Välkommen! De svenska folkbibliotekens arbete med och verksamhet för ukrainska flyktingar

Sammanfattning: This master thesis explores Swedish public libraries and their practices in relation to welcoming Ukrainian refugees following the Russian invasion in 2022. A qualitative study drawing on semi-structured interviews with librarians (n=9) from various parts of Sweden forms the empirical foundation. A theory of practice framework influenced by Kemmis (2011) is then employed to analyze the material using qualitative content analysis, capturing the cultural-discursive, social, and economic-material dimensions of practice, as described by Pilerot and Hultgren (2017).   The results showed that the number of Ukrainian refugees visiting the libraries has been substantially lower than expected. Still, the libraries offered information and literature in Ukrainian alongside with language and children’s activities. The analysis showed that the activities and therefore the practice have been influenced by the dimensions of practice to a high degree The experiences of the refugee crisis in 2015 seem to greatly influence the activities of today, and it is likely that the combined experiences of the refugee crises in 2015 and 2022 will be of value for the future practice.   The importance of competences related to meeting individuals in socially exposed situations, and the importance of language- and cultural competence, are highlighted in the thesis. As is the need for both further research into and political recognition of the work being done by libraries in relation to refugees and social inclusion more general.     This is a two years master’s thesis in Library and Information Science.