Den sociala folkbibliotekarien : en kvalitativ studie om folkbibliotekariers yrkesidentitet i en digital värld

Sammanfattning: The purpose of this study is to gain a deeper understanding of how the professional identity of public librarians is created and shaped in connection with the digitization of society. The data collection method used, has been semi-structured interviews where five Swedish public librarians were asked questions regarding their experiences and perceptions of the increasingly digital nature of the public librarian profession, and how it has come to affect their work. The collected data has been analyzed within the socio-cultural perspective in which learning is seen as a constantly ongoing social process and where knowledge is gained through interaction with others. A further theoretical starting point for this study, was Anders Ørom's theory of librarians' professional identities. Three main themes were identified during the analysis. The first theme addresses public librarians' positive attitudes and experiences related to digitization and digital technology. The second theme addresses their negative attitudes and experiences related to digitization and digital technology. The third and final theme addresses their professional identity. The findings show that the public librarian profession is increasingly characterized by digital technical tasks and tools and that knowledge within this area, is considered important according to the public librarians. The respondents who experience the greatest impact of the increasingly digital technical nature of the profession, express concern regarding how a lack of knowledge in this area, can lead to feelings of inadequacy as many public library users, often expect the librarians to possess a great deal of digital technical competence. The majority of the study's respondents highlight the social aspects of the profession, particularly the social interactions with public library users, as a crucial part of their work.