scholarly communication : a bibliometric study of American library science)
The purpose of this paper is to examine how the relationship between the socially constructed genders is manifested in American library science. To visualize gender, bibliometric analyses of peer reviewed articles published in three core journals of library science between 1980 and 2000 inclusive, are performed. The three journals are: College & Research Libraries, Journal of Academic Librarianship and Library Quarterly. Questions: 1. Does gender affect the publishing process regarding the distribution of female and male authors? 2. Does gender influence female and male authors' choice of references? 3. Does gender affect the share of citations received by works of women and men respectively? 4. Does gender influence collaboration regarding the distribution of co-authoring female and male authors? The bibliometric analyses indicate differences between the shares of female and male authors, as well as differences in the attention women and men give to and receive from other female and male authors respectively. It is assumed that there exists a gender contract (an implicit agreement of how men and women are expected to behave towards each other) which is renegotiated during the period of time of this study, seemingly to the benefit of female authors as they are given a larger space in publishing. But concerning citations there is a delay in regard to male authors' tendency to cite works by women. This might indicate that the importance of gender has not diminished but become more subtle and complex. The conclusion is that gender indeed influences publishing, referencing, citation and collaboration processes of library science.
*Nr 12 Marie Johansen: Läslust : ett projekt för och med vuxna med läs- och skrivsvårigheter, ett samarbete mellan en lärare och en bibliotekarie (The Joy of Reading : a project, with a teacher and librarian in co-operation, involving adults with reading and writing disabilities)
This thesis presents and evaluates a project, undertaken in 2001 by a librarian (the writer of this thesis) and a teacher. We met with a number of adults with reading and writing disabilities, and presented and discussed books and experiences of reading, with the aim to increase their joy of reading, as well as finding out more about our own ways of co-operating with each other across our professional borders. The documentation and evaluation emphasizes on the process and the results of the project, and on our own participation, by asking the following questions: How did we carry out the project? What obstacles did we meet? What went well/wrong? What did we achieve related to our goals? In order to illuminate the project from different angles, consequences of reading and writing disabilities for adults are discussed, as well as the specific nature of adult education and projects more or less related to ours. Action research is chosen as a method, because it allows the process of the project, and our own learning process, to be exposed. This suits the purpose of the thesis, as we want to present both advantages and disadvantages with our work, in order to learn from them. And as actions researchers we feel closely related to the participants of the project, as we are evaluated to the same degree. The formative evaluation can be followed in our diaries, with commentaries about what we learn, the difficulties we meet and how we change our plans. The summative evaluation with all our new knowledge is concluded after carrying through with the project. We managed to accomplish our goals to some extent. Some participants expressed a new joy of reading, some did not. Moreover, me and my colleague learnt a lot about cooperating. Teacher and librarian need each other to be able to reach certain individuals, and we have a lot to learn from each other in trying to find out particular needs, dreams and interests of a person, all of which is important when you want to find her a suitable book.
*Nr 13 Jenny Lundin, Susanne Mandrén: Bibliotekariens nya arbetsmarknad (The librarians’ new labour market)
The purpose of this thesis is to examine why graduates in librarian- and information science are employed by private companies. An initial explanation could be the influence of information technology and its impact on the librarian. A second factor relates to how employers regard the librarian outside the confines of the traditional labour market. The study is primarily based upon qualitative interviews with representatives of Swedish companies who have employed librarians since 1993, the year that the education achieved third level academic recognition. Theoretically we relied upon Manuel Castells discussion on the rise of the information society and it’s influence on companies and the labour market. The study generates four major results. First of all, a growing flow of information directing company focuses on the very core business. The competence of the librarian in maintaining and updating the information base that the company generates in addition to knowledge of the core business enhances the librarians’ status vis a vis employers. Secondly, knowledge of and ability to structure large bodies of information coherently is a feature which librarians share with other work categories, therefore accentuating the importance for the individual librarian to possess initiative and communication skills sufficient to achieve success in the private sector. Thirdly, we see that employers are not always well informed as regards those skills which librarians have to offer. As a result prospective employers seldom headhunt this occupational group specifically. Furthermore marketing of librarian education at third level with regard to employers is non-existent. Developments within the labour market which are the fourth area of study show less clearly defined relationships between educational qualifications in certain disciplines and actual working roles. This results in major opportunities for many categories of graduates, including librarians in the labour market when endeavouring to gain employment within new fields. However, it would appear that this trend has not resulted in a more positive attitude by employers with regard to the desirability of librarians as employees within the private sector.
*Nr 14 Ragnhild Boräng: Tillgänglighet och verksamhet för dyslektiker på folkbibliotek i Södermanland (Accessibility and activities for dyslectic individuals in public libraries in Södermanland)
The aim of this thesis was to investigate the accessibility and activities for dyslectic adults in public libraries in the Swedish county of Södermanland. The questions that were to be answered were four; to what extent do the libraries provide book material and special computer software? To what extent do activities occur? Does the library staff have awareness and knowledge of dyslexia and of activities for dyslectics? What are the obstacles for good service for dyslectic library users? Two methods were used. As a first step, a questionnaire was sent to thirty public libraries. The questionnaire elicited a low level of response, but gave in spite of this an overview of the situation for dyslectics in the libraries of the county. Secondly, four librarians with responsibility for people with special demands were interviewed. The collected material was then compared with previous research and council directions that regulate the activities of public libraries. The result showed that relevant book material was provided at the libraries, but that computer software was less common. The occurrence of activities for dyslectic individuals was very varied. Knowledge and awareness of dyslectics’ special needs was quite good among the librarians. Obstacles to good service were problems to reach the "invisible" dyslectics and the librarians’ lack of time.
*Nr 15 Magdalena Håkansson: Vem är bibliotekarien? En dammig bokmal eller en informationsexpert? – en explorativ undersökning om olika gruppers bild av bibliotekarien. (Who Is the Librarian? A Dusty Bookworm or an Information Expert – an Explorative Survey of Different Groups’ Image of the Librarian.)
The aim of this Master’s thesis is to explore the image of the librarian from three groups: librarians, researchers and directors of staff from industrial companies. The purpose was also to study the image of the future librarian as the Swedish School of Library and Information Science at the University College of Borås introduces it. As my theoretical framework I used communication theories and marketing theories. I searched answers to the following questions: - Is there any resemblance at all between the common stereotypes of the librarian and the images given by the participants of the survey? - How do the librarians view themselves? - What is the image of the librarian among the researchers who use the services of the library? - What is the image of the librarian among the directors of staff from the industrial companies? - What is the image of the librarian given by an educational institution during the basic education? I contacted the participants and asked them to draw a picture of a librarian and write a short text about the picture. Afterwards I analysed the pictures after methods usually used for propaganda pictures or advertising pictures. To answer my last question I worked with material like course descriptions, handbooks for students and records from the basic education stored in the archive of the University College. The material was of 1993 to 2002. I found some resemblance between the images of the participants and the stereotypes. The most common image was the one of being a librarian as a typically female job. Also the stereotype of the reading librarian was confirmed. Besides the images of the participants were more positive than I had expected. Usually the stereotypes are not particularly flattering. The last question has no simple answer as the institution does not educate librarians any longer, not after 1993. Instead the students study library and information science. This subject is a rather large field, which contains no clear boundaries. The institution educates information experts instead of librarians.
*Nr 16 Helena Carlsson, Linda Gustafsson: Vetenskaplig kommunikation i förändring: en fallstudie av ett svenskt forskningsbiblioteks beståndsutveckling (Scholarly Communication: a case study of the collection management of a Swedish research library)
For hundreds of years the scientific journals has been the foremost tool for scholarly communication. Publishing of research results is very important for scientists. Often the research is bound to the university and the research libraries supplies the scientist with all journals needed. The last decades the libraries have seen the costs for subscriptions to journals explode. Commercial publishers often lie behind the mostly unmotivated escalation in price. The purpose of the study has been to analyse which strategies a Swedish research library has to meet this changes in journal costs and electronic development, and also to analyse the development of alternative scientific publishing. We tried to find the answer to these four questions: If you look at scientific journals, what consequences has the last years of economic and electronic development done to the strategies the library has got for collection management? How does the library work with collection management of scientific publications? How do the library weigh different publications and forms of publications (monographs, e-journals and paper journals) against each other? Do the library develop new forms for scientific publishing? The case study shows that the library has developed several different strategies to meet the changes within the formal scientific communication. The libraries have been heavily affected due to the rising expenses. The consequences has been cancellation of subscriptions and lowered grants for monographs. To meet the changes the university has, the last years, developed an own model for publishing scientific publications produced by the researchers at the university. Our conclusion is that the lowered economic resources due to rising subscription fees affects the library negatively and that many of the strategies the library has developed to meet the changes within scientific publishing aims to set free resources or in many cases set free means to finance the journal collection. We believe that the university is on the right track when developing an own model for publication. We also believe that co-operation with other universities have to increase. The communication inside the university will have to improve to raise the knowledge for the role of the library in the university of the future. A possible future role that would strengthen the library's position within the university is to be responsible for the university's scientific publication. To accomplish this more co-operation and communication is needed between library and university.
*Nr 17 Hanna Johansson: Marknadsföring av licensierade e-tidskrifter på akademiska bibliotek (Marketing of licensed e-journals in Academic Libraries)
The purpose of this thesis is to examine if academic libraries market e-journals, and if so how this work is carried out. The ambition is to study what channels and methods the Libraries use, to inform their users that they have access to e-journals. The aim is also to survey if the libraries evaluate the use of the e-journals, and if so how. The objectives of the work are reached by using two main methods, document analysis and qualitative interviews. The study has been performed on three university libraries. Interviews were carried out with five librarians responsible for management of e-journal in different ways. Marketing material like web-sites, signs and brochures, have been analysed. The theory part refers to general marketing theories. Different projects are being reviewed, that give examples of how academic libraries market their information resources. The literature also discusses management of electronic library services. The survey shows that web-sites, information desks and education are mostly used to inform the users about e-journals. These are very important marketing channels for the Libraries. Libraries have different traditions of e-publishing and different experiences among researchers and students and this influences the usage and marketing. The examination reveals the attitudes of the librarians towards marketing, and what problems the Libraries have to reach all users with information about the library service. The conclusions of the thesis are that planed marketing activities for e-journals are not performed at the studied Libraries. The Libraries need to develop marketing goals and better channels for information and communication towards their users, to reach out with sufficient information about Library service and resources.
*Nr 18 Åsa Bååth: Är problemen ett problem för ungdomsboken? Hur uppfattar ungdomar beskrivningarna av problem i samtidsrealistisk ungdomslitteratur utgiven 2001? (Are problems a problem for the youth novel? How does the youth perceive the problem descriptions of the contemporary period in the youth novels published during 2001?)
There can be a gap between the author and the reader. This gap is especially remarkable when the author is an adult and the reader is a young person. The librarian has an important role as an intermediary of literature when it comes to selecting literature for young people. From this perspective the purpose of this paper has been to investigate how young people comprehend the problems and the stories of youth novels, first published in 2001, and to investigate to what extent descriptions of problems occur in this literature and what kind of problems that are described. The investigation consists of three parts: an examination of reviews of youth novels written by editors from Bibliotekstjänst and an examination of a number of youth to examine a number of youth novels that have been read, and sixteen interviews with college students in the first and third grade have also been done. To analyze the results I have chosen to use different parts of literature reception science. The result indicates that the young people who have been interviewed are mostly positive to the book they have read. They think that the author often has succeeded in capturing the thoughts of the youth as one of the young interviewed expressed it. They recognize the main plot but the extent of recognition varies when it comes to the different problems that are described in the books. The older youth often reacted on the form of the book. A split was shown between those who liked the theme in the book and felt that the book is a youth novel and those who felt that they soon will become an adults and want to be addressed in a more grown-up way. The absolute majority of the youth novel s published in 2001 that had problems as a theme also often included several different problems.
*Nr 19 Sara Lindwall: Släktforskare – ett nödvändigt ont? En undersökning av bibliotekariers och släktforskares attityder gentemot släktforskning på bibliotek. (Family historians – a necessary evil? A study of librarians’ and family historians’ attitudes regarding genealogy in libraries.)
The aim of this thesis is to examine how librarians and family historians experience their interaction at the reference encounter, what influences these views and how they affect the service; whether the family historians are aware of these views; which subject knowledge is needed and how this knowledge affects work performance; if there is a need for continuing education, and finally, if the family historians themselves can work as a resource for the library or the librarians? The thesis consists of three parts; in the first a theoretical frame was constructed around the concepts service, continuing education, subject knowledge and attitudes. Role theory was used as a theoretical background to show how expectations influence professional roles. The second part consists of the results given from the qualitative interviews with librarians and surveys with family historians that were performed. In the last part a discussion from the theoretical and empirical information earlier received was made. According to the family historians the service given from librarians is good but a change in knowledge is needed. Although appreciated by the family historians the librarians of ten have a negative view of them, probably caused by insecurity as a result of lack of knowledge. Continuing education and instructions from family historians and subject specialists can help to change this.
*Nr 20 Lisbeth Feldt: Tillbaka på högskolan. Faktorer som påverkar informationssökningen hos den vuxne studeranden till grundskollärare (Back to university. Factors that influence the information seeking of student teachers)
The purpose of this Master's thesis is to examine why mature students of education are studying at university for the second time in their lives. The questions at issue were: Why did they return to the university? How did they search for information as mature students? What characterises the information needs of mature students of education? How have they learned about information seeking? Another focus of interest was how their every day life influenced their information seeking behaviour. Six qualitative interviews with mature students have been conducted. The theoretical framework of the study is based on previous studies of information seeking in different contexts conducted by Savolainen, Höglund & Persson and Patrick Wilson. The students in my investigation mostly seek information among family, friends and earlier colleagues, and from the literature issued by the institution. The informal sources are most common among the students. The adult students’ former experience also often compensates the lack of practice information seeking.
*Nr 21: Helena Edenholm: "Fråga doktorn" – en undersökning av kliniskt verksamma läkares informationssökningsbeteende ("Ask the doctor" – an investigation of physicians’ information-seeking behaviour)
The main purpose of this study was to examine the information-seeking behaviour of physicians. Four major problem areas were addressed: - Which information sources did the doctors mostly use? - Were there any underlying causes that had an influence on the information-seeking behaviour? - Did they use medical libraries? - Were there any differences between female and male physicians’ information-seeking behaviour? Ten clinical physicians, five women and five men, who were specialising in paediatrics, were included in the study. A qualitative method with personal interviews was used. The description and analysis of the empirical material was made according to user oriented theories as proposed among others by Byström & Järvelin, Malmsjö, Höglund & Persson and Block & Lagberg. The conclusion of the study was that the physicians mostly used oral information sources when they episodically needed information related to the management of problematic cases. At regular needs they usually used medical textbooks and medical journals. They seldom used medical libraries and databases for clinical problems. There were several reasons why the physicians preferred oral information sources. Often the complexity of the cases made it easier to discuss the situation with a more experienced colleague than to find out the recommended way of medical examination and treatment from the literature. The doctors were also eager to follow the informal rules of treatment at their hospital in order to avoid not recommended ways of problem solution. The source of facts had to be reliable and the information from a trusted colleague at the clinic could usually be a warrant of safe and true information delivered in a quick and easy way. No gender differences in the information seeking behaviour could be detected but female doctors reported a need to further discuss medical problems with colleagues, which was uncommon among male doctors.
*Nr 22 Victoria Ekström, Anna Nilsson: Elektronisk publicering: vetenskapliga dokument med åtkomst via webben (Electronic Publishing: Scholarly Documents on the Web)
The aim of this master thesis is to study electronic publishing, and our main purpose is to examine different strategies of publishing such as: markup languages and page description formats. We examine in what context these strategies are used for publishing, when it comes to scholarly documents produced by Swedish universities and university colleges during the spring of 2002. We apply a sociological perspective as the theoretical framework for to identify the main purposes for scientists to publish their work. We also discuss properties belonging to the different formats: XML, HTML, PDF and PostScript. By doing a content based survey of the websites at Borås University College and at Gothenburg University, we have found that the most common form of electronic publishing, regarding scholarly documents, are lists with bibliographical information on publications and presentations of current research. PDF is the most common format used for full text documents, while XML is regarded the format of the future. When it comes to presentations of current research, HTML is the most used format. By doing a study of a project at Uppsala University we could identify difficulties and problems that can occur when starting and maintaining an electronic publishing project. Examples from other projects confirm these aspects.
*Nr 23 Rebecca Dutius: "där jag skulle liksom hitta ..allting..."; mötet mellan privatforskare och Kungliga Biblioteket ("where I would find....everything" ; the private researcher’s encounter with the Royal Library)
The purpose of this paper is to investigate and analyse the private researcher’s encounter with the Royal Library, national library of Sweden. The main focus is on answering the two questions: who is the private researcher and what is his/her impression of the Royal Library? These questions are answered from the vantage point of the following theoretical perspectives: library anxiety, Bourdieu, library architecture, gender studies and service management. The methods used are qualitative interviews, and textual analysis using the printout of these taped interviews along with notes and an earlier user study as material. The conclusions are that barriers with staff is the most frequent factor of library anxiety in the private researcher at the Royal Library, and mechanical barriers the least frequent. The private researcher are statistically most likely to be male and 55 years or more of age, which is a group that generally have low levels of library anxiety. The aspects of the Royal Library architecture most significant to the interviewees, are that the building has a sacred, church-like atmosphere and that very few books are visible to the visitor, these aspects could increase the levels of library anxiety. Habitus proved to be an important factor in the encounter. Problems with the quality of the library service provided was mostly due to; lack of space, opening hours, the time allowed to deliver a book from the stacks. Problems originating in library anxiety or any other of the perspectives studied could affect the experienced quality.
*Nr 24 Elisabet Risberg: Originalskrift i flerspråkiga bibliotekskataloger (Original script in multi-lingual library catalogues)
Romanization as a method in the bibliographic environment makes retrieval difficult in many aspects. The object of this thesis is to illustrate the importance and the possibility to include non-Roman script in the records of the library catalogue. The questions at issue are about the consequences of romanization, the technical requirements for implementing non-Roman script, and bibliographical resources that have been developed during the last 20 years. The thesis is based on a literature study and correspondence with people who are familiar with the subject. The thesis points out that Romanization causes information to be distorted in various ways and is inconsistent with the requirements of exactitude in bibliographic control. Different Romanization schemes make information exchange difficult and the method impede access to the literature for the readers. In the computerised environment different character-sets have been used in different settings to represent non-Roman script. The need for a single global character-set led to the development of the Unicode standard which has a capacity to encode all characters used for written languages. Queens Library in New York and SOAS in London are examples of libraries implementing original script. They use the bibliographic resources developed by OCLC and RLG which also are described in the thesis. In Sweden both LIBRIS and BURK are interested in the subject and discussions between the International Library of Stockholm and Btj/BURK are in progress. The conclusion is that Romanization constitutes a conflict between the treatment and the retrieval of document with non-Roman script. The solution is to describe the documents in their proper script and so treat all documents equivalently. This will increase retrieval and make the library more user-friendly.
