Leka, lära, berätta : En fallstudie av tre stadsbiblioteks barnavdelningar

• Main Author: Halling, Fanny
• Format: Others
• Language: Swedish
• Published: Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för ABM 2019
• Subjects: barnbibliotek; barnforskning; lek; rum; bibliotekarier; Information Studies; Biblioteks- och informationsvetenskap
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-387659

This case study examines three newly renovated children’s sections at the city libraries in Borås, Göteborg and Malmö. The aim is to investigate, from a spatial and socio-cultural perspective, what characterizes modern children’s sections at public libraries. The research questions look at the intentions behind the constructions of the spaces, how concepts like child participation and perspectives on childhood have been used, how the children interact with one another and the room itself, and finally how the librarians and other staff members’ work environments have been affected by the changes. I have conducted six qualitative interviews with librarians and other staff members at the libraries in question and combined the interviews with observations of the children’s sections. The material is analyzed with the theoretical frameworks from several research fields like human geography. The main theoretic tool is the four-space model. This is used to place the testimonies and observation findings in four abstract spaces; inspiration space, learning space, meeting space and the performative space. The result shows that all three libraries have based their projects heavily on children’s play and child participation. The library spaces have all been designed with a child perspective in mind and they are colourful and creative for the children to discover. The staffs have had to come to terms with the changes in their work environment and maybe we have to revalue what it means to work at a children’s library. This is a two years master’s thesis in Library and Information Science.