Möjligheter och begräsningar för folkbibliotek i glesbygd : En studie om tillgänglighet ur sex bibliotekschefers perspektiv.

• Main Authors: Gustafsson, Emma, Nilsson, Carina
• Format: Others
• Language: Swedish
• Published: 2014
• Subjects: tillgänglighet; folkbibliotek; glesbygd
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hb:diva-429

The purpose of this study was to examine how accessibility is handled by the public library managers in selected rural municipalities. We investigated how the concept of accessibility is perceived by library managers in these municipalities and their opinions on local conditions for and solutions to accessibility problems in rural areas. Semistructured interviews were carried out with library managers in six rural municipalities. The results were analyzed using a theoretical model of accessibility. The model consists of five dimensions; physical, social, psychological, organizational and economic accessibility. The study revealed that the library managers perceived accessibility as a complex concept and were of the opinion that circumstances for libraries in rural municipalities are special. Circumstances related primarily to the physical dimension of accessibility, such as distance, and the economic dimension, such as lack of resources. Furthermore, they described the different approaches used to increase accessibility to the users and the analysis revealed that measures had been taken within all the five dimensions. An important finding was that cooperation within the local community and with nearby municipalities was considered crucial by the library managers for providing a high standard of library service in a small community.