Logo: to the web site of Uppsala University

Detta kapitel undersöker hur svenska folkbiblioteks digitalt inriktade läsfrämjandearbete utvecklats under perioden 2018–2023, med speciellt fokus på digitalt socialt läsande. Detta kan exempelvis innebära digitalt förmedlade lästips eller organisering av bokdiskussioner via digitala kommunikationsverktyg eller sociala medier. Frågan är också hur arbetet med digitala läsfrämjandeaktiviteter påverkades av covid-19-pandemin 2020 och 2021, då biblioteken i hög utsträckning hölls stängda för fysiska besök och fokuserade på digital service. Studiens kvalitativt inriktade analys – inspirerad av Carol Bacchis analytiska perspektiv – bygger på beviljade ansökningar till Stärkta bibliotek, en regeringssatsning med öronmärkta medel till lokalt biblioteksutveck-lingsarbete 2018–2023. Resultaten visar att ytterst få av de totalt 1942 ansökningarna från folkbiblioteken i landets alla kommuner berör utveckling av just det digitala läsfrämjandearbetet. Vid en avgränsning till socialt läsande och digitala medier blir antalet ännu mindre. Någon tydlig förändring av läsfrämjandearbetet i riktning mot fler digitala aktiviteter går inte heller att se i pandemins efterföljd. Snarare förefaller den ha ökat längtan efter fysiska möten. Läsfrämjandeverksamhet på folkbibliotek är fortfarande i hög uträckning något som sker på plats med hjälp av tryckta böcker.

Digital Reading Promotion in Swedish Public Libraries: A Study of Project Applications to Stärkta bibliotek 2018–2023

This chapter examines how the digital reading promotion efforts of Swedish public libraries developed during the period 2018–2023, with a focus on digital social reading. This includes activities such as digitally mediated reading tips or organizing book discussions via digital communication tools or social media. The study also explores how the work with digital reading promotion activities was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, when libraries were largely closed for physical visits and focused on providing digital services. The study’s qualitative analysis—drawing inspiration from Carol Bacchi’s analytical perspective—is based on approved applications to Stärkta bibliotek (“Strengthened Libraries”), a government initiative allocating earmarked funds for local library development from 2018 to 2023. The results reveal that very few of the total 1,942 applications from public libraries across all municipalities in Sweden specifically addressed the development of digital reading promotion efforts. When narrowing the scope to social reading and digital media, the number becomes even smaller. There is also no clear indication of a shift toward more digital activities in reading promotion following the pandemic. On the contrary, the pandemic seems to have heightened the desire for physical meetings. Reading promotion activities in Swedish public libraries remain predominantly on-site and centered around printed books.

Sedan mitten av 1900-talet har institutionsbiblioteken vid Uppsala universitet, som tidigare fungerat som självständiga enheter, ökat sitt samarbete med och så småningom blivit en del av huvudbibliotekets organisation, det vill säga uppgått i Uppsala universitetsbibliotek. Syftet med denna studie har varit att studera denna förändringsprocess och dess bakomliggande orsaker och konsekvenser. Studien avgränsas till den historisk-filosofiska fakulteten och perioden efter 1975. Material- och metodmässigt bygger analysen på intervjuer med berörd institutionspersonal, huvudbibliotekets personal samt intern dokumentation. Teoretiskt anlägger studien ett domänanalytiskt och därmed socio-kognitivt perspektiv på processen och de bibliotekspraktiker som studeras. Centrala teman för analysen är praktiker som förvärv, förvaltning, kunskapsorganisation och tillgängliggörande. Resultatet visar att den centraliseringsprocess som identifieras i analysen – och som påverkat alla de praktiker som analysen fokuserat – är starkt kopplad till teknikutveckling, förändrade anslagsprinciper samt strävan efter ökad standardisering och samordning av biblioteksverksamheten. Positiva konsekvenser är en ökad professionalisering i hanteringen av institutionernas boksamlingar samt en ökad tillgänglighet för användarna. Negativa konsekvenser är framförallt förlusten dels av viktiga samlingsplatser vid institutionerna, dels av den tydliga domänsensitivitet som de tidigare institutionsanslutna biblioteken präglades av, dvs att förvärv och kunskapsorganisation var tätt kopplade till institutionerna ämneskompetens.