*Nr 25 Carina Andersson: Informationsförmedlaren som kommunikatör (The information intermediary as communicator)
This is a study about the communication interaction in the context of the reference work at some public university-libraries and some private company libraries in Gothenburg and Borås. The primary purpose of the study is to investigate the communication interaction in a library situation. The second purpose is to deepen the knowledge, understanding and to establish what is important in this communication. Focus has been on how the intermediaries communicate and how she or he perceives this communication. The intermediary needs to manage the communication with all the different patrons and different information needs of the patrons. The method used is qualitative interviews about the communication in the reference work, and observations of the interactive communication in a library situation, according to Peter Ingwersen’s and Irene Wormell’s cognitive interactive communication model. The results of the study show that in spite of the technical development, the human communication still is important in the meditation of professional information. Technology can seldom replace the human communication, but supports it. The use of modern IT, in an active and well-disposed communication means efficiency and timesaving, independently of time and place, plus quality and value addition.
*Nr 26 Anne Marcusson: Biblioteks- och informationsvetenskapens framväxt och institutionalisering i Sverige (The development and institutionalization of Library- and information science in Sweden)
The aim of this Master thesis is to examine the institutionalization of Library- and Information Science in Sweden. I focus on the period 1978-1991, and pay special attention to the development of the discipline at the University College of Borås. My main method of investigation has been analysis of printed sources. After a brief description of the discipline and its history internationally, I describe how research and graduate education in Library- and Information Science developed in Sweden during the 20th century. A major part of the thesis is an analysis of three reports from the chosen time period which are all, with slightly different prerequisites, trying to find a solution to the problem of how to establish Library- and Information Science as an academic discipline in Sweden. I also examine how this problem was discussed in the library press. Finally I describe how research is organized at the Swedish School of Library and Information Science at the University College of Borås today. My conclusions are that the discipline was institutionalized more due to external reasons, such as the need for a more academically oriented graduate education for librarians, than to internal reasons, such as the development of a common scientific outlook for the entire field, and that I find it difficult to determine whether there is currently a shared epistemology in Swedish Library- and Information Science or not.
*Nr 27 Alexandra Forsberg: Klassifikationens roll på www: en studie av webbmiljöns påverkan på klassifikationens principer och funktioner (The role of classification on the web: a study of the effects of the web-environment on principles and functions of classification)
Principles that guide how a classification system should be structured have existed for more than a century. Traditional classification principles can be of great value for the design of classification schemes (directories) on the web. However, there are differences between the library context in which these principles originated, and the web. This thesis aims at investigating how changes in the context of classification affect the application of traditional principles of classification on the web. Another purpose is to see what implications this has for the design of classification schemes on the web. This thesis sets out to answering the following questions: Which principles are central to forming a functional classification system? What characteristics, with relevance to classification, separate the web-environment from the traditional library context? How do differences between these contexts influence principles and functions of classification on the web? What does this imply for system design on the web? This is attained by a study of literature. A systems-theory perspective is applied, which means that the study is set in a contextual framework, and focuses on the systematic order of classification systems. Electronic documents on the web have, in contrast to the library’s paperbased documents, no physical locality. Hypertext, which characterizes the web, has a non-sequential structure. These are keys factors that separate the flexible web-environment from the more static library context. As a consequence, several of the historical difficulties of library classification disappear. There is, for instance, no need for shelf location on the web. Virtual documents can have multiple locations to reflect a document’s many aspects. The following conclusions are made: Due to the web’s flexibility the principles that bring flexibility to a classification system lose some of their importance on the web, while the principles that generate stability and predictability remain valuable. Those last principles are therefore useful for system design on the web. The web’s "inherent" flexibility should also be considered in the design of a classification scheme on the web. It is shown here that browsing is suitable for the inexperienced user in seeking information on the web. An implication is that classification schemes on the web should be designed to support browsing. The browsing function of classification gains more importance on the web. Hierarchy, especially digitized hierarchy, supports browsing. Principles that generate a hierarchical structure are therefore useful for system design on the web.
*Nr 28 Kristina Passad: Informationskompetensen i användarundervisningen (The Information Literacy in User Education)
This master thesis investigates the user education. Christine Bruce has presented a theory of information literacy in her research which has resulted in seven different aspects of information literacy. In this study I wanted to investigate what aspects there were and what they looked like in a practical educational situation. The methods used for this study were observation and a questionnaire. I analysed the observations by using Bruce’s aspects of information literacy to group the observed activities into the different aspects. Four different groups of students were observed and the questionnaire was answered by three of these groups. I found that the information source aspect was the dominating aspect of information literacy in all four observed groups. This aspect revealed itself mostly when the librarians talked about and showed relevant databases. The information technology aspect, the process aspect and the aspect of controlling information could also be found. I found very little of the aspects of information literacy that deal with information use. There was a little difference in the picture of information literacy between the four observed groups of students. The information technology aspect and the aspect of controlling information could not be observed in one group and the aspects that deal with information use could be observed in only one group of students.
*Nr 29 Linnea Rådberg: Lustfyllda möten med böcker och bibliotek: barnbibliotekariers läsfrämjande metoder för sexåringar, samt läsning och böcker för den åldern (Pleasurable Encounters with Books and Libraries: Reading encouragement methods that librarians use for six-year-olds, and also reading and books for that age)
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 1980’s and 1990’s. 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 children’s 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.
*Nr 30 Charlotte Hansén Goobar: Bokprat pågår. Läsmiljö vid bokprat i samband med ett läsprojekt i skolan (Book Talk in Progress. Reading environment during booktalk in school in connection with a reading project)
This master’s thesis examines the reading environment during "booktalk", with special reference to a reading project in compulsory comprehensive and upper secondary schools in Stockholm. The main question is: What does the reading environment look like during booktalk? Three questions are asked: Which factors affect the reading environment? Which are the conditions concerning book selection and book availability? How do the librarians perform as enabling adults? Different groups of pupils, together with their teachers and the librarian, are studied during booktalks in five schools. The study uses a qualitative approach, which takes the form of open observations during 15 booktalks and one interview with the two librarians involved in the project and studies of literature. The theoretical framework is Aidan Chamber’s theory relating to reading environment and its effects upon the reading process. The questions are answered by analysing the empirical result together with the theory and the literature. The study shows that school libraries make a more stimulating environment than classrooms. The reading environment deteriorates when groups are too large in relation to the size of the room. The pupils’ interest decrease when booktalk proceeds for more than 30 minutes and if it takes place at an inconvenient time. Reading aloud has a positive effect on the pupils’ interest, unlike when general information about reading is given. The reading environment improves when librarians and teachers collaborate and demonstrate their own interest in literature. A wide book selection is offered by the project. Book availability is however low and because of that the pupils are unable to borrow books in connection with the booktalk. The librarians act as supportive adults by being flexible and responsive in relation to the pupils, regarding book choice, reading aloud and behaviour. They have knowledge of new children’s and youth literature and make efforts to mediate a positive and enjoyable attitude to reading.
*Nr 31 Lena Jonasson: "En barnbibliotekarie finner förr eller senare folksagan" – om folksagans ställning på fyra bibliotek ("A librarian sooner or later finds the fairy tale" – the status of fairy tales at four libraries)
The object of this master thesis was to examine the significance of fairy tales for children and the extent which children today are able to share fairy tales through the activity of the libraries. The main question was: how current were fairy tales at the investigated libraries’ activity for children and how current were fairy tales in today’s book publication? The qualitative methods used were in the form of interviews, statistics and source studies. The theoretical literature in this thesis described the folkloristic context of the fairy tales. There was also a psychological and a pedagogical view of the possibility of the fairy tales. The result of the study showed a consciousness among the interviewed librarians about fairy tales and its possibilities. The interviewed librarians mean that the universal in the fairy tales were one of its benefits. The fairy tales gave many opportunities for identification. Through the fairy tales the children developed empathy. A cultural heritage mediated through fairy tales. The fairy tales possessed a therapeutic function, which should bring about a carefulness with the use of them. Fairy tales were current at three of the four investigated libraries. The publication of fairy tales was, according to the author, relatively small. Although editions for the youngest children were more frequent.
*Nr 32 Paula Heim: SERVQUAL – En fallstudie (SERVQUAL – A case study)
In 2000 I carried out a SERVQUAL survey regarding the service quality of document delivery at Library of Medicine and Health Sciences in Oslo, Norway (UMH). UMH found the results to be useful, but personally I was not satisfied with the response rate nor the respondents’ comments on the survey itself. Instead of focusing on the outcome of the survey and possible reasons for poor Gap scores for the document delivery service at UMH, I turned my interest towards the SERVQUAL instrument itself. I did a case study based on the results of my survey, the vast research done by the creators of SERVQUAL and by people who have previously used the instrument. The analysis focused on: the adaptation of the SERVQUAL survey, the timing of the survey and the customers’ perception of their relation to UMH. The most obvious reasons for the shortcomings of the survey were the length of the survey and the fact that it confused the issue by mixing service quality and product quality. Several findings were illustrated in the Gap method, including among other specifics – marketing, internal research, external research and overall alignment with company objectives. Looking at the customer aspect, the problem appears to be that the libraries using UMH’s services do not see themselves as customers. Therefore, instead of placing demands on UMH, customers show sympathy and understanding for whatever shortcomings UMH might have. The results indicated very clearly that SERVQUAL can give the researcher valuable information as long as the precautions, i.e. the SERVQUAL literature, have been taken into consideration.
*Nr 33 Solveig Kraft, Lena Havel: Boksamtal : Intervjuer med bibliotekarier och deltagare i olika litteraturcirklar (Talking about books : interviews with librarians and participants in different literary circles)
The purpose of this master’s thesis is to examine how librarians work in a literary educational role with literary circles for adults and youth, in public libraries and at school. The study also examines whether participation in book discussion groups has any effect on participants and librarians regarding changes in reading habits and in personal development. Another aspect investigated was how participants experienced the atmosphere in the group. We have conducted qualitative interviews with five librarians who have lead different literary circles and with two participants from each literary circle. In all 13 interviews were conducted. Apart from the interviews 37 persons filled in a questionnaire. The literary circles we have examined is one for adults and one for youth in the senior level of the nine-year compulsory school where the participants read the same book and two circles with book tip for adults were the participants read different kinds of books. Jofrid Karner Smidt’s work concerning the roles of librarians’ literature intermediary activities and Aidan Chambers model for talking about books, stand as our theoretical framework. Our study indicates that there are many similarities between Chamber’s method and our librarians’ way of working. Among Smidt’s roles the following were most frequent in our study: the librarian as a critic and literature expert, the librarian as educationist, the librarian as ordinary person. Less frequent was the role as social anthropologist and as marketing man. The result of the questionnaire shows an increased reading frequency which is relevant to all literary circles. Almost all participants and some of the librarians agree that they have received useful ideas about new books thanks to the literary circles. Two of the participants and one librarian have reported that they have developed personally during the literary circle work. The overwhelming majority of the interviewed persons were enthusiastic about the congenial atmosphere in the group and emphasized on the different positive effects of the literature meetings, for example book tips and interesting discussions about literature and other subjects.
*Nr 34 Mårten Gustafsson: Bildindexering och bibliografisk standardisering (Image Indexing and Bibliographic Standardization)
This master’s thesis is based on earlier research revealing that in-house rules is the dominating approach of image indexing, instead of the use of published standards. The gains of using uniform standards to reach bibliographic standardization are said to be resource sharing and centralized cataloging, which are of economic value. From that point of view, the aim of this thesis has been to investigate why standards aren’t brought into use in the practice of indexing images. A literature study was conducted covering mainly articles in the LIS subject field published between 1950 and 1999, addressing four major areas: a history of image indexing, the view of the image, problem areas, and tools and technology for indexing of images. This study revealed among other things a strong emphasis for the development of uniform standards and standardization in the early 1980's, followed by a decade of growing questioning of traditional verbal methods for image retrieval, whereas visual based methods were given as possible solutions. It was also seen that there has been a lack of functional standards for the indexing of images which has held back the computerization of indexing systems; since many of the possible achievements of computerization isn't in reach without standardization. The lack of standards for image indexing is seen to be depending on a combination of factors. One of these is the lack of an unifying organization, another is the fact that pictures often are seen as unique, and therefore doesn't lend themselves to centralized or cooperative cataloging as do mass-produced books. Yet another factor is that image collections often are diversed in conditions, functions and purpose, which makes it hard to find similar goals and to define potential users, on which standards could be based.
*Nr 35 Nils Mårtensson, Elena Vakhrameeva: Dublin Core i praktiken: En undersökning av hur Dublin Core används inom fem svenska söktjänster (Dublin Core in practice: A survey on the usage of Dublin Core within five Swedish search engines)
The purpose of this thesis is to investigate how the metadata format Dublin Core is applied within five Swedish search engines. The objects of the investigation are Rättskällan, studera.nu, Svenska miljönätet, Svesök and the web catalogue of Uppsala University. Dublin Core is a flexible and adjustable format, which can be used in many different ways and in various projects depending on the target groups and objectives of the activity. We compare the differences and similarities between the five search engines concerning their usage of metadata in general and Dublin Core in particular. The material of the investigation consists of metadata records, which are collected by a robot and examined manually. We present the reader with an overview of the metadata concept and explain in particular the Dublin Core Metadata Element Set. The review of the investigation result begins with a presentation of the five search engines and is concluded by an exposition of the usage frequency of the fifteen Dublin Core elements within the examined search engines. The five search engines show notable differences with respect to the usage of Dublin Core. The number of Dublin Core elements in the templates of these search engines varies from five to fifteen, and furthermore different priorities have been given to the selection of mandatory elements and qualifiers. The investigation shows that the metadata producers often limit themselves to registration of the mandatory elements. The study shows further that the differences are bigger than the similarities concerning the usage of metadata within the five search engines. The search engines take advantage of the flexibility of the format by focusing on different elements and qualifiers and complementing the descriptions of the resources with different types of additions. We conclude that the search engines have to collaborate and coordinate their usage of metadata in order to improve public access to reliable and trustworthy information on the Internet.
*Nr 36 Anna Fahlbeck: Barn med lässvårigheter och bibliotek – en användarstudie om några barns erfarenheter och upplevelser av bibliotek. (Children with reading difficulties – a user study about some children’s experiences in libraries.)
The purpose of this study was to examine how some children with reading problems experience and use libraries. The main problem was: How do dyslectic children experience and use libraries and how do they handle their reading difficulties when using libraries? The questions at issue were: 1. Do children with reading problems use libraries, and if so how? - in which purposes do they use libraries? - which materials and services do they use? - why don’t some children use libraries? 2. How do the children handle their difficulties when using libraries: which coping-strategies do they use? The study was initiated with a questionnaire answered by 40 children with reading problems. Among these children 14 were selected for interviews. The main method used was qualitative interviews with the 14 children. The description and analysis of the empirical material was made according to user-oriented theories mainly by Wilson but also by Kuhlthau, and according to coping-theories, and theories of reading problems mainly by Lundberg and Høien. The results showed that many children in the study used libraries for self-chosen activities. The active users used the library consciously to borrow books to read, to practice reading and to get materials to compensate their problems. They liked books and liked to read or listen. Many children didn’t like reading books but they liked computers and Internet. They used the Internet facilities at the libraries together with friends, almost everyday at school. By using the Internet they practised their reading and writing unconsciously. Those who didn’t use the library didn’t like books or reading. They tried to conceal their reading problems by avoiding reading, books and libraries. Many children didn’t choose literature specially adopted for children with reading problems, instead they chose literature for interest.
*Nr 37 Ragnar Eng, John Eriksson: Konvertering från UDK till SAB (Conversion from UDC to the Swedish classification system)
The main purpose of this thesis is to examine what problems may arise when converting class symbols from one classification scheme to another. In order to fulfill this purpose, a conversion table between parts of the Swedish online-version of the UDC and the Swedish classification system (SAB) was constructed. For main classes 0 and 3 every class number from this abridged version of the UDC was converted, whereas for the rest of the main classes only class numbers with fewer than four figures were converted. The conversion table was constructed using the alphabetical index of SAB and different UDC-indexed library catalogues. Various aspects of the conversion table were then analysed using methods mainly devised by the authors themselves, but inspired by lexicography and multilingual thesaurus construction. The results show that most UDC main classes correspond to between one and four main classes in SAB, which is slightly more than expected considering that SAB has about 2,5 times as many main classes as the UDC. For UDC main class 3 as many as 17 SAB main classes were represented by at least one class symbol in the conversion table. Furthermore the analysis of equivalence levels shows a high degree of equivalence between terms from the two classification systems, and that very few UDC-numbers have no equivalent in SAB. These results may suggest that the structure of the two systems is largely similar, although the UDC is much larger than SAB which is the cause of most problems when converting.
*Nr 38 Martha Wihlborg: Bibliotek i kristider: Perioden 1930-1945 (Libraries in times of crises: 1930-1945)
In 1930 a new library reform came into force, which in reality was the beginning of the modern Swedish library. The purpose of this reform was to take measures to promote efficiency, for example to increase library co-operation. The Government grants were at the same time raised considerably. However, as early as in 1930, but especially the following year, the depression hit Sweden. The Government reduced the grants until the first half of 1936. At the same time lending of books increased substantially. As a result of the depression and the unemployment, people had more time for reading and studying. When the economic situation improved again, it led to a downward trend in book lending, but by the time that the Second World War broke out and until 1942, the trend turned upward again. During the 1920s and the 30s an international collaboration had started developing, but because of the war, Sweden was isolated from the world around. As a consequence it was not possible to arrange Nordic library meetings, as had been done before. In the magazine of Swedish Library Association, "Biblioteksbladet", several books were reviewed which conveyed a constructive attitude towards the German National Socialism. However, there were no signs of sharing these values among the reviewers. Books dealing with anti-Semitism and the situation of Jews were also reviewed in "Biblioteksbladet". Even before the war there were reports on the persecutions of Jews. At that time, they were received with a certain scepticism, but in the final stage of the war people became upset and did not distrust the reports any more.
*Nr 39 Jenny Bofeldt, Charlotta Ekbrand Palmqvist: Pedagogiskt samarbete mellan bibliotek och förskola i syfte att främja barns språkutveckling. (Pedagogical cooperation between library and preschool with the purpose to enhance children´s language development.)
