Barnperspektiv och barns perspektiv : fallstudier av tre svenska folkbiblioteks arbete med förändring av sina avdelningar för barn och unga
(2010) ABMM43 20101Division of ALM and Digital Cultures
- Abstract
- The purpose of this master’s thesis is to identify and discuss different ideas and methods used by public libraries in order to make the physical library space accessible and important for children and young people. The main question asked is in which different ways a user perspective is visible in children’s libraries development concerning the physical space. Case studies were chosen as method to gain a better understanding for the practical work in libraries. The process of changing the physical library space for children and young people in three public libraries in Sweden have been investigated. The questions asked in the case studies concerns which methods that were used by the three libraries along with how and why these methods... (More)
- The purpose of this master’s thesis is to identify and discuss different ideas and methods used by public libraries in order to make the physical library space accessible and important for children and young people. The main question asked is in which different ways a user perspective is visible in children’s libraries development concerning the physical space. Case studies were chosen as method to gain a better understanding for the practical work in libraries. The process of changing the physical library space for children and young people in three public libraries in Sweden have been investigated. The questions asked in the case studies concerns which methods that were used by the three libraries along with how and why these methods were chosen.
Interviews have been conducted with staff from the libraries. Information has also been retrieved through reading of different documents produced in the remodelling process and documents concerning the basic ideas and direction of the daily operation at these libraries. As a base for analysing the material from the case studies a number of articles and other texts about public libraries and library work towards children and young people has been read and discussed in the thesis. These discussions concern the view of the library user, the idea of a user oriented library and the role of the physical library space.
The results of the thesis show that the libraries used different methods in their work of developing library rooms for children and young people. They had different purposes, ideas and visions and that also means different priorities. The thesis has been concerned with the processes of change rather than the results. The methods and sources of knowledge in these processes can be divided in four groups: ask the research, ask professionals, observe and ask the users. The user perspective is visible at the studied libraries in different ways depending partly on the methods chosen for changing the library space.
In this master’s thesis the distinction between the knowledge of or from children is essential. A perspective derived from children means that the knowledge comes directly from children themselves. A children’s perspective on the other hand means that the adult interpret the needs of children and the knowledge is based upon conceptions derived from research as well as assumptions of children’s needs. The question whether to use a children’s perspective or a perspective derived from children is, in our opinion, not a single-sided matter when it comes to the development of a user oriented library. We have reached the conclusion that both directions are valuable in the process of constructing a physical library space adapted for users of the children’s library. An adult possesses the means that are necessary to fulfil the wishes sprung from children and have a responsibility towards the children when shaping spaces for them. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/1611953
- author
- Evemalm, Karin Maria LU and Gäre Hejll, Annie LU
- supervisor
-
- Olof Sundin LU
- organization
- alternative title
- Children’s perspective : case studies of the process of changing the physical library space for children and young people in three public libraries in Sweden.
- course
- ABMM43 20101
- year
- 2010
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- Barnbibliotek – Sverige, Barnkultur, Barn och vuxna, Biblioteksanvändare, Brukarinflytande, Biblioteksinredning, Barnbibliotek, Folkbibliotek, Folkbibliotek – Sverige, ABM, biblioteks- och informationsvetenskap
- language
- Swedish
- id
- 1611953
- date added to LUP
- 2010-09-03 14:35:38
- date last changed
- 2014-04-11 14:16:30
@misc{1611953,
abstract = {{The purpose of this master’s thesis is to identify and discuss different ideas and methods used by public libraries in order to make the physical library space accessible and important for children and young people. The main question asked is in which different ways a user perspective is visible in children’s libraries development concerning the physical space. Case studies were chosen as method to gain a better understanding for the practical work in libraries. The process of changing the physical library space for children and young people in three public libraries in Sweden have been investigated. The questions asked in the case studies concerns which methods that were used by the three libraries along with how and why these methods were chosen.
Interviews have been conducted with staff from the libraries. Information has also been retrieved through reading of different documents produced in the remodelling process and documents concerning the basic ideas and direction of the daily operation at these libraries. As a base for analysing the material from the case studies a number of articles and other texts about public libraries and library work towards children and young people has been read and discussed in the thesis. These discussions concern the view of the library user, the idea of a user oriented library and the role of the physical library space.
The results of the thesis show that the libraries used different methods in their work of developing library rooms for children and young people. They had different purposes, ideas and visions and that also means different priorities. The thesis has been concerned with the processes of change rather than the results. The methods and sources of knowledge in these processes can be divided in four groups: ask the research, ask professionals, observe and ask the users. The user perspective is visible at the studied libraries in different ways depending partly on the methods chosen for changing the library space.
In this master’s thesis the distinction between the knowledge of or from children is essential. A perspective derived from children means that the knowledge comes directly from children themselves. A children’s perspective on the other hand means that the adult interpret the needs of children and the knowledge is based upon conceptions derived from research as well as assumptions of children’s needs. The question whether to use a children’s perspective or a perspective derived from children is, in our opinion, not a single-sided matter when it comes to the development of a user oriented library. We have reached the conclusion that both directions are valuable in the process of constructing a physical library space adapted for users of the children’s library. An adult possesses the means that are necessary to fulfil the wishes sprung from children and have a responsibility towards the children when shaping spaces for them.}},
author = {{Evemalm, Karin Maria and Gäre Hejll, Annie}},
language = {{swe}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Barnperspektiv och barns perspektiv : fallstudier av tre svenska folkbiblioteks arbete med förändring av sina avdelningar för barn och unga}},
year = {{2010}},
}