Bibliotekets neutrala roll och demokratiska etos : Folkbibliotekarier om inköp och urval av politiskt kontroversiellt material

• Main Authors: Syrjäläinen, Sebastian, Runnerstam, Matilda
• Format: Others
• Language: Swedish
• Published: Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för kulturvetenskaper (KV) 2018
• Subjects: Kontroversiellt; material; politiskt; litteratur; neutralitet; demokratiskt etos; demokrati; urval; inköp; justitieombudsman; JO; urvalsarbete; isomorfism.; Information Studies; Biblioteks- och informationsvetenskap
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-89029

The aim of this study is to examine the neutral position of the public libraries in correlations to their including and democratic standards while managing political controversial material that can be viewed as xenophobic. The libraries aim is to work towards information availability to all and enabling the societal right to form an opinion. They’re an open arena for the democratic society with a strong sense of inclusion. But what happens when an opinion that is of xenophobic character speaks up? This material can put societal groups in discomfort. The study aims to find the tension in where does the public library stand in the tension of the neutral and political ethos, as well as what are the difficulties they can come to face? The data was gathered through the use of semi-structured interviews with five public librarians at five libraries located around the southern part of Sweden. New institutional theory is the theory of choice since it focuses on how the institutionalized organization relates to the surrounding world. The library should be neutral and objective while evaluating information, but the study shows that there’s been ramifications to librarians’ evaluation and decision-making due to an opinion that adheres to human values. A selection must be made, the quality of the work should be the focus, not personal values. The discussion has shown that libraries institutional structure can be a product by a higher organization. At the same time, pressure is being put on the library from the society from all types of angles. This is a balancing act; the libraries adhere to the bylaws that they must follow. The bylaws in question are the library act but also the libraries self constructed media plans. But the core of it all lies in how the libraries express themselves during the evaluation and purchasing of material.