The present thesis is about how preschool children develop their language skills. The purpose is also to discuss how library and preschool can collaborate and in different ways together help the children to achieve different skills and to use their first and second language in a more appropriate way. The main problem identified from literature and own observations is why library and preschool don’t collaborate to help young children to develop their language skills? Which reasons are behind a lacking collaboration? What can be done to increase collaboration between the library and the preschool? How can librarians and preschool teachers use their different professional skills in the best manner to be able to help the children to develop their skills in language acquisition? Is it possible to measure children’s language skills and how can one decide what characterizes a good collaboration? We started with a literature review and continued with collecting qualitative data by means of interviews with people who worked as librarians and preschool teachers, who were supposed to collaborate in a language oriented project. We have chosen different language theories by well-known scientists and we have only picked a few of them, which we considered relevant for the chosen topic. Preschool children are very sensitive to language training, and could benefit a lot by means of professional guidance by librarians and preschool teachers in collaboration. By means of collaboration an increasing demand of services provided by libraries could be predicted. Both short term and long term effect could be predicted. Enhanced language skills could be beneficial for future success in school and working life. However, in the small empirical part of our study the results were discouraging with respect to collaboration. It seems that a mutual collaboration between library and preschool is rare rather than commonplace.
*Nr 40 Stefan Virtala: Det relativa värdet av ämnesingångar i databaser: Variationer mellan discipliner (The relative value of subject access points in databases: Variations among disciplines)
This thesis deals with tactics for information seeking in electronic databases. An important aspect is knowledge of the relative value of different subject access points. The method used here is literature studies. Nineteen empirical studies are described and analysed with the purpose to compare the relative value of different subject access points. The studies examined compare the relative value of subject access points in relation to each other or in relation to different scientific disciplines. The studies cover the three broad knowledge domains of humanities, social science and science. The methods used in the studies have serious limitations and many subjective variables related to the use of the precision and recall measures makes it difficult to draw any clear conclusions concerning tactics when searching subject access points. Studies indicate that document representations in the humanities and social sciences are constructed with science as a model with serious implications for retrieval and the thesis criticizes information retrieval theory for ignoring domain specific theories. Studies that measure the overlap between subject access points are found to be valuable in determining to what extent the different subject access points complement each other. Another method that is valuable is failure analysis of searches in databases which gives information concerning why searches fail. Both these methods show that different subject access points retrieve unique relevant documents and the conclusions of this thesis therefore lends support to the need for a theory of the relative value of subject access points. In the future there is therefore reason to focus on the way different subject access points complement each other instead of focusing on which is most effective.
*Nr 41 Lina Ehrin: "Det handlar om att hitta rätt bok till rätt person vid rätt tillfälle": En undersökning av läsfrämjande verksamhet för ungdomar i åldern 13-19 år. ("It’s all about finding the right book for the right person at the right moment": A study of reading promotion for young people.)
The purpose of this Master’s thesis is to investigate librarians’ views on reading and reading promotion for young people. The main issue is if activities in reading promotion for people between the ages of 13-19 years can result in inspiring non-readers to actually become readers. To find the answers, qualitative interviews were held with eight librarians. The literature review covers research on the reasoning of young people on reading, a historical review of fiction and reading, a review of arguments on the benefits of reading and finally a chapter which concerns reading promotion activities. The result of this study showed that the conceptions of reading promotion and book talk are very complex and that they each can have different meanings. To be able to promote reading successfully my informants need a deeper understanding of the non-reader and of the literature they mediate to them. Reading promotion entails displaying books, book talks, exhibitions, author visits, book acquisition and projects. I found that the informants all are ambitious literature intermediaries with backgrounds as literary scholars, social anthropologists, educationalists, and in marketing as well as being human beings. The arguments for reading are for developing language, knowledge, democracy, identification and experience. Some of the factors that can influence young peoples’ reading include parents, the media, friends, the books themselves and different models. This study also shows that reading promotion for young people in the age group 13-19 years can, in fact result in inspiring non-readers to actually become readers.
*Nr 42 Linda Magnusson: "Skall barnbiblioteken påverka mönster i samhället?" En studie av jämställdhet i familjen och av fadersgestaltning i 2001 års bilderböcker ("Should children's libraries have an influence on changes in society?" A study of equality in families and of depictions of fathers in picture books)
The purpose of this master thesis is to investigate the representations of fathers in contemporary Swedish picture books. The purpose is also to investigate whether children's libraries should have an influence on changes in society. The theoretical framework is based on a sociological study which argues that masculinity and femininity are relational concepts that are being shaped both through relationships and through structures in society. The theory implies that changing the inequities in our gender system requires new understandings of the concepts of masculinity and femininity and the idea is to recompose the cultural elements of gender so that positive human attributes that used to be seen as masculine or feminine become possible for everyone to achieve. The depiction of the father has been analyzed in 26 Swedish picture books and the common documents of objectives for Swedish children's libraries have also been analyzed. To get an example of how some librarians regard the role of children's libraries, a questionnaire discussing these matters has been answered by four children's librarians. The results showed that the depictions of fathers in the picture books varied, but some stereotype features where shown. A problem-solving role appeared several times, as well as an entertaining role. It was also more usual for the fathers than for the mothers to be away from home and to have a clear connection to the surrounding world. The results also showed that the documents of objectives did not express anything evident about children's libraries taking part in changes in society and that librarians' opinions of the libraries' role can differ quite a lot. The conclusion of the thesis is that there are still some stereotype portrayals of fathers in picture books and that it is up to each library to decide which role to take in influencing changes in society.
*Nr 43 Inger Almgren: Alternativ uppställning av böcker på skolbibliotek (Alternative arrangement of books in school libraries)
In this Master's thesis I have studied alternative arrangements of books in three different school libraries. The aim was to describe the new systems, to find out why the changes were made, what the thoughts were behind the new systems and how the new systems work, especially from the viewpoint of the pupils. I interviewed the three librarians in charge. The pupils in two classes at each school were asked to fill in a questionnaire in an attempt to get their view on the new shelving system. As a theoretical background I studied works on classification and shelving systems by some researchers. Most of them recommended a user-friendly approach. In a historical review I studied how books have been arranged in Swedish school libraries in the past. Some alternative arrangements, tested in public libraries during the last sixty years in Sweden and in other countries, have been described. All three librarians thought that the SAB-system, commonly used in Swedish libraries, was difficult to understand. They wanted a more user-friendly system. Two of them had tried to adapt the SAB-system to the users and/or to the school's needs. The third library used school subjects as headings and arranged the books accordingly. According to the answers in the questionnaires the pupils thought that the shelving systems had to be supported by a good sign system to ensure a successful search in the library.
*Nr 44 Gisela Kjellberg: Högskolebibliotekens användarorientering: En studie i hur de nya, medelstora svenska högskolebiblioteken har utvecklat sin användarorientering, från högskolereformens införande 1977 fram till idag. (The Swedish university libraries user-orientation: A study of how the Swedish university libraries have developed their user orientation from the implementation of the university college reform 1977 until today.)
The aim of this master thesis is to describe some general trends and important steps in the Swedish university libraries’ user-orientation from the implementation of the university college reform 1977 until today. The aim gave rise to four further questions. Literature studies and empirical studies in the form of focusing interviews have been carried out, in order to answer the questions. Of the entire background material I have made a simple form of general analysis. I found that the libraries, during the years have interacted with the following four interested parties, the government, the mother organization, other libraries and the library users. I also found that it is very important for the library organization to interact with their interested parties in order to grow and develop. During the years, from 1977 until today I found three important steps, or paradigm shifts of the university libraries’ development of their user-orientation. The first step was at the time of the implementation of the university college reform 1977, when the libraries were opened up and became available to the students. The second step came with the ICT-revolution in the middle of the nineties. The third step is more difficult to identify and concerns whether the libraries really attain a user-orientation. A real user-orientation imbues all parts of the organization. To keep the orientation the libraries constantly has to reflect upon and evaluate the activities content, performance and quality. The library organization should involve and engage the librarians to work together with the users, in order to form the library development. The librarians should also strive to support the users information seeking processes.
*Nr 45 Martina Johansson, Kristin Nilsson: Datorspel – till nytta eller nöje? En intervjuundersökning utifrån folkbibliotekariers perspektiv (Computer games – for business or pleasure? An investigation from the perspective of public librarians)
This Master’s thesis concerns computer games in Swedish public libraries. We have investigated the opinions of public librarians concerning what they think about computer games, and to what extent they believe it should be a part of the public library. The method we have chosen is qualitative interviews. The theory we have used is a pedagogical literature strategy, which we have reformulated so that it fits our investigation. The results show that the interviewed public librarians think that the library should offer computer games for children and youths to use at the library, and that they should offer computer games for lending, to all the library users. Some of them also think that computer games can be used to lure new users to the library. The librarian’s opinions about computer games play a big part in which computer game genre the library offers. Some of the librarians think that computer games should be only pedagogical while others think they should be both pedagogical and entertaining. Other things that affect the selection of computer games available at libraries is the library’s budget, available purchase places and the way the librarians adopts to the demands of the users.
*Nr 46 Cecilia Karlsson, Svante Kristensson: Konsistens vid indexering av skönlitteratur för barn och ungdom (Inter-indexer consistency in fiction for children and young adults)
The aim of this thesis is to evaluate a Swedish subject headings list for children’s and young adults’ fiction, from the perspective of consistency, and to analyze this concept's importance as a tool for measuring indexing quality. Another aim is to examine how librarians view the subject headings list as an aid for indexing fiction. The main questions are: How does the degree of consistency change when using a subject headings list for indexing fiction compared to free indexing? How does indexing change according to the facets Form/Genre, Time, Space, Matter and Person when using the list? What do consistency calculations reveal about indexing quality? How do the participants look upon the list as an aid for indexing? The empirical material consists of results from two different indexings of fiction, conducted by librarians. Consistency is calculated using Hooper’s and Rolling’s algorithms. The results reveal that the level of consistency is marginally higher when using the subject headings list and words used for describing content are almost identically chosen from the five facet groups in the two separate indexing occasions. Further results show that calculations of consistency is an insufficient method of assessing indexing quality and finally that the librarians mainly consider the list as a useful means for indexing. The main conclusions of the study are: Subject headings lists should be completed with instructions on how to be used. The rule of only assigning indexing terms to topics appearing in more than 25% of the content, should also be used when indexing fiction. Consistency calculations should be combined with studies on indexing efficiency. The amount of words describing fiction should be limited. Some parts of the list used in this study ought to be revised and the structure of the final edition should be considered.
*Nr 47 Cecilia Kristiansson: Barnbiblioteksarbete ur ett genusperspektiv (Aspects of gender in library service to children)
The aim of this master’s thesis is to investigate how children’s librarians deal with gender issues in their work when acquiring and mediating books to children, and how reviews in Bibliotekstjänst’s Sambindning can be of help in this aspect. The thesis focuses on children between 6 and 12 years of age and their reading of fiction. Four interviews with children’s librarians and an examination of reviews in Sambindningen have been carried out. The reviews were examined both by finding out with what frequency gender issues are dealt with and by studying 20 children’s books from a gender perspective, comparing my judgement with the one they got in the reviews. The examination of Sambindningen showed that the reviews therein only sporadically bring up gender issues. They are therefore not of big help for librarians in finding out about gender aspects in children’s books. This, together with the fact that the guiding principles for public libraries don’t specify how librarians are to evaluate children’s books, means that it’s up to each librarian to what extent they pay attention to gender aspects and in what way. The interviews showed that the librarians vary in this respect. The interviews also showed that the view the individual librarian has of the way gender is developed, if mainly by heredity or environment, influence whether they see different reading habits of girls and boys as natural or as limiting. This means they are to a varying extent motivated to try and change sex-linked reading habits. The librarians have, however, in common that they see their possibilities to influence children’s reading habits as limited.
*Nr 48 Johnny Pettersson: Flerspråkiga Tesaurer: Att uttrycka ett och samma begrepp utifrån skilda kulturer och olika språk. (Multilingual Thesauri: To express one and same concept from various cultures and different languages.)
The aim of this paper is to investigate the problems in multilingual thesauri, with a focus on the problem of conceptual equivalence between different languages. This study compares the problems and solutions that have been carried out in the Eurovoc multilingual thesaurus with the ISO 5964 (ISO 5964 is a guideline for establishment and development of multilingual thesauri). The Swedish descriptors in the subject area "education and communication", from Eurovoc have been observed and compared with the guidelines recommendations. The results show that, the majority of the investigated Swedish descriptors do not present any problem. Most of the terms that are used as descriptors are found in dictionaries and glossaries or appear with high frequency in Swedish websites. But there still are some problems caused by non-equivalence. Two descriptors have a non-satisfying solution. Those two situations differ somewhat from the situations described in the guidelines. Also a number of the descriptors that were not found in dictionaries have a less natural character, even though they are understandable and should work for the purpose of information retrieval. In general the recommendations in the guideline are followed by the creators of Eurovoc, although there are some exceptions.
*Nr 49 Emma Johansson, Birgitta Jonsson: Query expansion med hjälp av en elektronisk tesaurus i en bibliografisk online-databas. (Query expansion using an electronic thesaurus in a bibliographic online database.)
In this Master’s thesis we investigate query expansion using an electronic thesaurus. We formed 30 topics from the library and information science field. For each topic three searches were made in the bibliographic database LISA (Library and Information Science Abstracts) via CSA (Cambridge Scientific Abstracts). LISA has an electronic thesaurus attached. We used this thesaurus to form baseline queries, baseline queries expanded with synonyms, and baseline queries expanded with both synonyms and related terms. The terms used in the baseline queries were the terms preferred by the thesaurus (the "use for" terms). The three query types were analyzed with regard to precision and relative recall. The relative recall was set to 100% for the strategy where a baseline query was expanded with both synonyms and related terms. The average precision for the searches using baseline queries was 41% with a 60% relative recall. For the searches using baseline queries expanded with synonyms, the precision was 39% and the relative recall was 72%. The searches using baseline queries expanded with both synonyms and related terms resulted in an average precision of 37%. We also measured the "net effect", that is, the precision and recall with regard to the new documents retrieved by each search strategy. We found that, on average, 60% of the relevant documents were retrieved by the baseline queries. The strategy using a baseline query expanded with synonyms was the least effective one in retrieving new relevant documents – on average it brought only 12% of the relevant documents. When measuring the precision for the new documents retrieved by each search strategy we encountered a methodological problem which is discussed in this thesis.
*Nr 50 Elisabeth Jakobsson: Barnbibliotekariers syn på arbetet med små barn – en kvalitativ studie (Children’s librarians view of the work with small children – A qualitative study)
The aim with this thesis, based on five children’s librarians statements, is to highlight their view of their work, and what they deem to be of importance when working with small children within the library sphere. My main question is as follows: What motive compels children’s librarians in their work with small children, and will Vygotsky’s theories be recognised in their statements. I have two questions as a base for this main question: How do children’s librarians work with small children, and do they utilise any special methods in their work? How do children’s librarians view their work tasks, and what do they deem to be of importance regarding small children and libraries? The thesis is based on qualitative interviews. As a theory I have decided to concentrate on Vygotsky’s thoughts on imagination and creativity, the Zone of Proximal Development, and children’s language development. I have analysed the result of the interviews from Vygotsky’s theories and also other literature. The duties of children’s librarians are very similar. The most important motive in their duties as children’s librarians is to stimulate language. It is also of the utmost importance to stimulate children’s imagination. Both Vygotsky and the children’s librarians say that this is required so that we as human beings can develop. Collaboration with an intermediary is often the case. This can be a parent or personnel from pre-school or child clinic. Through this collaboration it is possible to make contact with children, and as time elapses contribute that the children develop from their own requirements in tune with what Vygotsky calls the Zone of Proximal Development. Vygotsky’s theories can legitimise a lot of the work done by children’s librarians.
*Nr 51 Kristin Ericson, Ulrika Hvidén: Finnes: flata. Sökes: information. Om lesbiska, informationsbehov och ämnesbestämning av skönlitteratur. (Dykes and information needs: Problems of access to fiction.)
The aim of this Master’s thesis is, partly, to examine the information needs of lesbians: what discernable information needs they have, how they seek information and which information sources they use. The purpose is also to examine what part fiction plays regarding the information needs mentioned above and how fiction indexing could improve retrieval. The study is conducted through ten qualitative interviews with lesbians as well as through textual analysis. The theoretical framework includes queer theory and theory concerning information needs and uses. The results indicate that lesbians have evident information needs that mostly concern identity. Many kinds of information, including gay fiction, are sought after in various ways. Information sources used are, among others, libraries and the Internet. Gay fiction seems to be important when coming to terms with one’s lesbian identity. The analysis shows that the indicated information needs probably are due to the overall heterosexual norm in society. Fiction becomes a way of finding one’s own reality. Gay novels, films, etc are often difficult to retrieve if author or title is unknown. Several barriers to retrieval are recognised, for example lack of adequate fiction indexing. In order to improve information retrieval, fiction indexing is suggested as an important mean.
*Nr 52 Kerstin Arnell Rickardsson, Christina Norén: "Första boken är aldrig bra när det gäller böcker" – en kvalitativ studie av pojkars läsning i mediesamhället ("The first book is never good when it comes to books" – a qualitative study on boys reading in the media society)
Children of today are surrounded by many different kinds of media. Books have to compete with new media like computers, video games, many TV-channels etc. The aim of this study has been to investigate the reading habits of 9-12-year old boys in their spare time, and their reasons for reading related to their use of other media. Our interest has been to shed light on the boys reading habits, their preferences and motives for reading and their reading functions. Even though our focus has been on their reading, we also have examined their use of other media and the function of this use. Our method has been qualitative interviews. We have interviewed twelve boys, two by two, during their leisure time. As conceptual frameworks we have used the theories of "SKRIN-projektet", and theories by Møhl & Schack and Feilitzen. Our results show that there is a wide span among the boys, both when it comes to reading and other media use. Almost every one of the boys enjoys reading and can tell us about at least one favourite book. The main reason both for reading and for using other media in their spare time is entertainment. Another common motive is information. Some of the boys have special interests that they want to learn more about, and in these cases the reading or other media use can give both entertainment and information. Social motives are more common for other media use than in reading books. On the other hand, when reading books, the boys seem to identify themselves more on a personal level with the characters. We have found that use of other media sometimes can inspire the boys to read books and, we can’t find any implications that books are going to be outclassed by other media.
*Nr 53 Malin Andersson: Intranät som verktyg för organisationskommunikation: En fallstudie på Nordea (The Intranet as a Tool for Organisational Communication: A Case Study at Nordea)
The aim of this Master Thesis is to examine how the national intranet at Nordea serves the organisation as a channel of information and communication. The intranets of today, have partially or completely come to replace other channels of information within larger organisations, and the intranet has become an increasingly important issue to the communicational process of organisations. To address the problem stated, qualitative interviews was accomplished with several employees at a department at Nordea. The achieved result reflects how the intranet supports variable everyday end-user situations. The result shows an intranet that is sparsely used in comparison to other channels of communication such as colleagues. This is primarily due to the considerable time and effort that is needed to find and apply relevant information in a stressed situation. However, the information available on the intranet is considered both updated and reliable. A possible cause to the current situation can be ascribed to insufficient knowledge and education in how the intranet is structured and how the information efficiently can be retrieved. Further education and end-user influence on the design of the intranet is needed.