After the mid-20th century, the departmental libraries at Uppsala University, which had previously functioned as independent units, began to increase their cooperation with, and eventually became part of, the main library organization—Uppsala University Library. The purpose of this chapter is to examine this process of change, along with its causes and consequences. The study is limited to the Faculty of Arts after 1975. The analysis is based on qualitative interviews with departmental staff and staff from the main library, as well as on internal documentation. Theoretically, the study adopts a domain-analytical, and thus socio-cognitive, perspective on the process and on the library practices studied. Central analytical themes include practices such as acquisition, management, knowledge organization, and access. The results show that the centralization process identified—affecting all the practices considered in the analysis—is strongly linked to technological developments, changes in the funding principles of Swedish universities, and the drive for standardization and coordination of library activities. Positive consequences include a higher degree of professionalization and increased user accessibility. Negative consequences include the loss of local meeting points at the departments and the diminished domain sensitivity of the former libraries—that is, the fact that acquisition and knowledge organization had previously been closely tied to the departments’ subject expertise and interests.

Kapitlet beskriver i stora drag start och utveckling sedan 1995 av verksamheten vid vad som nu är institutionen för ABM vid Uppsala universitet. Här berörs förändringar och utveckling beträffande organisationsstruktur, utbildning och forskning. Institutionen bedriver idag utbildning på masternivå och forskning i ABM (arkivvetenskap, biblioteks- och informationsvetenskap och musei- och kulturarvsvetenskap) samt i digital humaniora. Här finns också forskarutbildning. Vid institutionen finns även Centrum för digital humaniora och samhällsvetenskap vid Uppsala universitet.

This chapter describes the broad outlines of the start and development since 1995 of the activities at what is now the Department of ABM at Uppsala University. It covers changes and developments in organizational structure, education, and research. Today, the department offers master's level education and conducts research in LAM (archival science, library and information science, and museum and cultural heritage studies) as well as in digital humanities. It also offers doctoral education. The department is home to the Center for Digital Humanities and Social Sciences at Uppsala University.

Denna antologi innehåller bidrag skrivna av oss forskande medarbetare vid institutionen för ABM, Uppsala universitet. Boken har tillkommit för att uppmärksamma att det 2025 är trettio år sedan verksamheten vid institutionen inleddes. Då skapades den bibliotekarieutbildning som sedan blev ett utbildningsprogram i biblioteks- och informationsvetenskap. Några år senare tillkom utbildning i musei- och kulturarvsvetenskap och i arkivvetenskap. Alla tre ämnen är numera samlade i masterprogrammet i ABM och sedan några år har vi även ett masterprogram i digital humaniora.

Centrum för digital humaniora och samhällsvetenskap är dessutom administrativt knutet till institutionen idag. CDHU organiserar workshops, seminarier och kurser inom digital humaniora för doktorander och forskare inom hela Humsam-området och erbjuder infrastrukturellt stöd till externfinansierade forskningsprojekt.

Under de trettio som gått år har en intensiv forskningsverksamhet också vuxit fram vid institutionen, och det är mot denna vi riktar vårt fokus i denna antologi. Syftet är att ge smakprov på den forskning som bedrivs vid institutionen för ABM idag. Här berörs exempelvis forskning om metadata, bibliotekshistoria, läsfrämjandearbete, datafieringens implikationer inom kulturarvsområdet, medicinska journalers roller, arkiv i krig, tolkning av visuell information samt relationen mellan digital humaniora och ABM-ämnena. Antologin är tvåspråkig och bidragen skrivna antingen på svenska eller engelska.

This anthology brings together contributions written by the research staff at the Department of ALM (Archival, Library and Museum Studies), Uppsala University. With this volume, we wish to mark the thirtieth anniversary of the department’s establishment. In 1995, a librarian training program was launched, which subsequently developed into a full program in Library and Information Science. A few years later, programs in Museum and Cultural Heritage Studies as well as in Archival Science were added. Today, all three disciplines are brought together in the Master’s Program in ALM, and in recent years we have also introduced a Master’s Program in Digital Humanities.

The Centre for Digital Humanities and Social Sciences (CDHU) is also administratively affiliated with the department. CDHU organizes workshops, seminars, and courses in digital humanities for doctoral students and researchers across the humanities and social sciences, and provides infrastructural support for externally funded research projects.

Over the past thirty years, an intensive research environment has likewise developed at the department, which forms the focus of the present anthology. The aim is to provide a selection of current research carried out at the Department of ALM. Topics addressed include, for example, metadata, library history, reading promotion, the implications of datafication for the cultural heritage sector, the role of medical records, archives in wartime, the interpretation of visual information, and the relationship between digital humanities and the ALM disciplines. The anthology is bilingual, with contributions written in either Swedish or English.

Introduction. This study is the first to explore how public library services for migrants are prioritised in national government policies across eight European countries: Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Norway, Poland and Sweden.