*Nr 54 Moa Bengtsson: "Att bygga broar över murar" : en studie av ett kvinnligt ekumeniskt nätverk ("To build bridges over walls" : a study on a women´s ecumenical network)
The purpose of this master`s thesis is to examine how the contemporary changes in society display itself in the network Ecumenical Forum of European Christian Women (EFECW) and to increase the understanding of networks. My main questions are: What does the networks structure look like? What does the networks relationships look like? How is identity created in the network and what types of identities is created? The objectives are reached by using two methods, qualitative inquiries and document analysis. The inquiries were carried out to nine members in the network of different countries. The theoretical framework of the thesis is Manuel Castells theories of the network society, and the study is also placed in context by a presentation of previous research on the field. The survey shows that EFECWs structure is typical for networks of today, with non- hierarchical structure and translocalism. The participants of my study are very frequently in contact with the network at different levels. EFECW is also typical because the relationships in the network are based on functions like inclusion, exclusion and exchange. The identities that was created in the network was mainly based on the objectives and the resistance of the network. Identities is created because of movements in the society and because the network can function as a buffer and supply for differentiation. Internet gives new opportunities and ways of communication that is influencing the structure, relationships and the making of identities in the network. The conclusions of the thesis are that many of the changes in society today are visible in the EFECW. The network can be a valuable resource in the contemporary society partly because of its work for unity.
*Nr 55 Miriam Lannge Lidin: "En mycket boksynt man" – Karl-Gunnar Walls liv som stadsbibliotekarie och litteraturvän ("A Man of the Word" – Karl-Gunnar Wall as a City Librarian and as a Literary Authority)
The purpose of this master thesis is to describe the professional and literary life of Karl-Gunnar Wall, city librarian of Katrineholm between 1944 and 1975. Questions at issue are the reasons for Wall’s literary interests, Wall’s choice of occupation, crucial personal meetings, the context in which Wall acts, Wall’s fundamental principles as a librarian and as a critic, and the features comprising Wall’s life history. The method used is a merely qualitative one called "life history". It is founded on in-depth interviews with the persons involved and emanates from the individual’s own story about his life. I have carried out three taped interviews; one with Wall himself, and two with his colleagues. Furthermore, I have used library records, newspaper articles, letters and various literature. The study finds that Wall’s life paradigm is professionally orientated. The historical context and the literary climate of the 1940s are important parts in understanding Wall. His literary and linguistic interests develop during his time of study, which helps him to find a suitable career as the city librarian of Katrineholm. Thus Wall shapes his own life in accordance with the structures of society.
*Nr 56 Lillemor Åkerman: Open Archives Initiative – om "öppna arkiv" och den sociala kontextens betydelse (Open Archives Initiative – about "open archives" and the influence of the social context)
There is an ongoing evolution in scholarly communication. The traditional way of communicating scholarly results through scientific journals is beginning to be replaced by other means of dissemination. One new channel for scholars to communicate their results is digital publication in so-called open archives. An open archive is a kind of full text database, where a scholar may archive/publish his or her articles, as a complement or a substitute to publishing in scientific journals. There are discipline-oriented archives and institutional archives. The Open Archives Initiative (OAI), set up in 1999, is a major development aimed at heightening interoperability between different open archives. The aim of this thesis is twofold. The first aim is to give an overview of the development of the OAI, mainly from a knowledge organizational perspective. The second purpose is to examine open archives from a historical, social and cultural perspective. The open archives movement has not been the immediate success that many of the advocators had hoped. It is also said that scholars in the humanities and the social sciences are more reluctant to self-archiving than scholars in the natural sciences. This thesis try to find out more about why scholars are reluctant and to examine whether it is true that scholars in the humanities and the social sciences are more reluctant, and if it’s true, why this is so. This study compiles some weaknesses with the OAI retrieval model that have been observed lately. Many of these weaknesses are related to human aspects of the retrieval model, for example issues related to the creation of metadata. The results show that scholars in the humanities and the social sciences have been slow to accept open archives, as a reliable channel of publication and dissemination and that the reasons for this may be historical, social and cultural. The study compiles different barriers that may prevent or delay a more widespread usage of open archives. Some barriers may affect scholars in all disciplines; other may mostly affect scholars in the humanities and the social sciences. This study proposes that historical, social and cultural issues have to be taken into consideration when new information retrieval systems are developed.
*Nr 57 Lena Blomgren, Helena Vallo: Utvärdering av ett IR-system i en informationssökningsprocess – ett holistiskt perspektiv (Evaluation of an information system in an information seeking process: a holistic approach)
The research objective of this thesis was to conduct a holistic evaluation of an operational information system. By holistic evaluation we mean that an equal focus was placed on both the system (system perspective) and its users (user perspective), in the actual environment where the system and its users’ function (contextuality). In addition, the methodological objective of the study was to test a new research approach in a real life setting. The participants of the study were twenty newspaper journalists employed at Göteborgs-Posten (GP). The information system NewsLink is a manually indexed full-text database containing all articles published in GP since 1994. It employs Boolean search logic and offers a choice between showing the retrieved result ranked either by date or order of relevance. Our evaluation methodology consists of triangulation (pre-search questionnaires; search log; post-interviewing) and novel interactive performance measures (the Ranked Half-Life measure, as well as Satisfaction and Novelty perception by users, supplementing Precision). It involves traditional algorithmic performance measures, usefulness (situational relevance), and non-binary relevance judgements in an operational ranked IR system seen in the context of 1) work task fulfilment, and 2) other information resources. Our findings show that the system worked well for its users, but would gain considerably from the improvement of its interface. In sum, we found the method employed to be well suited for evaluating information systems in a real life setting as it ensures both realism and control.
*Nr 58 Sara Larsson: Gränssnitt, användbarhet och sökmotorer: ett experiment (The User Interface, Usability and Search Engines: an Experiment)
This aim of this thesis is to measure the effect of the user interface in real searches on the Internet through a small experiment. Theories on web and search usability and psychological factors concerning usability were first explored. Then three interfaces were constructed, one "good" that followed usability guidelines and had multiple search functions, one "bad" that completely disobeyed those guidelines and had only a simple and small search field, and one "intermediate" interface that was a mix of the two. The search field was set to different sizes, with the shortest in the "bad" interface, a medium field in the "intermediate" interface and several long fields in the "good" interface. All three interfaces were then attached to the same web search engine, Altavista. 15 students divided into 3 groups were given one interface each. They performed a list of searches and gave a judgement on the relevance of their result. Thus, precision was recorded. The time to formulate a query and the length of the queries were also recorded. At the end of the experiment a short questionnaire followed to measure the students’ satisfaction on a Likert scale. The results were analysed with a Mann-Whitney test and the conclusion was that the precision measure showed no significant differences between the interfaces. However, the time was significantly longer in the "good" interface compared to the other two and the length of queries was significantly longer in the "good" interface. Satisfaction was also significantly higher in the "good" user interface.
*Nr 59 Karin Booberg, Andreas Värn: Yngre pensionärers informationsbeteende i vardagslivet och på internetkurs. (Seniors’ Information Behavior in Everyday Life and when Performing Internet Studies.)
The aim of this study is to examine the information behavior of younger seniors with a special focus on the Internet. Using a qualitative method consisting of a case study, including observations, diaries, questionnaires, and information diaries, we were able to compare the information behavior of the seniors in their use of the Internet, with the information behavior in their everyday life. The result of the study shows that the respondents led very active lives and used many different information sources in everyday life. They did not only seek information, but also assimilated it, often with a purpose to mediate it to other people. The motives behind the information use in everyday life were mainly connected to their life situations. We found that the information behavior they performed in their use of the Internet had some similarities with their information behavior in everyday life, but they did not assimilate the information in the same way. The senior club had a great influence on the respondents’ information behavior, both in their everyday life and in their use of the Internet. Our conclusion is that both age and social context are factors that have a great influence on seniors’ information behavior and that researchers need to consider these factors in their research.
*Nr 60 Emma Gustafson: Den särskilda kvinnan: En feministisk analys av Universella decimalklassifikationen (The distinguished woman: An analyse of the Universal Decimal Classification from a feminist perspective)
The aim of this thesis is to, from a feminist point of view, analyse the Universal Decimal Classification (UDC), which is an international and widely used classification system. A number of the larger classification systems and subject heading lists have during the last decades been placed in the limelight of various gender studies and the systems’ treatment of women has been criticized. With this examination of the UDC, I don’t merely wish to identify shortcomings and advantages with the UDC’s way to treat men and women. The UDC is also used as an example of how the gender problem can be identified and interpretated in classification systems generally. My analysis is performed with a theoretical foundation in feminist science theories about knowledge and norms, together with a linguistic perspective on valuing and emotionally tinged language. In the concluding discussion, I apply different feminist perspectives on the similarities and differences in the treatment of men and women found in the analysis. My conclusion is that the UDC has flaws in its treatment of women and in its possibilities to organize woman-related documents. The study reveals bias and a male norm in the system that contribute to the apprehension that women should be distinguished, thought of as differing from the norm and given a hierarchic suborder. The study also reveals an asymmetric treatment of the genders where the terminology, among other things, implies that the two genders should be treated differently. This is complex to interpret from a feminist point of view: Should documents related to women be given special treatment and thereby be given a front position in the system? Or, should all documents that include an aspect of gender be treated equally?
*Nr 61 Kristina Sevo: Arkiv, bibliotek, museer: en jämförelse av katalogiseringselement vid tre minnesinstitutioner. (Archives, Libraries, Museums: a Comparison between Cataloguing Elements at three Memory Institutions.)
This master’s thesis concerns three different types of cataloguing within three different memory institutions (museums, archives and libraries). The focus lies on the cataloguing elements which are compared in order to illuminate similarities and differences. The Regional Archive and The National Museum of World Cultures - both in Gothenburg - were chosen and compared to KRS, the Swedish counterpart to the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, AACR2, 2: nd ed. The purpose of this comparison is partly to display the elements in order to make students’ disciplines, but also the staff within archives, libraries and museums to become conscious of each others cataloguing methods in regard to future cooperations within the memory institutions and to see if it is possible to create common cataloguing rules for archives, libraries and museums. The questions asked in this thesis are: 1. Do differences and similarities between the cataloguing element of the memory institutions exist, and if so, which are they? 2. Would it be possible to create common cataloguing rules for these institutions and is this desired? The examination was made in situ, because the cataloguing elements of the above mentioned archive and museum do not exist in print. The analysis showed that there were similarities concerning the describing elements and that the differences consisted of elements that are not considered as describing and some of these were classification elements. This can also be considered as the conclusion answering the first question. The conclusion regarding the second question is that it is possible to create common cataloguing rules for archives, libraries and museums, but that there are cooperative problems which have to be solved within the memory institutions before it can become reality.
*Nr 62 Astrid Olsson: ASB lika med SAB? En jämförelse av dokumenttitlar i de båda klassifikationssystemen. (ASB the same as SAB? A comparison of document titles which are classified in the two classification schemes.)
The purpose of this Master’s thesis is to compare the scheme structure of two national classifications system, namely the Swedish SAB system and the German ASB. It has been assumed that there are no major differences between the two models of classification systems or the main classes into which documents are placed. The classification theory and subject analysis, which form the basic theory on which my research is based, are taken from Dahlberg, Langridge and Rowley. A comparison of 30 monographs classified in the SAB system (Sveriges allmänna biblioteksförening) and in the German ASB system (Allgemeine Systematik für öffentliche Bibliotheken) showed that the classification structure was primarily responsible for determining where a particular document was placed. However, despite the fact that the subject in various documents may be similar, my research will demonstrate that the structure of the two codes also depends on different interpretations of the main subject in a document. My conclusion is that is not only the model of the classification system that determines the result of a classification, but also the extent of previous knowledge and the depth of interest for the subject being classified, held by the classifier.
*Nr 63 Zsuzsanna Müller, Elisabeth Norlander: Förändringar inom kunskapsorganisation vid ett museibibliotek: Etnografiska museets bibliotek i Stockholm (under 1900-talet och i början av 2000-talet) (Changes in the organization of knowledge at a museum library: Library of the Museum of Ethnography in Stockholm (in the 20th and the early 21st century))
The purpose of this master’s thesis is to investigate the organization of knowledge at the Library of the Museum of Ethnography in Stockholm during the 20th and the early 21st century. The investigation is focusing on the development of the organization of knowledge, of the catalogues, of the classification system and of the information retrieval. The thesis examines the factors which force the development of the activity at the library and of the organization of knowledge. The study uses a qualitative approach which is based on investigations of different types of catalogues, of the electronic database, of the classification system, of the subject indexing and on interviews. A describing analysis is used. The development of the organisation of knowledge is described as part of the activity at the library. The thesis investigates certain periods in the history of the library and describes some possibilities for the future. The study also gives an account of the process to choose a new system of classification for the new card catalogue during the late years of 1970 (Outline of World Cultures OWC and Outline of Cultural Materials OCM). The investigation shows that the older database program functioned very well, but now, during the year 2003 it is time for a new program adapted to the changes needed at the library. By the planned connection to LIBRIS the library will be more accessible on the Internet. The planned co-operation with the libraries at the National Museums of World Culture points to the possibility of access through common catalogues on the home page. The history of the development of organization of knowledge at the Library of the Museum of Ethnography is also a description of how the collection and the knowledge of the museum library have become more and more accessible.
*Nr 64 Sese Castlind, Mikael Eriksson: Argus diskussionsforum: utifrån några utvalda medarbetares perspektiv (Argus forum: out of a perspective from a selected part of the members)
The aim of this master’s thesis was to study how the members of a small non-profit organisation perceived the web forum, compared to the other information channels of the organisation. The organisation was defined as a virtual community. A literature review was conducted. The theory construction was based on the sensemaking theory. Interview questions were constructed based on the literature review and the sensemaking theory. Ten members of the organisation were asked to participate in the study, of which six persons agreed to be respondents. The result showed that respondents do see the web forum as the single most important information channel when it comes to information exchange. In several different situations, they perceive information needs, seek for information and make use of the information as long as they do not perceive too great barriers. Another information behaviour was also noticed: usually the respondents do not seek specific information but discover relevant information by chance. This could sometimes be information that the respondent did not know he or she wanted until it was received. However, the respondents also consider other information channels in the information system to be important, especially meetings in real life. The thesis concludes with reflections of the research done and propositions of future research.
*Nr 65 Maria Bjerninger, Lena Åkerman: Är biblioteket en väg till integration? – Några invandrade kvinnors syn på folkbiblioteket (Is the library a way to support integration? – Some immigrant women’s views on the public library)
The purpose of this master’s thesis is to find out whether the library can be a way to support integration. To fulfil this purpose we have, by qualitative interviews, obtained information about eight immigrant women’s views on and experiences of the Swedish public library. Through the literature and earlier research we have presented a background of immigrants and integration in Sweden along with factors that may influence the integration process. We have tried to give an insight into what is said about the immigrant woman in research and media, which we think affects her life and we also have given a short introduction to immigrant women’s life in Sweden today. Of great interest for our essay have also been the public library’s objectives and social role in society. Against this background we have analysed the answers from our interviews. The results of the interviews show that all the women have used the library in various ways, some of them also beyond the library’s established functions. Most of them still use the library quite often, especially to continue developing their language and for the sake of their children. We conclude from these interviews that the library has had some impact on these women’s integration into Swedish society and can be one way to support integration.
*Nr 66 Marianne Ericsson: Nykter motoffentlighet och alternativ litterär institution – en litteratursociologisk undersökning av Godtemplarordens förlag. (Sober alternative public sphere and alternative literary institution – a literature sociological research of the publishing firms of the Swedish branch of the Independent Order of Goodtemplars.)
The aim of this master’s thesis is to examine what political, social and ideological reasons that were the base for the establishment of the Swedish temperance movement. Which judgements within this movement that resulted in the decision to establish publishing firms, how these publishing businesses were organised and what function they had in the literary circuit. The questions are: What principal political, social, economical and ideological reasons were the bases for the establishment of the Swedish temperance movement? How has their need for publishing firms arisen? Which were the publishing firms and who were the publishers? What ideas, purposes, experiences, values and judgements led to the establishment of publishing firms? In the first part of the theory I have used the historical materialism of Karl Marx; in the second part the theory of middle class publicity by Jürgen Habermas; and in the third part I have made a presentation of the literary circuit and how it works according to Marx and Habermas. The method used is an analysis of ideas and ideologies in literature and documents. I have used the tool dimensions for the analysis. Dimensions that are examined are e.g. outlooks on mankind, theory of society, national economy and morality. This thesis has resulted in the statements that the temperance movement was established in a time when the society moved from an agrarian to an industrial structure, in which people got the opportunity to take new steps concerning ideologies and activities. This made it easier for voluntary associations to establish publishing firms. The Independent Order of Goodtemplars wanted to become an alternative society, which can explain their need for publishing firms. These firms would provide the need for members' study literature, missionary literature for sympathisers to be and propaganda concerning temperance. These issues were important for the temperance movement, as a lot of drunkenness and extreme poverty were predominant in the early industrial society.
*Nr 67 Inger Marie Garcia de Presno: Nationalbibliografin: en komparativ studie över musikområdet i Norges, Sveriges och Danmarks nationalbibliografier. (The National Bibliography: a comparative study of the music department in the national bibliographies in Norway, Sweden and Denmark.)
The national bibliography is an important tool in information retrieval. Bibliographies as lists of books have existed for centuries, but the national bibliography as we refer to it today, as a directory of the total national imprint, has only existed for about 50 years. The object of this thesis is to investigate music documents in Scandinavian national bibliographies. The method I have used for this investigation is a comparative study of the music departments in the national bibliographies in Norway, Sweden and Denmark. The investigation is performed by answering the following questions: How do Norway, Sweden and Denmark live up to IFLA’s Guidelines and recommendations for the national bibliography? Can one discern any differences between the three countries in this area? The documents in focus are sheet music and phonograms. The material for the investigation has been collected through studies of literature, from the web sites of the national bibliographic agencies and through complementary interviews with librarians at the three national libraries. The study is based on IFLA’s definition and some of their Guidelines for the National Bibliographic Agency and the National Bibliography from 1979 and their complementary recommendations from 1998. The investigation has shown that there are only minor differences between the music departments in national bibliographies in Scandinavia, and that they all follow IFLA’s recommendations in a satisfying manner. The major aspects, like selection criterias match well in all countries, while the differences are found in the information to the national bibliographies on the web.
*Nr 68 Hans Bally, Astrid Evasdotter: Organisation av pop- och rockmusiksamlingar i Sverige: en värderingsfråga? (Organisation of collections with pop- and rock music in Sweden: a matter of values?)
The purpose of this paper is to examine different methods for organisation and retrieval of pop and rock music recordings, and the problems concerned with this organisation. The focus is the question whether values towards pop and rock music influence the organisation of music in major Swedish record collections. As a background for this discussion, the study also discusses how music is organised in these collections, and what kind of problems are associated with their organisation. Also included in the paper is a minor investigation of how problems with the organisation of pop and rock music are dealt with in library and information science, and how values towards pop and rock music are dealt with in society in general. The main focus of the study, however, is an empirical study of how values towards pop and rock music manifest themselves in the pop and rock organisation of six Swedish institutions with major collections of music recordings. Here, interviews with representatives from these institutions form the basis of an analysis and a discussion on these matters. One example of such values: classical music seems to be considered more important than pop and rock music. Furthermore, the value of pop music seems to be lower than that of rock music. These values are most explicit in the libraries in the study, which all use the Swedish classification system, Klassifikationssystem för svenska bibliotek.
*Nr 69 Karin Hermansson, Elin Johansson: Boken som aldrig tar slut – En undersökning om urval och inköp av kulturtidskrifter på folkbibliotek. (The Book That Never Ends – A survey of the selection and acquisition of cultural magazines at public libraries.)
The purpose of this Master’s Thesis is to explore the process of selection that librarians face when selecting and acquiring cultural magazines to public libraries. The methods used are qualitative interviews and literary studies. A brief review is given of acquisition policies at public libraries and of cultural magazines and the important role they play in public libraries. Five interviews have been made at five public libraries to find out what factors affect the process of selection when it comes to cultural magazines. Two theories are used as a basis for the analysis of the result of the interviews and literary studies. These theories are canon and identity theory which are based on the idea of socialconstructivism. The tendencies we can see from our study are that there are three main factors affecting the libraries in their process of selecting which cultural magazines they should purchase. These three factors are: the library finances, wishes of the library users and the responsible librarian’s own opinions. Neither of the interviewed libraries wanted to give a definition of a cultural magazine, they did not want to separate cultural magazines from ordinary magazines. Cultural magazines are important for the identity of the library. These magazines are tools that libraries can use to establish a wide range of subjects and variations of opinions in their medium collection.
*Nr 70 Ann-Marie Häggman: Nationell bibliotekssamordning i Sverige, Norge och Danmark vid l990-talets mitt: En jämförande studie av BIBSAM, Riksbibliotektjenesten och Statens Bibliotekstjeneste (National Co-ordination of Libraries in Sweden, Norway and Denmark in the middle of the 1990's: A Comparing Study of BIBSAM, Riksbibliotektjenesten and Statens Bibliotekstjeneste)
The aim of this master’s thesis is to study and compare the national offices for research library co-ordination and planning, in three Nordic countries, in the middle of the 1990's. The objectives for the study are: the Swedish BIBSAM (the Royal Library's Office for National Planning and Co-ordination); the Norwegian Riksbibliotektjenesten (the National Office for Research Documentation, Academic and Professional Libraries); and the Danish Statens Bibliotekstjeneste (the National Library Authority). The main questions are: What were the aims, tasks and goals of their activities? What were their functions? How were their organizations constructed? The study is a qualitative comparing examination of text documents, mainly the annual reports of the offices. The most significant difference regarding the organizational structures was the fact that, while Riksbibliotektjenesten (RBT) and Statens Bibliotekstjeneste (SBT) both were independent from any libraries and placed directly under their ministries, BIBSAM was part of the organization of the National Library. The comparison of the offices' tasks/goals showed few similarities. A division of the activities into functions made a deeper analysis possible. It appeared that the majority of the functions were to be found with in all of the offices' activities. It also showed that only BIBSAM and RBT had functions concerning the national resource library system. Functions related to the national automatized library system were only to be found within the activities of RBT and SBT. Characteristics for SBT were the co-ordinating functions within the public library sector and the function of formulating a national library policy.
*Nr 71 Gunhild Bergqvist: Bokbussverksamhet. Effektiv decentralisering av svensk biblioteksservice? (Bookmobile service. Efficient decentralisation of the library service in Sweden?)
The purpose of this master’s thesis is to evaluate bookmobile service as a decentralised library service. I have made a qualitative interview survey, with seven Swedish municipalities participating, all providing bookmobile service in their rural parts. The purpose with the interviews is to examine their bookmobile service. I have also studied articles on bookmobile service, and decentralisation through small library units in library journals, to get an insight into how the work with decentralised library service is done in Swedish municipalities. In this thesis answer is sought to the following questions: - Which decentralised library services are suitable for inhabitants and institutions in sparsely populated areas, considering factors such as number of inhabitants, proportion of old people and children, demographic changes, economy, possibilities to cooperate with other municipalities? - What is the current bookmobile service situation in Sweden, taking seven municipalities in the region of Småland as a starting point? My conclusions are that each municipality must decide which decentralised library services that best suites their needs. The bookmobile is very flexible and apart from ordinary library service it can also be used as a transport vehicle and for library education and service for schools and pre-schools. I also examine the possibilities to develop bookmobile service. The current situation must be considered when deciding which alternative of decentralised library service that is the best for a certain municipality, how the library service is decentralised today, the current economical situation, the possibilities to cooperate with other municipalities on bookmobile service, demographic changes. I take in consideration the lending of e-books and library service via Internet, which is supplied by some Swedish libraries. They could become a good supplement to, rather than an alternative to bookmobile service. The decentralised bookmobile service must adjust to the changes any municipality will undergo; the best solution concerning decentralised library service today may not be the best in the future.
*Nr 72 Mathilda Larsson, Christina Lindstedt: Att leva sitt liv: Tonårsflickor om livsangelägenheter, informationsbehov och informationsanskaffning. (To live one's life: Teenage girls on life concerns, information needs and information acquisition )
Adolescence is a turbulent time in life and gives rise to new information needs for young people. Information needs related to school subjects have been relatively well researched but few studies have focused on information needs and use related to life concerns. The purpose of this Master's thesis is to examine the information needs of a number of teenage girls in relation to their life concerns and how they meet these needs. The sample consists of twenty-one girls aged thirteen and fourteen. The research is based on literature studies and qualitative interviews combined with a questionnaire. The theoretical framework for the study is based on Tom Wilson's 1996 model and on theory from development psychology. A hermeneutic interpretation of the research material shows that the girls have a number of information needs. The topics taken up in the interviews were mainly the school situation, the future, and social issues. The questionnaire, revealed other topics such as love and physical appearance. The girls were not particularly in need of factual information but rather of advice and explanatory information. Furthermore, the girls satisfied their information needs by approaching family, friends and other informal sources. The results also show that libraries do not play an important role as a source of this type of information. We reached the conclusion that it is important how the information needs of teenagers are met and that they need interpretation and specific applications to their own situations if information is to assist and support them.
*Nr 73 Fredrik Solvang: Hur används intranät? En studie av EkaForum, Eka Chemicals intranät. (The use of intranets: a study of EkaForum, the intranet of Eka Chemicals.)
Intranets has been marketing as the tool for solving the organisations information problems. My interest is to see how an intranet works in an organisation. This study was an investigation about the use of EkaForum, the intranet of Eka Chemicals, at the Rollsbo division. The study aimed to evaluate how EkaForum is being used, firstly as a transmitter of information and secondly as a communication tool for the organisation. The study was constructed as a quantity survey based on a questionnaire with 24 questions and was sent out to the staff of Rollsbo division. Based on the result from the survey I draw my conclusion, that employees use the intranet once or twice a week. They seek general information about the company and their division, and they are satisfied with the information they find. Generally the users want to have more specific information that they can relate to their work. The intranet must be used more frequently before it can be called an effective information and communication tool.
*Nr 74 Stefan Benjaminsson: Vägar till information på webbplatser – en utvärdering av sökstödet på studera.nu (Paths to information on web sites – an Evaluation of the search support on studera.nu)
Sufficient and accurate search support is a crucial factor for successful information searching on web sites. This thesis evaluates the search support on the second version of the web site studera.nu with particular focus on how the web site meets up to criteria formulated on the basis of theories from research in information seeking and information searching. The evaluation is a preliminary investigation that may serve as a basis for a future more comprehensive evaluation. The four major questions for my thesis have been: 1. In which different ways can a user search? 2. How can a designer of a web site support these different ways of searching? 3. How does the web site studera.nu support these different ways of searching? 4. If the web site fails in search support, what changes are required in order to improve its performance? Requirements from the organization ultimately responsible for the contents of the web site, and expectations from the users, were initially identified. Together with a previous user study, carried out for an earlier version of the web site, this formed the empirical background for my investigation. A new user study was performed in order to identify prevailing deficiencies in search support, which outcomes are scrutinized in the discussion part of this thesis. Four changes to the web site are finally suggested. These changes concern improvement of indexing practices and search facilities (e.g. adding Boolean AND facilities), and increase in support for exploratory searching (e.g. browsing and berry picking).
*Nr 75 John Carlsson: En studie av evalueringar av webbaserade söktjänsters återvinningseffektivitet (A study of evaluations of the retrieval effectiveness of webbased search engines)
The aim of this thesis is to describe and critically investigate eight different evaluations of the retrieval effectiveness of webbased search engines. The questions to be answered in this investigation are: - What kind of relevance judgements have been used? - Which criteria have been used when judging the relevance of a document? - Which measures have been used? - How many queries have been used? - How were the queries constructed? - What document cut-off value has been used? - Has hypothes testing been applied? - What kind of webbased search engines have been included in the evaluations? The study showed that although the evaluations investigate the same phenomena, they are very different from each other in certain aspects. Generally the study showed that precision is the preferred measure in comparison to recall in the chosen evaluation even though all the included evaluations have constructed unique formulas for calculating precision. Some attempts to measure relative recall have been performed but they all suffer from different defects. The study also showed that the only reliable way to judge the relevance of a document is to judge the content of the document thanks to the unpredictable and dynamic nature of the web. Also the use of more complicated queries seem to influence the results of the evaluations in a way that reward certain search engines and punish others. The methods chosen also seem to be modelled for the robot-driven search engines as the subject directories investigated always scored remarkably low precision values in comparison.
*Nr 76 Helena Karlsson: Digitala bibliotek i den svenska biblioteksdiskursen (Digital libraries in the Swedish library discourse)
The aim of this Master’s thesis is to examine the library discourses concerning the phenomenon and concept of digital libraries in Swedish library press 1980-2002. What changes can be identified? The questions are: what is said about the conditions for the phenomenon; how is the concept of digital libraries used; who makes these statements; what are the relations between these discussions and the library context in which they are made? Five Swedish library journals, BBL/Biblioteksbladet, DIK-forum, Human IT, Svensk biblioteksforskning and Tidskrift för dokumentation, were examined. The method used was discourse analysis. The theoretical starting-point was Foucault’s discourse theory. The study was executed in three steps. In the first step the library context was examined. The next step focused on the discourses concerning digital libraries, as they appeared in the journals. The journals were analysed systematically, with special focus on five three-year-periods. Four articles were analysed more closely. In the third step the discourses were related to their contexts. The technological conditions for digital libraries are discussed throughout the period. The concept also occurs in discussions in the journals, in most cases used in a pragmatic way. These discourses are closely related to their contexts, both concerning the technological developments and the different directions of the journals. Experts often make the statements about digital libraries in the articles. In the 1980’s, the concept is connected to the computer-based library, in the 1990’s the use of network communications is added to the concept. In the 2000’s the concept also includes an orientation towards users and more integration. A conclusion made in this study is that despite the existence of a library discourse concerning digital libraries in Swedish library press, this subject area does not seem to be distinguished by an extensive and theoretical discussion.
*Nr 77 Anna Nilsson, Maria Nilsson: Folkbibliotek och källkritik på Internet: En deskriptiv studie av folkbibliotekens granskning av webbplatser (Public libraries and source criticism on the Web: A descriptive study on public libraries’ evaluation of web sites)
This Master’s thesis aims to examine how Swedish public libraries deal with the new challenge of evaluating web resources. In order to study this we have asked staff involved in gathering links for the libraries’ web sites to participate in a survey concerning how they go about choosing links. Apart from trying to capture this procedure it has been our purpose to establish whether the libraries feel they should provide their patrons with evaluated links at all and in what way they are influenced by other libraries or other main figures involved when choosing a link. We were also interested in the differences between libraries with large and small link collections. When defining evaluation, we have only focused on content. The survey was made available on the Web and of the 154 public libraries with links on their web sites that were contacted, 87 chose to participate. The results proved that most libraries consider it their task to provide their patrons with access to evaluated links, although for some libraries this task is in reality too time consuming to carry out. The most frequent evaluations proved to be the establishment of the author of the web page, whether the web page had been recently updated and to make sure the links on the evaluated web page were not broken. The respondents also saw a strong connection between the web page’s top domain and its reliability. The respondents with large link collections proved to be more active in their search for new links.
*Nr 78 Catharina Haqvinsson, Camilla Kristersson: Bibliotekariers pedagogiska roll: Om konsten att lära andra att söka och använda information (The pedagogical role of librarians: On the art of teaching information seeking and use)
There is an increasing demand for information literacy, which is mirrored in curriculum throughout the whole educational system. This, in turn, has brought forward a growing need for librarians who can teach. But do librarians possess pedagogical competence, and if they do, how is this ability used in everyday library practice? The aim of this study is to investigate librarians' conceptions of the pedagogical role, as it is expressed in their didactic interaction with the users. The research questions focus on librarians' experiences of teaching information seeking and use and their activities in this respect. By examining librarians' conceptions of their pedagogical tasks and relating this to the users' learning, it becomes possible to discern variations in librarians' experiences of teaching. Moreover, it becomes clearer how librarians themselves look upon their pedagogical role, teaching ability and needs when they are expected to fulfil such tasks in their everyday working life with respect to their conceptions of users' needs and demands. Theoretically, the study takes its departure point in the core issues of library- and information science; information seeking, information use, user studies, and user education. Furthermore, the study is inspired by phenomenographical learning theories which shed light on issues such as pedagogical competence and its relations to conceptions of knowledge, teaching and learning. The issues have been addressed through qualitative interviews with eight librarians and supplemented with a literature study. The results of the study are presented in systematically grouped categories of quotations that reflect different views. The results suggest that librarians include pedagogical aspects in their conceptions of their professional role to a considerable extent. However, librarians tend to differ in their conceptions of learning and information literacy, which, in turn, affects their methods in user education and the content they put into it.
*Nr 79 Sandra Eriksson, Eva Hveem: Vad gör egentligen besökarna på biblioteket? en användarundersökning på Filipstads Bergslags Bibliotek. (What do the visitors actually do at the library? a user study conducted at Filipstad’s Bergslags Library.)
The purpose of this master thesis is to investigate what the users/visitors do at the Filipstad’s Bergslags Library when they are there. The questions we asked were "What do the visitors do when they are at the library?" and "How do the visitors give priority to the library’s services?" From these two questions we asked a third "How do the visitors view the library and its functions and what function do they see as the most important to them?" The method we used was a user study and we did this at the request of the management at the library. A questionnaire was constructed and handed out in a pilot study. We made some changes in the questionnaire before we started to hand it out at the library. We received a total of 224 questionnaires during a two week period. We found that most of the visitors were very traditional in their tasks at the library. They borrowed books and other media and read newspapers and magazines. When we classified our findings in gender, age groups, highest education and occupation we found that men read more newspapers and magazines than women do. They, on the other hand, borrow more books than men and they also visited the library more often. Only 25% of the visitors used the library computers. Most of the participants in the study showed a low interest in the various arrangements and conveniences the library offered. The visitors were only interested in a few cultural arrangements such as author evenings. The two library functions that really stood out were the cultural function and the information function. Our conclusions are that the visitors at Filipstad’s Bergslags library are very traditional in their activities and that they look upon the library as a cultural and informational institution.
*Nr 80 Maria Mikaelsdotter: Organisering av bibliotekssamlingar i Medelhavsområdet ca 2500 f.Kr. – 400 e.Kr. (Library collections organisation in the Mediterranean area ca 2500 BC. – 400 AD.)
The purpose of this paper is to examine the ancient library organisation in the Mediterranean area. The focus of the study is if they used catalogues, marked their material and their methods for shelving. During the ancient period the people used to write on clay tablets, parchment- or papyrusrolls and codex, which was significant for the organisation. The method, which I use, for the examination is based on criticism of the sources, how the modern scholars has interpreted ancient remains and texts. The study shows that the first evidence for library organisation is from Mesopotamia 2350 BC. After some time the catalogues developed and they marked and collected their documents in special rooms. The private libraries dominated in Greece, which were arranged systematically, before the Great library in Museion, Alexandria. Many cataloguers worked with different genres and the most famous man was Kallimachos and his Pinakes. The Romans overtook the Greek library traditions, but instead of building libraries with small rooms they build large libraries with two language sections, one Greek and one Latin. The Romans kept their documents in numbered bookcases. The large number of libraries in Rome together worked as a universal library. During the late ancient period the libraries had to give way for the Christian monastery libraries and the beginnings of a new organisation with codex.
*Nr 81 Per Johansson: Gymnasiebibliotekariens yrkesroll – En fenomenografisk undersökning. (The Profession of the School Librarian: a Phenomenographic Study.)
Although school librarians have an important role to play in high schools helping teachers and students during their education, Swedish school librarians are often considered to end up left out by teachers and head principals due to school librarians vague and unclear professional role in the school. The aim of this thesis is to attempt to study school librarians’ own apprehensions of their particular professional role in a high school context, and how their professional role is believed to be apprehended by teachers and head principals. The results are based on interviews made with eight school librarians working in different high school libraries in Gothenburg during April 2002. By using phenomenographic method various existing apprehensions of the specific phenomena that the professional role of the school librarian constitutes of are made clear. The aim of the method is not to study what the profession constitutes of, but rather how it is apprehended by the school librarians themselves. An exhaustive description of existing studies in this particular field of interest is given and is to be considered to be a background to which this thesis’ results are to be seen. The results themselves reveal several different apprehensions of the professional role of the school librarian. Some apprehensions do school librarians have in common with each other, while some apprehensions are individual to its character. This thesis does not make any attempt to analyse or relate the forthcoming results to other studies in this area. It merely presents the perceived apprehensions, as they were unravelled in the interviews.
*Nr 82 Helena Strömblad: Förmedlingen av skönlitteratur på folkbiblioteket (The mediation of fiction in public libraries)
The aim of this thesis is to study how librarians in Swedish libraries perceive the task of mediating fiction. What are the librarians’ private relationships to fiction and how do they perceive the position of fiction in contemporary society? What views have they developed of the borrowers’ approach to fiction and how do they perceive the borrowers’ increasing influence in the library? How do librarians prioritise and which principles form the basis for their purchase of fiction? How do they categorise fiction in the library and how much do economic and political factors influence the decision making process for the purchase of fiction? Finally, how do they define their roles as mediators of fiction and which strategies do they adopt to communicate which literature the library has to offer? The material used in this study was acquired using a qualitative interview technique in which six librarians with experience of literature mediation partook.