Method. Using a comparative case study approach, the study analyses national library and immigration policy documents from the 1970s to the present, with qualitative content analysis identifying key themes and policy developments.

Analysis. The research examines policy trends, recurring themes and country-specific differences, focusing on library services for migrants in national policies.

Results. The study highlights variations in how library services are incorporated into national migration policies, and how library services for migrants are included in national library policies. Influencing factors include economic migration, humanitarian crises and policy shifts. Finland, Norway and Sweden have comprehensive national policies, while Denmark and Iceland have largely relied on local initiatives, and Hungary, Germany and Poland offer limited guidance.

Conclusion. This paper lays the groundwork for future research, suggesting in-depth case studies to examine national challenges and the alignment between national policies and local practices.

Kerstin Rydbecks guide innehåller förslag på drygt 600 beprövade och uppskattade skönlitterära texter. Textförslagen är indelade i fyra kategorier:

1. Originalprosa på svenska.
2. Översatt prosa och dramatik.
3. Lyrik och musiktexter på svenska.
4. Översatt lyrik.

För varje text ges upplysningar om författaren, från vilket verk texten hämtats, ungefär hur lång den är samt dess innehåll. Det finns också ett stort tematiskt register för läsledare som vill utgå från ett givet ämne eller en viss tematik.

Guiden vänder sig framför allt till läsledare inom Shared Reading, men även till lärare som söker kortare texter att läsa högt och diskutera under litteratursamtal i skolan.

Purpose – The purpose is to investigate the professional identity of public library, archive and museum (LAM)professionals in Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Norway and Sweden.

Design/methodology/approach – The data have been gathered through the administration of three questionnaires. A comprehensive analysis is conducted to explore the variations in the professionals’perceptions of their professional proximities to the other LAM professions and other related professions, considering demographic factors such as age, education, gender and immigrant background of participants.

Findings – Through a lens of micro- and macro-professional identities, the findings underscore both clearly perceived role separation between the LAM professions and notable points of convergence, suggesting opportunities for collaborative efforts. The implications of these discoveries are discussed, offering afoundation for future research endeavors.

Originality/value – The study highlights the professions perceived to have the most and least similarity to LAMs based on questionnaire responses, providing valuable insights into the interplay between various professional domains.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 led to Europe’s largest displacement of people since World War II, with significant substantial numbers of Ukrainian refugees seeking shelter in neighbouring countries. International research attests to the crucial roles public libraries can play in the reception and integration of refugees. However, diverse professional and geographical contexts and sociopolitical landscapes in which libraries work to support refugee reception and integration processes, necessitate ongoing and renewed focus on the topic. Therefore, this study examines how public libraries in Hungary and Poland responded to the influx of Ukrainian refugees, investigating their roles, programmes and partnerships. Using mixed methods, the study analyses previously unexamined 2018 questionnaire results and conducts 12 subsequent interviews with library staff. Findings reveal that libraries addressed a spectrum of user needs falling into three broad phases. Initially, they focussed on primary needs during the first phase, transitioning to settlement-related needs in the second phase. Variances between Poland and Hungary emerged during this phase, with Hungary primarily serving transient refugees and those with Hungarian backgrounds, while Poland saw a higher number of refugees of Ukrainian background settling. In the final phase, libraries emphasized literacy, integration and cultural support, aligning with reading and collection-oriented services. Service provision was characterized by nontraditional services in the first phase, non-collection-oriented services in the second phase and collection-oriented services in the third phase, with information provision central to all three phases. The study underscores public libraries’ role in addressing community needs, rooted in their core values of inclusivity and community engagement. However, their effectiveness hinges on inclusion in community-level efforts, awareness among new groups and securing economic and political support. Further research is warranted to explore library services to refugees globally amid increasing global migration and to understand the experiences of refugees using library services.

The purpose of this article is to examine how Swedish national library policy has evolved and been influenced by ideas associated with community librarianship. Additionally, the collaboration between public libraries and the movement-based popular education, which shares common roots with public libraries and emphasizes community building, is explored. The article is structured around two research questions, addressed through a qualitatively oriented document study of key documents in national library policy. The state initiative "Strengthened Libraries" is also analyzed. The investigation reveals that Swedish library policy has been significantly influenced by community librarianship in recent years, expressing several of its central ideas, such as community building, diversification of activities, and the library's role as a place. It also indicates that public libraries have some collaboration with movement-based popular education but that libraries' interest in expanding this collaboration appears limited. No previous research has examined the impact of community librarianship on Swedish library policy. The relationship between public libraries and movement-based popular education in study associations is also an underexplored area. This study provides some insight into the current situation, but further research is needed.