*Nr 83 Malin Sandell, Lina Turesson: Praxis och praktik i flerspråkiga tesaurer (Praxis and practice of multilingual thesauri)
A prerequisite of an international exchange of information is multilingual tools for information retrieval, such as the multilingual thesaurus. There is an ongoing discussion about the construction of, and the guidelines for, multilingual thesauri. In recent years the praxis as defined in ISO 5964 Guidelines for the establishment and development of multilingual thesauri (1985) has been the topic of a scientific discussion. It has been about how equivalence across languages is to be established when it comes to concepts, terms and relational structures. This master’s thesis treats the praxis and practice of multilingual thesaurus construction. The purpose is to relate the praxis, defined in ISO 5964, to research and practice. Three multilingual thesauri are analysed to answer the following questions: - How is equivalence established between terms in different thesauri? - How is equivalence established between relations in different thesauri? - Does a selected praxis for and practice of thesaurus construction influence its usefulness? How is usefulness influenced in such cases? The analysis uses concepts from ISO 5964 and the related scientific discussion as the point of departure. The paper establishes that the following perspectives on thesaurus construction should be used concurrently in this analysis: The pragmatic, the cultural, and the relational. The main finding of the paper is that the praxis of ISO 5964 may be combined with modifications in practice. The practical modifications are best understood as belonging to the cultural and relational perspectives. Each type of modification influences the usefulness of the resultant thesaurus in a particular way as outlined in the paper.
*Nr 84 Helena Persson: "Årets skolbibliotek" – hur då?: En studie av utmärkelsen "Årets skolbibliotek" ("School library of the year" – how?: A study of the honour "School library of the year")
This thesis is about School libraries and the honour "School library of the year". I have examined the questions - What’s to say about school libraries in the curriculum and the library law? - Who administer the honour "School library of the year" and what’s demanded to get it? - What have made the school libraries I have examined to school libraries of the year"? As theory I have used the Taxonomies of the School Library Media Program by David V. Loertscher. I have given a background to and defined the school library as a function, a room and in the teaching among others. I have presented the curriculums from 1969, 1980 and 1994. The most space is given to the part that examines three schools and their school library media program. The schools use different ways to teach the pupils how to find and use information. They work with reading literature, writing their own stories, and solving problems. They also work with themes that have to do with many of the subjects. It is important to have a good staff at the school library, and to give the pupils inspiration to read and learn how to get the information needed. The schools have got the honour "School Library of the Year" because they have chosen to spend money on their school libraries instead of saving money. The result of this thesis says that the school library media program is important to teach pupils to search for information, and continue their education as adults. The school librarians feel that they need more space. They also want one more librarian to the school library, which cannot be realized. The school leaders’ attitude to the school library is of great importance for the school library.
*Nr 85 Sofia Gjertz, Camilla Lengborn: Klassifikationssystem för en medicinhistorisk samling – en jämförande studie av SAB och NLM (Classification system for a collection of history of medicine – a comparative study of SAB and NLM)
This thesis deals with classification of the subject field history of medicine. The two classification systems SAB and NLM are compared in order to find out which one is the most adequate to organize a small collection of history of medicine. SAB and NLM are the two most commonly used classification systems in medical libraries in Sweden today. NLM classification system specializes in medicine and SAB is a universal classification system. Our purpose with this study is to find out the pros and cons of each system, whether the systems treat the subject history of medicine in a satisfactory way and what kind of classification system that is better for this assignment, a specific one or a general one. From this we try to draw conclusions about the possibilities of these systems to classify a collection of history of medicine. In this comparative study we have analyzed not only the classification systems, but also the classification codes of 74 documents found at the library of a museum of history of medicine. When choosing a classification system for a collection there are a lot of aspects that need to be considered. These can be grouped into three main categories: theoretical, sociological and economical/administrative aspects. In our analysis we have focused on specific evaluation criteria, of which most are theoretical at nature. The criteria used include layout and index, updates, structure, notation, hospitality and finally specificity and exhaustivity. Although both classification systems showed several advantages our conclusion is that SAB is more appropriate for organizing a small collection of history of medicine. Our main reason for this is the fact that SAB provides the opportunity to show date of the topic discussed within the document, not only date of publication. SAB also allows a document to be represented by more than one classification code, if desired.
*Nr 86 Karin Häll: Kultursponsring och kulturfinansiering: en undersökning av diskursiv förändring i fyra statliga kulturpolitiska dokument. (Sponsorship of culture and funding of culture: a study of discoursive change in four governmental cultural policy documents.)
The aim of this Master’s thesis is to examine the view of funding and sponsorship of culture within Swedish governmental cultural policy. The main issue is to discover changes in attitude towards funding and sponsorship of culture by comparing the discourse of cultural policy in the 1970’s with the discourse of cultural policy in the 1990’s. The theoretical and methological starting point is Ernesto Laclau’s and Chantal Mouffe’s discourse theory. Another theoretical starting point is Danish cultural policy reasearcher Dorte Skot-Hansen’s theories of the development of cultural policy in the Nordic countries, and Norman Fairclough’s, of critical discourse analysis, theory of the marketization of discourse. Four governmental cultural policy documents, two from the 1970’s and two from the 1990’s, are analysed through a model loosely based on Laclau’s and Mouffe’s idea of nodalpoints and elements constituting a discourse. The analysis shows that there has been a change in discourse comparing the discourse of the 1970’s with the discourse of the 1990’s. The discourse of the 1990’s is strongly influenced by a market discourse and has a favourable attitude towards sponsorship of culture, whereas the discourse of the 1970’s generally has a very negative attitude towards cooperation between culture and business. However, the analysis reveals that the change in attitude is rather only applied on a linguistic level and not in the ideology of cultural policy.
*Nr 87 Anna Linge: Smålands Musikarkiv: att samla och förmedla (The Music Archives of Småland: collecting and connecting)
This study examines the cultural factors which necessitated the establishment of The Music Archives of Småland in 1991 in the city of Växjö. I wanted to know the importance of the local music tradition and the role of those people who worked to create an institution such as this. In order to do this I interviewed the chief collector of early folk music, Magnus Gustafsson, and made use of literary sources to devise questions and evaluate the results of the exercise. In this study I have made use of a model of a musical culture in a society, created by Lundberg and Ternhag, based on the theory of cultural fields by Pierre Bourdieu. According to this model, the stature of a musical culture gives different forms of musical expression certain roles, but these roles can be remodelled, reflecting perhaps political or ideological influence. The first national archives of music, founded at the end of the nineteenth century, stand as a monument to romantic nationalistic ideas about heritage, nation and people. The Music Archives of Småland were founded as a result of the recordings of regional folk music in the 1970s and 1980s. The Archives have also become home to a valuable regional collection of sheet music. The Music Archives of Småland have taken on a challenge which differs from that of the earlier form for music archives, that is to make the collections available and useful. In relation to the model, The Music Archives of Småland expand the position of the regional heritage of folk music from simply being part of the sub-field of cultural value to being part of the sub-field of commercial value as well, thriving as a result in a new context.
*Nr 88 Carin Silvermyr: Bilder av bibliotekarier i dagspressen (Images of Librarians in Daily Press)
The aim of this essay was to investigate what images are conveyed through Swedish daily press and to discuss the possible consequences of these images for librarians and users of the library. What discourses can be identified in the material; how are librarians and their profession described in the press; what attitude can be detected towards librarians and in what contexts are librarians discussed, are questions that were asked. Discourse analysis was used as theory and method. A discourse can be understood as a certain way of talking about and understanding the world. 55 articles from the period of January 1st 2002 to March 7th 2003 were analysed with the help of a model. The investigated articles revealed a varied result. Different descriptions of the librarian as a person and his or her occupation were given. For instance, librarians are said to be terrifically good, whispering and pedantic; the work is said to be stressful and low-paid. Various assignments were presented, such as handling books and information, reference work and storytelling. Both negative and positive portrayals were made of librarians. Only four of the analysed articles can be said to have librarians as their main topic. Therefore, the articles focus on other subjects, which for instance are libraries, radio- and TV programmes and music artists. Five discourses have been identified from the material, which respectively include the idea that librarians are closely linked to books or information, that they are indispensable and modest and that they are women. Possible consequences of the identified images, for users of the library, could be that negative descriptions are transferred to the users; that men do not find it attractive to work as a librarian, since the work is said to be a profession for women. One of the discourses about books and information could supersede the other, since in relation to each other, they are placed antagonistically. In my opinion it will probably be the discourse about information that supersedes the other.
*Nr 89 Anna Simonsson: Informationsfrihet? En studie av skilda inställningar till begreppet informationsfrihet samt belysande av huruvida informationsfrihet kan garanteras på svenska folkbibliotek. (Freedom of Information? A survey of various approaches to freedom of information and elucidating whether freedom of information is granted in Swedish public libraries.)
The main purpose of this paper is to examine the attitude towards freedom of information of different agents important to shaping the Swedish public library. The agents referred to in this paper are the state and municipality, the debaters with different opinions of the book Mångkultur eller välfärd? written by Lars Jansson, and the national and international library associations. The purpose is also to examine whether freedom of information is ensured in the Swedish public library. In the survey the qualitative textual analysis method is used when examining the documents, the final committee report Kulturpolitikens inriktning and the government bill Kulturpolitik. I have also examined the following laws; The Library Law, The Freedom of Speech Constitutional Law, The Freedom of the Press Decree, The Constitution and The Municipal Law. I have examined the attitude towards freedom of information by using a debate on BIBLIST, a discussion forum on the Internet. Three national library associations, which are referred to in this paper are, BiS, DIK and Svensk Biblioteksförening. The international documents I have examined are The IFLA Statement on Libraries and Intellectual Freedom and The UNESCO public library manifesto. In the discussion I compare attitudes towards different dimensions of the concept of freedom of information among the agents examined. The results of the textual analysis show that it is difficult to find one single approach to the various dimensions of freedom of information among the agents examined. This could depend on the fact that the different dimensions overlap or it could be that it is difficult to find a univocal approach to freedom of information among the agents. Whether or not freedom of information could be granted in the library depends on how you define the concept freedom of information. Several different elements have an effect on how you define freedom of information, for example, the different values of the librarian, the specific library and the municipality. Because of this it is difficult to find a general answer. This paper illuminates the problems arising when trying to define the concept, freedom of information.
*Nr 90 Johan Ringström: Folkbibliotekspolitik i Göteborg under slutet av 1940-talet: En ideologianalys (Public library politics in Gothenburg at the end of the 1940’s: An ideology analysis)
The aim of this Master thesis is to delineate the ideology behind the public library politics in Gothenburg, during 1945-50. The study is an archive survey. To be able to account for the public library politics in Gothenburg during the period, the author has studied documents in the archive of the public library board in Gothenburg. The description of the politics is the source for the research papers analysis. The thesis’ principal issue, is on what ideological basis the public library politics has been formulated in Gothenburg, during the period of interest? The concept of ideology is defined as a coherent system of norms and values. To answer the main issue the author uses a method of analysis that focuses on the fact that it is texts that gets investigated. The methodology is hermeneutic and based on the knowledge that you have to interpret a text in relation to its context, to be able to understand the text, in this study to be able to understand the public library politics. The context that have been investigated and described closely is welfare politics, the popular adult education, cultural politics and the history of public libraries in Sweden and Gothenburg. The analysis is structured in accordance to a text model that is constructed from the assumption that a text is designed – (1.) in a specific context and (2.) uses words (3.) to express something (4.) to someone (5.) in a specific style. The author finds that the ideology behind the public library politics consisted of principles, that the welfare politics of the period was built on, that fitted the public library ideal like a glove. He also finds that it consists of a modernistic belief in progression – the society is moving forward in a positive and more or less imperative way.
*Nr 91 Camilla Bergstrand: Webbplatsen – En integrerad del av folkbibliotekets verksamhet? (The Website – An integrated part of the public library’s activity?)
In a web environment the library and the librarian continue to function in their role as information provider even when the physical library is closed. Research question is to describe how and in what extent the public libraries’ websites are integrated in their daily activity and what the causes are for that. The empirical material consists of a survey of number of public libraries’ websites and qualitative interviews with responsible librarians. I have delimited the study by only investigating the websites of Gothenburg public libraries. In my survey of the websites I have studied four spheres; Services, Contact, Structure and General viewpoints. The qualitative interviews present the responsible librarians opinions in three areas; the objectives of the public libraries’ activity, the websites content and the librarian’s part in web publishing. The result of the study shows that the websites of the public libraries in small extent are integrated in the public libraries daily activity. As a result of this study I found four underlying factors, which should be concerned when a web project initiates. The factors are Organisation/Management, Objectives, Time and Knowledge/Interest. First of all it is most important for the organisation to have a manager with library and information science backgrounds. Second, objectives are tools to integrate the websites in the libraries daily activity. It demands time to maintain, integrate and model a Website and also knowledge; interest. The task should be integrated in the responsible librarian’s profession. Liable librarian should possess knowledge of information architecture and Meta data. The purpose of the study is to create an understanding for these factors and emphasize them in a web environment.
*Nr 92 Katarina Engvert, Staffan Knutson: Marknadsföring av elektroniska tidskrifter på svenska universitets- och högskolebibliotek (Marketing of Electronic Journals in Swedish Academic Libraries)
The transition from paper to electronic journals in induces a major change in academic libraries. The library must focus on customising the service to meet user needs in order to compete with other actors on the market. This situation entails the need for a marketing and management approach in library organisations. Linda Ashcroft has in previous research focused on marketing of electronic journals. She has stated the importance of simplifying the user environment of electronic journals and the importance of regaining control over electronic journals from publishers and vendors. This master’s thesis aims to describe how electronic journals are being promoted and evaluated in Swedish Academic Libraries. Based on Ashcroft’s questionnaire we also relate our results to Great Britain and North America. Our results show that Swedish libraries promote e-journals with methods that make the user aware and interested in using e-journals. However, none of these methods are found successful. The most effective future promotion method is connected to user behaviour. The results show a great reliance on statistics for evaluation purposes, while the qualitative evaluation is lacking in both continuance and extent. The libraries do not have enough time for promotion and evaluation activities and find that publishers complicate library promotion and evaluation. Our research shows great similarities to the conditions in Great Britain and North America. Based on Kotler’s marketing approach, the Swedish libraries lack in both planning and evaluation of the marketing process, and cannot effectively utilise their resources and thereby fully satisfy the user needs.
*Nr 93 Christer Zandén: Omvärldsanalys i olika typer av organisationer. En jämförande studie av omvärldsanalysen i en kommun och ett företag. (Environmental scanning in different kinds of organisations. A comparative study of the environmental scanning in a local authority and a business company.)
This master thesis deals with the differences in the design of the environmental scanning between different kinds of organisations, as well as the demands and regulations etc. in the respective environments that influence the environmental scanning. The content of the environmental scanning and the organisation of the function are outside the scope of this study. Two organisations that do not have an organised function but are scanning their environment were chosen for the investigation. A model for conducting the environmental scanning developed by Frankelius is used to analyse the practice of environmental scanning. Thus comparable material is acquired for the purpose of the study. The organisations in the study are: a local authority (Mark’s municipality), and a company (Berg Propulsion). The results of the study show that environmental demands influence the vision of the organisation, which in turn influences the environmental scanning. For the local authority this means that the obligations to the citizens and the state demand a long-time planning. Therefore the vision/goal/strategy remind a plan of handling. This influences the environmental scanning that has to meet the information needs for specific actions. The business company has a different kind of environment that demands quick actions and flexibility. Therefore their vision/goal/strategy reminds the way of conducting business, and the environmental scanning is more used for constant observation of different factors. Berg Propulsion exists in a quite stable business, which the managers know quite well. The source they use mostly is personal contacts, and they have a network of sources that they think work well. The choice of information sources of Mark’s municipality is related to finding information for the specific needs.
*Nr 94 Susanne Dahlkvist: Att arbeta för ungdomar på folkbibliotek: Hur visar sig bibliotekariens synsätt och kunskaper? (Working for young people in public libraries: How does the librarians approach and knowledge appear?)
The aim of this thesis is to explore how librarians’ approach to and knowledge of young people can be seen in their work methods and in activities arranged for young people. I also want to investigate other factors that librarians think can affect how they work. Five interviews were carried out with five librarians who worked with young people at public libraries. The literature review covers; young people’s needs and leisure activities, young people’s attitudes to libraries, activities arranged for them and towards departments for young people at public libraries. Literature dealing with librarians` attitudes and knowledge of young people was also included. The librarians were, on the whole, positive to young people. This was revealed in their enthusiasm in accepting the literature suggested by them and in their welcoming attitude towards them. However, experiences of "gangs" and the ways that young people used the computers came up as a problem. The librarians knew a great deal about young people, which was apparent in the wide range of literature offered, and how it was promoted. The libraries’ activities for young people were often focused on reading and writing projects. Other activities at the libraries were intended mainly for children. A lack of resources prevented more ambitious investments. I found that the librarians` positive approach and knowledge of young people was important to the success of activities. In order to improve marketing aimed at young people the staff at public libraries could be supported by developing methods for meeting non-users. The question of priority can also lead to an unjust distribution of resources.
*Nr 95 Åsa Jönnerstig: Servicekvalitet på Göteborgs stadsbibliotek utifrån dyslektikers perspektiv (Service quality at the public library of Gothenburg from the point of view of the dyslectic)
The aim of this paper is to examine how dyslectic adults define the service quality at the public library of Gothenburg. The purpose is also to investigate what level of service quality the library provides and which responsibilities the library has towards the dyslectics. Answers are sought to the following questions: - How do dyslectics perceive the service quality at the public library of Gothenburg and is that service quality satisfactory? - What responsibilities does the public library of Gothenburg have towards the dyslectics according to cultural policy documents? In this paper six persons have been interviewed. Of these, four are adult dyslectics, one works with people with special demands and the last one is the chief librarian. The last two persons mentioned work at the public library of Gothenburg. The theoretical framework is a theory where the users’ opinion about good service quality is in focus. Professor Grönroos has developed the theory. The informants say that it’s important that the library service is good and that they are treated politely. The dyslectics perceive that it’s important that the library has the appropriate material, like talking books. All the dyslectics perceive that the service at the public library of Gothenburg is satisfying. The national library act is of great support for the needs of the dyslectics. The responsibilities of the public library of Gothenburg towards the dyslectics were found to be complete, because the library offers adapted material and many other resources for the dyslectics.
*Nr 96 Angelica Wahlberg: Jane Austens romaner på film och i litteraturhistoria; en uppsats om nutida tolkningar av en författares verk (Jane Austen’s novels on film and in the history of literature; a paper on today’s constructions of an author’s work)
The purpose of this study is to examine modern constructions of Jane Austen’s work in films and in books on history of literature. The theoretical framework contains sociology of literature, cultural studies and film theory. I compared Jane Austen’s books Emma, Pride and prejudice and Sense and sensibility with three film versions from recent years. In the books on history of literature I studied, I found three different attitudes towards history of literature, which also influenced the interpretation of Austen’s novels. The stories in Austen’s books and in the films are similar. The differences lie elsewhere. The focus in this paper is on the differences in the environment, the characters’ social and financial conditions and their society. The environment has been prettified on film. Films romanticize and portray characters in a more personal way. Austen’s irony and financial conditions make glorification impossible in the books. On the fringes lie the harsh social conditions in Austen’s time. The differences could be seen as positive. Our own society is more tolerant and the films reflect this. But it can also be a forgery of Austen’s text. Cultural studies is more tolerant in this respect and accepts different conditions for different types of media. Sociology of literature, on the other hand, finds books superior to film. My conclusion is that films, as well as texts, are open to interpretation and brainwork. Books on history of literature and films all choose and exclude what they want from Austen’s texts.
*Nr 97 Christina Eriksson, Lotta Janzon: Synsätt på barn och barnboken. Vilka signaler har barnbiblioteken fått under 1900-talet? (Views on children and children’s literature. What signals have libraries for children got during the 20th century?)
The aim of this master’s thesis is to examine what intentions handbooks, laws and regulations have had about children and children’s literature, as we think that they can serve as guiding principles for children’s libraries in Sweden. The questions are: what signals have the children’s libraries got from the documents concerning the view of children and children’s literature during the 20th century? What has the social opinion about children been during the 20th century? How have children been seen during the 20th century? The method we used is a qualitative source analysis of mention above documents seen from a hermeneutical point of view. This analysis is woven together with the social opinion on children during the 20th century. Our results show that the aim of children’s literature before 1945 was a pedagogic and moral one. After that children’s literature could also be a source of relaxation. Up to the 1980’s there has been a discussion going on about quality on children's literature and whether books should be the main resource for the children’s libraries. From the 1990’s children’s literature has had the purpose to promote children’s lingual and literate progress. The documents didn’t say much about views on children before 1960, but in newer documents the signals about how libraries should treat and promote children are very distinct.
*Nr 98 Petra Nilsson: Grundskollärares informationsbehov och informationsförsörjning: en intervjuundersökning ur ett rollperspektiv (The information needs and information provision of teachers in compulsory school: an interview study from a role perspective)
This thesis deals with the information needs and information provision of teachers in compulsory school, from a role theoretical perspective. The object is to investigate teachers’ opinions on their information needs and information provision. The following questions have been used to approach the problem: Which are the information needs of teachers in compulsory school? How do teachers get the information they need? Which difficulties and deficiencies do teachers experience in their information provision, and what does the ideal situation look like? The theoretical frame of reference consists of a model of the information seeking of professionals, which is based on role theory. Qualitative interviews have been carried out with nine teachers. The results show that the teachers need information for their lessons, information concerning organisational and co-operational matters, professional development, student welfare, and in connection with different kinds of special commissions. The teachers use many different information sources. Being able to find information quickly and to feel confident with the information source are two important aspects when choosing information sources. The teachers’ requirements concern improvements in the information provision regarding organisational and co-operational matters, access to a school library and media centre, better knowledge on computers and the Internet, more time, and different possibilities to acquire professional development. One of the conclusions drawn, is that a school library with educated librarians could represent one possibility to meet teachers information needs for their lessons, of pedagogical literature and of professional development. A distinct structure and functioning routines, so that people know where to turn in different matters, could improve the part of the information provision that has to do with organisational issues.
*Nr 99 Pia Lundqvist: Kulturevenemang på folkbibliotek (Culture events in Swedish public libraries)
This thesis examines art exhibitions, literature events and music events in public libraries in Sweden. The aim is to study which event occurs most in the libraries in Sweden. I also examine who takes responsibility for the events, who the libraries engage, how much the events cost, and how often the libraries have the events. I also study Swedish cultural politics in purpose to see if the libraries follow the aims and directions decided by the Swedish government. One aim of the Swedish culture politic is to give every citizen in Sweden the same possibility to experience culture, no matter where they live. The Swedish government also wants everyone to take part in culture and that the Swedish people should be able to experience different type of culture. The public libraries are seen as institutions of culture, and several studies have shown that the libraries are the most visited institutions of cultural in Sweden. I examine 151 Swedish public libraries. The result of the studies shows that literature events are the most frequent, followed by art exhibitions. The library doesn’t have to pay so much for the events and it is not unusually that other organizations in society take responsibility for events in the libraries. The result also shows that there is a difference between libraries in the country when it comes to offer people culture event. Most of the libraries have one or more of the tree different event, which shows that they are centre of culture. Many of the follow the aims and directions of the Swedish culture politic.
*Nr 100 Lena Tellefsen: Vilken ställning har dagens ungdomsbok? En studie om hur dagens ungdomslitteratur bemöts av sin målgrupp (Which position has today’s teenage literature? A study on how today’s teenage literature is met by its target group)
The purpose of this study was to investigate young teenagers’ (13-16) reading habits and attitudes concerning today’s modern teenage literature especially written for the young teenagers. The study also includes the reader’s apprehension of the literature and how the target group is reached. The study is based on results from questionnaires, interviews and by compiling summaries of literature relevant to this study. Earlier research has been compared with results from this study. Reflections made by teachers and librarians concerning the youth’s reading habits are an integral part of the study. Theoretical approaches, mainly "reader-oriented" theories, have been studied and actively used in the analysis of the results. The study result shows that young teenagers often read teenage literature and prefer this compared to adult literature. They found the literature to fulfil their expectations of themes, ability of identification and realism. It also had a positive impact on the readers, often leading to reflections. The main reason for reading was pleasure. However, there is one group, mainly boys, that reject the teenage literature in favour of the fantasy literature. The study shows how important it is with an intermediary of the teenage literature. The teachers seem to have an especially important role in guiding the youth into the teenage literature.
*Nr 101 Susanna Jacobson: Hur reglerar statlig kulturpolitik folkbibliotekets evenemangsverksamhet? – En undersökning av nationell kulturpolitik på två folkbibliotek i Sverige. (How does governmental cultural policy regulate event activities at the public library? – An examination of national cultural policy at two public libraries in Sweden.)
This Master thesis aims to study the relation between Swedish governmental cultural policy and cultural events at two Swedish public libraries. The Masters thesis demonstrates how national cultural policy regulates every part of the public library. This demonstration is a result based upon national cultural policy documents and interviews with employees at two public libraries in Sweden. The conclusion that national cultural policy regulates this part of the public library is drawn with help of the circle of culture as applied in Culture Studies and Michel Foucault theories of power. The thesis contains the answer of four questions, two involving cultural policy and the other two events at the library. The main question of this thesis is the same as the title; How does governmental cultural policy regulate event activities at the public library? The conclusion of all these questions shows that the relation between governmental cultural policy and the activity of events at public libraries is strong in several ways.
*Nr 102 Iréne Granström: Ontologier i kunskapsorganisation – Vägen från tesaur till den semantiska webben (Ontologies in Knowledge Organization – From Thesaur to the Semantic Web)
This thesis aims to analyse ontology, primarily as the word is used in the context of the Semantic Web. One of the main questions is how ontologies relate to classification and thesauri, two concepts well known within Library and Information Science. The vision of the Semantic Web, a more intelligent addition to the current World Wide Web, has raised the question of how to deal with information scattered over a multitude of locations, stored in different formats, written in different languages et cetera. This issue is in many ways similar to the classical problems encountered in library science: how to classify and categorise large amounts of information. The use of ontologies is one of the main steps leading to the Semantic Web, as well as a tool which can be used in other areas of information organisation and management. The main use of an ontology is to provide a standardised way of describing the area of interest. The results of the study show that there are several similarities between ontologies, classification and thesauri, but also that ontologies add some aspects compared to the others. The main differences are that ontologies require that relationships are defined formally in order to avoid ambiguities, and that they can handle concepts in addition to terms. This makes ontologies more powerful, especially when using computer based systems. Utilising an ontology makes it possible for a computer to draw conclusions based on the data provided, something that is not possible when using a thesaurus.
*Nr 103 Anna Edin: När en roman blir teveserie: Om Jane Austens aktualisering i och med 1995 års teveinspelning av Pride and Prejudice (When a novel becomes a television-serial: How Jane Austen was brought to life with the 1995 television production of Pride and Prejudice)
The aim of this Master’s thesis is to examine how Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, first published in 1813, was established in different literary orbits after the transformation to the television medium in 1995. I also want to find out what this adaptation meant for the popularity of Jane Austen, the circulation of her works and the rebirth of her authorship. It has furthermore been of interest to discuss the reasons why Jane Austen and her works became so popular. Questions posed in the study are: What has the 1995 production of Pride and Prejudice meant for the spreading of Jane Austen’s literary work and for the rebirth of her authorship? How has Pride and Prejudice moved between the literary orbits after it became a television-serial in 1995? Why did the circulation get the character it got in the 1990s? In order to find feasible answers to these questions I have used Hans Hertel’s model of the five literary orbits as theoretical starting point. This model has made it possible to show how Pride and Prejudice moved from the popular literary orbit, through the intermedial to the mass literary and further to the oral one after the 1995 production and how this made Austen available to a larger audience. The method used is a qualitative one, mostly based on literature studies. Earlier studies, articles and web sites have made it possible to describe the popularity of Jane Austen and Pride and Prejudice and to follow the work through Hertel’s model. I have sought the reasons for the popularity both in the content of the novel and the BBC production and in conditions of the book- and mediamarket. The purpose has been to produce a comprehensive view of how the different angles cooperate to create a contextual whole.
*Nr 104 Johan Emanuelsson: Bildningsrummet. Om bildningsbegreppet i folkbiblioteksdiskursen. (The Room of Bildning. The Concept of Bildning in the Discourse of the Public Library.)
The Swedish concept of bildning, related to the German Bildung, finding its correspondence in English in refinement, formation and culture, is an important, though traditional rather than modern concept in cultural policy and sphere. The concept connected to the activity of the public library is relevant, as the library uses the word as a description of parts of its work. The meaning of the concept can easily be seen to be complex as well as disputed, borders on and is related to other concepts. The paper discusses different meanings to the concept according to different Swedish authors, as well as the connection of the concept to related ones. The varieties and differences are expressed as differences in discourse. These results are used to analyses different applications of the concept in what is being called a discourse of the (Swedish) public library, mainly studying two official reports. The results show that, as in the use in general, there is no agreement, no hegemony, in the use of the concept; there might even be reason to speak of different discourses under the name of public library. This depends partly on significance seen in the efforts of bildning made by the public library, and showing its consequences in conflicting attitudes concerning purpose. One important comparison is that the ambition of bildning in the public library is similar to that concerning school education. The ambition to do with bildning in the activity of the public library is problematic and exposes possible conflicts.
*Nr 105 Katarina Malmberg: Omvärldsbevakning i Svenska Bankaktiebolag (Environmental Scanning in Swedish joint-stock bank)
The concepts of environmental scanning and Business Intelligence have gained increased interest over the last years in a number of different organisational contexts. The research in this field has mainly been dealing with methods and issues regarding organisation but the aim of environmental scanning, the forming of new perspectives, has been largely ignored. The purpose of this thesis is to study how Swedish joint-stock banks put environmental scanning and Business Intelligence into practice. First a literature study is made to create a background and to explain the different conceptions. Then I describe the different functions of the different services in Swedish joint-stock banks. Questionnaires have been sent to these banks and I ask what sources and methods they use. I have compared models to analyse information retrieved from environmental scanning described in literature and asked if the banks uses these models or other. The results of this study indicates that the majority of banks experiences that their environmental scanning correspond to the need of information. Elements which have influences on that the information need not is 100% is first of all lack of economical resources and problems with methods and then lack of time. Almost half of the banks use the analyse model named SWOT which is frequently used in the literature in this field. The three most important factors for the banks to watch are competitors, customers, and the economic situation in the country.
*Nr 106 Tellervo Salomonsson: Att mäta bibliotek: en studie av två biblioteks verksamhetsberättelser. (Measuring a library: a study of activity reports from two libraries.)
During the late twentieth century, political and societal changes gave rise to an increased interest in performance evaluation in public organizations. This development also affected libraries in the public sector. The main concern for this master thesis is performance measurement in libraries. In this study two different types of libraries are investigated, one public and the other academic. My aim is to find out if and how performance measurement appears in the libraries’ annual activity reports. In interviews with library leadership the usability of the measurements are examined. I also compare the results from each library to find common features concerning performance measurement. The theoretical framework consists of themes and ideas from Library and Information science literature that address measurement issues in library organizations. The result of the study demonstrates that measurements appear in a quite simple but varied way, and describe a wide array of organization activities. It further illustrates that the leaders are mainly interested in using measurement for political purposes. Finally, the study shows that there are important differences in the performance accounts of the two libraries. In terms of common features, both libraries rely heavily on their status as non-profit organizations.
*Nr 107 Jessica Grynell: "Man vet inte vad man inte vet". En studie av informationsflödet inom Gatukontoret i Borås Stad ("You do not know what you don’t know". A study of the flow of information in Gatukontoret in Borås Stad)
The aim of this thesis is to examine the flow of information in an administration of the municipality Borås Stad. To achieve the aim the following questions were asked: How accessible is information? How is information used in the organisation? How is information communicated? Totally sixteen qualitative interviews was accomplished with employees at the administration. The results of the interviews show that there is a difference in how much and what sort of information the respondents use. They all seem to prefer information to be communicated face to face if possible or over the phone. Problems that arose was that the flow of upwards trough the organisation is filtered. Though one of the aims of internal information is to bring the parts of the organisation together the flow of information is not very smooth. It was also stated that all of the respondents wanted more information about plans for the administration. Even when the respondents had access to information did problems arise since many of them found it difficult to assimilate the content. The interviews also shows that some of the respondents wish for the organisation to use more of electronic resources while others wants it to be like it is today when most information is to be found in paper documents. Many of the information problems in the administration can be solved by developing the already existing intranet. All of the staff in the administration should work for a better insight in how information is best mediated, in spite of making it possible for the receiver to make the information his own knowledge. It is also important that the administration try to find ways to make the information flow smoothly.
*Nr 108 Iréne Sjöstrand: Vad ligger till grund för användares relevansbedömningar?: En litteraturundersökning (What are the bases for users’ relevance judgements?: An investigation based on literature)
The purpose of this thesis is to get an improved understanding of what the bases for relevance are, when people in real information need situations make relevance judgements. In order to meet this purpose, an investigation based on research literature is performed. Four types of relevance are investigated: topical or subject relevance, cognitive relevance or pertinence, situational relevance or utility, and socio-cognitive relevance. The investigation also deals with users’ relevance criteria identified in fourteen empirical studies, in which the users are adults and engaged in oral, textual, and multimedia information retrieval. Finally, the connections between the user criteria found and the types of relevance are discussed. The result shows that the user criteria that are brought together with topical relevance are few and fairly alike. The user criteria that are brought together with cognitive relevance and with situational relevance are much more numerous and of many different kinds. The criteria assigned to these two types of relevance are divided into groups. Among the criteria that are assigned to cognitive relevance, a part of the situational relevance criteria are to be found as well, depending on the catch-all nature of situational relevance. No connections between the user criteria and socio-cognitive relevance are found. The result indicates that relevance can be considered as a system and the relevance judgement as a process in which there are certain determined stages.
*Nr 109 Maria Rosengren: Nedläggningar och nyetableringar. En studie av hur folkbibliotekssituationen förändrats i Göteborg under 90-talet med hänsyn till stadsdelsnämndsreformen. (Library Closures and Establishments. A study of changes to the library situation in Gothenburg during the 90’s considering the city community reform.)
The purpose of this master’s thesis is to examine the arguments that are being used when closing and establishing peoples libraries. During the 90:ies, in the community of Gothenburg, 4 public libraries were closed and another 3 public libraries were opened. A possible reason for this change lies in the reform from the city Committee that split the community of Gothenburg into 21 pieces; all with one centrally appointed political Committee. The library activity has since the reform was implemented got worse in some areas, foremost in the already neglected city sections, and better in some areas, which where able to establish new libraries. Argumentation analysis indicates that the arguments used at closure where mainly economical and neither the number nor relevance and validity of the arguments where good. Two of the new establishments would probably have been carried out regardless of the city committee reform, while one is entirely dependent on it. Since there was an economic crisis in Sweden during the 90’s it is hard to decide what influence the city committee reform has had on the development of the libraries and also what the crisis is guilty of. The conclusion is that the library activity in the community of Gothenburg would have been better off with the former central control, which was the predecessor to the city committee reform.
*Nr 110 Anna-Lena Johansson: ABM: En studie om samarbete mellan arkiv, bibliotek och museer (ALM: A study of co-operation between archives, libraries and museums)
The subject of this master thesis is co-operation between archives, libraries and museums. The purpose is twofold: 1) To map out activities within the area to get an overall picture. The mapping is done by studies of documents and consists of international outlooks and an overview of national and regional projects and reports; 2) To investigate how leaders of the respective institutions within the various regions of Sweden apprehend co-operation between the three sectors. The empirical study is accomplished by inquiries and is mainly qualitative. An intermediate purpose of this essay is to try using grounded theory to treat and analyse the gathered material. Three questions are asked: What is essential about a co-operation? What are the advantages or disadvantages? In what way do the opinions about a co-operation differ between the institutions? The results of my investigation indicate that the most essential point is to lay out general outlines, develop common objectives and focus on the user. There are a lot of impediments, and the people involved need to have a will to co-operate, which then can lead to a positive professional interchange. Archives and museums are more focused on their respective professional roles and its distinctive character, than libraries, which can be due to the fact that libraries are more open to the public and the librarian’s role is more extrovert. To create a fourth room, outside the other three, seems to be a good idea for the realization of a lasting co-operation. There they can meet in a mutual digital sphere.
*Nr 111 Lars Åkesson: Katalogisering och presentation av film på bibliotek (Cataloguing and presentation of film in public libraries)
The aim of this thesis is to discuss selected parts of cataloguing both from a practical and a theoretical viewpoint. It presents the basic grounds for cataloguing of printed as well as non-printed materials. The focus lies on the main entry heading and its author/title problem concerning film. The thesis theoretical part consists of an analysis of central documents dealing with the author concept from both a library- and information science perspective and a film science perspective. The practical part consists of interviews from two Swedish public libraries, which have different approaches on presenting films. Theories which have been used are taken from general library- and information science theorists such as Charles Cutter and Ross Harvey as well as cataloguing experts within the library- and information field and film theorists within the film science field. The Study shows that the differences between cataloguing of non-printed materials and printed materials are relatively small except for the main heading. Theorists within the two academic fields are ambivalent whether one can claim the director to be the main author for a film and therefore, its recommended to follow the common praxis of cataloguing and presenting films on their title.
*Nr 112 Maud Salim: Information overload and its implications for a corporate library: as perceived by eight researchers at AstraZeneca. (Informationsbelastning och dess konsekvenser för ett företagsbibliotek: ur upplevelsen av åtta forskare på AstraZeneca.)
The aim of the present study is to develop an understanding of how researchers perceive the role of the library in helping them to cape with information overload related to maintaining currency. AstraZeneca was chosen to conduct this study because the pharmaceutical industry is a very intensive information industry. Eight willing researchers were chosen via a contact person to participate in the qualitative interviews. Researchers work in different departments and their time of employments differs. The results revealed that the problem of information overload is an individual approach and it is related to maintaining currency. To overcome the problem researchers have adopted individual coping strategies; specialization was the most useful strategy adopted by most of the researchers. Personal information management, as sorting and filing, seemed to play an important role in handling the current information. At the organizational level, the Information Science & Library was perceived as updated, professional and necessary. The library staff helps researchers to stay up-dated and to cope with information overload, by acting as information providers and as research assistants and by offering end-users’-education.
*Nr 113 Maria Lindh: Informationskulturen i Attac Göteborg – öppen eller sluten? (The information culture in Attac Göteborg – open or closed?)
The aim of this study was to examine if an organisation that strives for democracy and participation, also possess an open information culture. This study deals with the information culture in a social movement organisation, Attac Gothenburg. To achieve the aim, following questions were asked: What is the organisation culture like, is it open or closed? What is the information culture like, is it open or closed? What is the information culture like, in relation to the identity of the organisation? The focus has been put on earlier research in social movements, organisation and information culture. In this qualitative study I have collected material mainly from interviews. The organisation culture of Attac Gothenburg was relatively closed; it was hard for a newcomer to get into the organisation, the different groups didn’t have any organised collaboration, but the organisation, however, was flexible and open to changes. The information culture was both open and closed; it was open in the small working groups, but the overall picture showed that it was closed. In the working groups it was easy to share information, but there were problems in not getting information in the organisation as a whole, unless you belonged to the core of the organisation, or close to it. One conclusion that can be drawn is that the importance of the formal information increases, the bigger an organisation is and the more closed its information culture is. The identity of the organisation as open and democratic can be questioned. The information gap make the organisation risk loosing their members, especially members on the fringe, when the emphasis is on "doing things" instead of seeing to the importance of the organisational work. Attac is running the risk of becoming a small lobby organisation, instead of a popular and widespread organisation.
*Nr 114 Petra Petroff: Information Audit – en informationsgranskning vid Borås Stads äldre- och handikappomsorg inom kommundel Centrum. (Information Audit at the department for care of the elderly and disabled in the Centre unit of Borås municipality.)
An information audit identifies, among other things, organizations’ information resources, the information flow and the needs of the information users. The purpose of this master’s thesis was to describe the management of information within a local unit of Borås municipality by putting an information audit-method in practice. The focus was on three issues: What information needs could be seen in the organization? How does the information flow through the organization? How does Sugan Henczel’s seven-stage model serve as a tool to map the management of information within the local unit? The study only described the situation at a certain time at the chosen organization. The seven-stage information audit model was revised and adjusted to the studied organization by only carrying out four of the seven steps: Planning, Data collection, Data analysis and Data evaluation. A total of seven semi-structured interviews were conducted. The respondents’ answers from the interviews were analysed and evaluated and the findings were presented and discussed. Their information needs were mainly focused on the elderly patients and nearly everybody thought the information was easy to find. Change in the strategic level in the organization and the experienced employees were considered to be the main factors for the satisfactory management of information. The flow of information through the different levels in the organization was regarded as sufficient, but could be optimised by a few adjustments. Henczel’s model for the information audit was considered a necessary instrument to conduct this study. The method provided structure to the study and guided me in the right directions.
*Nr 115 Ulla Larsson: Konstverksamhet på folkbibliotek – med utgångspunkt i statliga kulturpolitiska direktiv (Art activity in the public library with starting point on Government cultural political directives)
This master thesis is about art activity in the public library. The essay takes its starting point from Government cultural political directives and my purpose has been to study how these are followed up in the municipal level. My survey takes place at the main library of Flen in the county of Södermanland. What I am looking for is, what the art activity looks like, what is decided regarding it and what the strategies are. Furthermore I look into how library visitors understand and participate in the art activity. A parallel survey is done in the part that concerns the library visitors. It consists of studies regarding the art interest of the visitors connected to their social background. This is often taken into account when cultural political surveys are done which regard participation in cultural life. On behalf, of the investigation which concerns the library visitors art interest in relation to their social background, it takes off from the theories of the French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, concerning cultural habits in relation to socio- economical factors and lifestyle, but also from Swedish cultural statistic. The methods used to carry through the study are partly interviews with two persons who have responsibility of art activity in the libraries but also in the municipality. The other method used, was an enquiry investigation in which the library visitors were able to have their saying. The background chapter in this master thesis includes three subchapters; cultural political directives according art, definitions of art and the self-governing of municipals. The result shows that in the library of Flen there is an administration and possibility for citizens to participate in an extensive art supply. On the contrary, there is not any real formulated art activity strategy activated. The library visitors are generally pleased with the total art supply at the library. The participation in the art activities at the library and the art interest in general may vary depending on which type of media and on social background. Social background factors such as gender, age, education and occupation do have importance for the interest in art.
*Nr 116 Maria Andersson, Emma Nilsson: Att ha och inte ha: En studie kring bibliotekariers värderingar och urvalskriterier för spelfilm på bibliotek (To have and have not: A study of librarians’ values and criteria for selection of feature films at libraries)
This Master’s thesis concerns feature film services in Swedish public libraries. We have investigated the opinion of eight librarians concerning values and criteria for selection as regards film. The theory chosen comes from varied disciplines, for example sociology, adapted to our subject. The most important theories are Antonio Gramsci’s idea of hegemony, Herbert J. Gans’ concept of taste cultures and Carl Gustav Johannsen’s discussion about quality. The method used is qualitative interviews and the answers from those have been analysed according to different categories. The results show that the librarians rather give priority to literature than to film, even when they value feature film highly. In their work the librarians willingly support culture and democracy and another important factor that influences film purchase is that they want the library to function as an alternative to local video stores. The librarians are also influenced by the community, by debates in society and film festivals. When selecting film, the librarians work according to two different aspects of quality; transcendent and user-based. The study has also shown that the librarian’ s influence on the users can be seen as an expression of a cultural hegemony, both when it comes to the access of feature film and the effect on their requests and taste in film. It seems like the users have adapted their taste according to the demands of quality at the libraries.
*Nr 117 Elisabeth Kroon, Mats Savolainen: Silversurfarna med hela världen i en låda – Användarundervisning i internet för sju ålderspensionärer (Silver Surfers with the world in a box – User studies of the Internet for seven senior citizens)
Today, librarians’ tasks may sometimes take on an educational aspect, e.g. when designing educational courses. Our aim with this paper has been to extend our knowledge of people’s learning and learning processes in order to better adapt our educational courses for different user groups. We have investigated what eight senior citizens wanted to learn about the Internet, and followed seven of them during their course. We have examined how the group experienced a course about Internet use, and how they described their learning and learning processes. We have analysed the barriers they encountered during their course, and if their attitude towards the Internet changed after the course. To answer our questions we have made a case-study in the form of an educational course on the use of the Internet. In the analysis, the course is examined from an adult’s educational perspective. The senior citizens’ barriers are connected in this study to Buckland’s and Rubin’s barriers, and the aspects of learning which we discovered, are comparable to research-results by Marton et al, Borgström and others’ research in the study-circle as an educational environment. Results: In this part we have examples of what our participants wanted to learn about the Internet. We found that they had few age-related barriers, but some were learner-related and of a technical or cognitive nature. Overall, they were pleased with the education. Many of their experiences and accounts correspond well with the results which researchers like Borgström and others had found. This relates to the benefits that participation in a study-circle gives. Conclusion: We have concluded that our participants still are, or have become more positive towards the Internet after the course. To educate adults, you need a different aspect of education than you do with teaching youngsters, as their learning requires different strategies.
*Nr 118 Eleonor Daag: Organisationskommunikation i praktiken – En kommunikationsgranskning på Arkivator Falköping AB (Organisational communication in practice – A communication audit at Arkivator Falköping AB)
The goal of this Master’s thesis is to examine how people at the production department of Arkivator Falköping AB perceive the internal organisational communication (transfer and exchange of information), by means of a communication audit. The objectives are also to characterise the communication climate and the respondents’ satisfaction with the internal organisational communication within the organisation. The results of the study are compared with the company’s information policy and with previous research in organisational communication. Answers from different demographic groups within the population are compared. The communication audit was conducted using a modified and added version of a questionnaire originally compiled by the International Communications Association. It was distributed to a sample of Arkivator’s employees at the production department. The results of the study show that the degree of satisfaction is different in different parts of the communication system. The respondents are the most satisfied with for example: the amount of information they receive about the company’s vision and goals; timeliness of information received from co-workers; the amount of information received through managing director newsletters and through bulletin boards. The respondents are the least satisfied with: the amount of information received about promotion opportunities and decision making; timeliness of information received from planners; the amount of information received via management meeting minutes; their chances for being promoted. The communication climate is perceived as rather open.
*Nr 119 Liv Lundström: Studiebibliotekarier som pedagogisk resurs på folkbibliotek (Swedish librarian as a pedagogic resource in the public library)
The purpose of this thesis was to explore how Swedish librarians working with educational matters (In Swedish: studiebibliotekarier) experience his/her pedagogic work in the context of a public library. My intention was thus to reach an understanding of how they experienced their educational work. The following questions were asked: 1) How do the librarians experience the physical environment created for their students? 2) How do the librarians experience the co-operation with others involved in their work? 3) How do the librarians experience the formal task that he/she now is given? 4) How do the librarians experience their own pedagogic qualifications regarding the demands that are made upon them by the students? I have interviewed six librarians and incorporated theories on pedagogic roles in an educational context. I reached the conclusion that these librarians believed the environment to be important for the outcome of the student’s success with their studies. They often felt that they failed to organise a good enough studying environment though, partly due to lack of funding. The co-operation with others involved in their work was poor, especially with those working with educational matters. Finally they liked the idea of seeing themselves as tutors or counsellors, aiming to become integrated in the student’s search and learning process.
*Nr 120 Linnea Berg, Lena Knutsson: "... det är ju det som är att jobba ..." : En studie om hur bibliotekarier erfar referensarbete (A Study of Librarians’ Experience of Reference Work)
The purpose of this Master’s thesis is to study how librarians experience reference work. We wanted to get a better understanding about librarians’ assignments through the study. We chose to limit the study to public libraries, and to the south of Sweden. The questions used in our study are: How do librarians interpret the conception of reference work? What values do librarians have concerning reference work? How do librarians experience reference work? How do librarians look at different roles in reference work? We chose to use a fenomenographically inspired method. The method distinguishes perceptions and describes variation in these. Nine qualitative interviews with librarians were conducted. The interviews were recorded and typed out in its entirety. The transcription was closely analysed and the perceptions found were categorised. A description of the informants’ perceptions of reference work was one result of this analysis. Later a comparison between our results and earlier discoveries was made. The study shows that librarians describe reference work as answering questions and helping people. The notion is out of date, and is seldom used in libraries, but all our informants are of the opinion that reference work is the most important service in the library. Librarians experience reference work as a great fun, even though there are some negative aspects of it. Librarians often take on different roles when they work with reference work. Such as the pedagogical role which is often used nowadays.
*Nr 121 Linda Bergström, Gun Ring: Sex kvinnliga pensionärers användning av och syn på folkbiblioteket och dess olika roller – Med utgångspunkt från deras individuella livsstilar (Six female seniors use and view of the public library and its different roles – With their individual lifestyles as a starting point)
The aim of this essay has been to study six female seniors’ use and view of the library and its roles. The two Danish scientists Jochumsen and Rasmussen talk about the library in terms of a social center, cultural center, knowledge center and information center. Depending on what lifestyle the seniors belong to in the social room, they use the library differently. The social room consists of four lifestyles, north-west, north-east, south-west and south-east. The things that are important to consider in order to be able to place each senior within the different lifestyles are education level, economic standard, interests and so forth. According to Jochumsen and Rasmussen, the use and view of the library looks different within the various lifestyles. Our method is based on a qualitative study consisting of interviews with six female seniors connected to PRO. The interviews were held at PRO and took 45 minutes each. Jochumsen’s and Rasmussen’s study constitutes the theoretical framework of our study. Our results show that the seniors are placed within three of the four lifestyles within the social room, that is the north-east, south-west and south-east. All six seniors visit the library in order to borrow books, read magazines and to meet people. They view the library as a pleasant place that is open to all. The library is also seen as a place for education of all kinds. Our investigation has shown that the library in the role of a social center is the most important one to our female seniors.
*Nr 122 Hawar Hamarashid: Folkbibliotek – en väg till integration (Public library – a way to integration)
The purpose of this thesis is to investigate how a public library, as an information center and a meeting place, may contribute to bring Swedes and immigrants closer to one another, which is a prerequisite for integration. To realize this purpose, I have asked three questions. Which conditions and demands are stated in central documents for libraries’ immigrant activities? What do the library called Biblioteket Väster’s multicultural activities contain? How does the library conceive its object to strengthen immigrants’ identity so that its activities, contribute to integration? As method, I have used hermeneutics, which means that I have interpreted the thesis’ material. In the theory I have described relevant literature and confirmed the importance of identity, language and the majority’s acknowledgement for integration. In empirical, I have studied Biblioteket Väster’s multicultural activities and integration program. Furthermore I have performed interviews with one politician, one culture enthusiast and four immigrants. The conclusion I have made from the interviews and the theory is that public libraries are important institutes and that their activities contribute to integration.
*Nr 123 Martin Alm, Jan Larsson: Den dolda disciplinen : en domänanalytisk ansats i relation till Idé- och lärdomshistoria genom ämnesrepresentationen i LIBRIS : med bibliografi (A discipline in disguise : a domain analytic approach to History of science and ideas through the subject representation in LIBRIS : bibliography included)
This thesis aims towards an understanding of information systems and subject representation in relation to academic disciplines. This is achieved by comparing how a discipline, History of science and ideas, represents itself compared with the subject representation of its dissertations in an information system, LIBRIS. The point of departure for this thesis is the domain analytic view of Hjorland which states that the quality in information seeking is enhanced if the subject representation considers the contexts in which documents are produced and used. The importance of concepts such as domain and discipline is discussed. The discipline’s view of itself is established by the study of articles written by scholars in the discipline, by how the discipline presents itself on the homepages of five university institutions and by the examination of titles and keywords given to dissertations in the discipline. The information system’s representation of the discipline is examined regarding classification codes, subject headings and index terms given to the dissertations of the discipline. This comparison is an attempt to discover possible discrepancies between the two representations. This examination does not find any significant discrepancies between the two representations, as the subject representation does confirm the discipline’s view of itself as a discipline that studies the relations between man, society and nature. What it does find, however, is that the subject representation does not, to any greater extent, recognize the discipline as such, as there is little evidence of which context the dissertations originates from. This is then discussed in relation to Hjorland’s view that disciplines ought to be regarded as entities in knowledge organization and reflected in information systems.
*Nr 124 Karin Eriksson, Maria Grönvold: Ämnessökningar med kontrollerad vokabulär och naturligt språk: en jämförande studie med felanalys. (Subject searches using controlled vocabulary and natural language: a comparative study with failure analysis.)
The aim of this thesis is to compare the effectivity of using a natural language and a controlled vocabulary when performing subject searches in the bibliographic database LISA (Library and Information Science Abstracts). 20 topics were created and for each topic two searches were made, one by using a query formulated with natural language directed to the abstract field and the other one by using a query formulated with descriptors from the thesaurus in LISA directed to the descriptor field. The average relative recall amounted to 64,8% for the AB-queries and 54% for the DE-queries. Failure analysis showed that the majority of the relevant documents not retrieved by AB-queries could have been retrieved with other query terms, such as synonyms. In a natural language there are many different ways of expressing a topic, and this tends to have a negative effect on retrieval effectivity. Very few of the relevant documents would have been retrieved through improved use of search options, such as truncation, and only in a few cases we found that documents were not retrieved because of poor topic description in the abstracts. Failure analysis of relevant documents not retrieved by DE-queries showed that half the documents could have been retrieved if different descriptors had been employed. The other half was not retrieved because of poor topic description. The latter result demonstrates some of the known problems of manual indexing with a controlled vocabulary; the subjectivity of the indexer and the lack of consistency which might appear with regards to term specificity and exhaustiveness.
*Nr 125 Anne-Marie Bergh, Elisabeth Bergius: Döden i barnlitteratur – en studie grundad på ett av Bibliotekstjänsts temaregister (Death in children’s literature – a study of one of Bibliotekstjänst’s bookindex on different themes)
Our intention with this work has been to examine if books in one particular subject share the same ideology, or if they contain several different ideologies. We have chosen to study and analyse books that deal with death and grief. We suggest that we will get an idea of how society looks upon death by examine how death is presented in books for young children. We have studied and adopted well-known writers on the topic to give sufficient background to our research. In the main public library of Gothenburg we found the latest bookindex of different themes recommended by Bibliotekstjänst. Under the theme "Death and Grief" in the index there were 29 books presented. Most of those were picture books and therefore we have analysed both pictures and texts in our material. We also wanted to examine if there were descriptions or aspects of death, which were not presented in Bibliotekstjänst’s index. Our material was analysed and based on ten external questions that relate to death. Our conclusion was that Bibliotekstjänst has given a fairly narrow picture of death in the available selection of books on the subject. There are some important themes and aspects missing in Bibliotekstjänst’s index that we have found in other books.

Kandidatuppsatser: abstract

*Nr 1 Siw Sjödin, Helén Skoglund: Skott från höften: En studie av genus i vilda västernlitteratur (Shot from the hip: A study of gender in wild western literature)
The purpose of this essay is to investigate how the gender role appears in wild western literature for young people. We have been interested in the values that reach children and young people through books accessible in libraries. As method have we used ideology analysis, one of few directions within idea- and ideology science. It is a critical text analysis where the questions are perspective dominated. The theory we have used is Yvonne Hirdman’s gender perspective. The material we have analysed is two books each by Harry Kullman and Stig Ericson. The result shows that the woman is more independent in the typical wild western book than she appears in the authorship of Harry Kullman and Stig Ericson. We also concluded that there is more than one aspect of the man as norm and none is better than the others. If you look upon the man as norm for the general society, he shall work hard, be accurate and provide food on the table. In the books we have analysed, the wives are more subordinated than the daughters. The marriage works as a comprehensible, visible agreement where many demands and expectations are the woman’s responsibility and the man is on top of the hierarchy. We concluded that it was relevant and common on every level in class society. The land, the ground and survival come before love. In wild western literature the woman often appears as a threat to the man’s freedom unless she is a saloon girl. This value has change in the young people books we read, because the daughters in the books do not have their longing for freedom in the symbiosis with men, but they long for money, education and knowledge.
*Nr 2 Victor Blom: Webbens klassifikationssystem. En komparativ studie (Classification systems on the web. A comparative study)
This thesis deals with subject-based hierarchical search-services on the World Wide Web. The purpose is to investigate how systems of this kind facilitate information retrieval through subject-based information seeking. Its starting point is taken from the study of texts and qualitative analyses of search-services on the World Wide Web. Important aspects and features of the Internet and the World Wide Web are explained as well. Three systems are examined: Mölndals Stadsbiblioteks Länkkatalog, Svesök, and Alta Vista. A crucial part of this work is to point out the differences between established and domestic classification systems and how they benefit or limit the process of information seeking. In the end the individual differences between these systems and how they influence the process of information seeking is discussed and explained.