“Lite som ett skyltfönster” : en enkätstudie om exponering av böcker på folkbibliotek

Sammanfattning: Previous studies of library display have mostly focused on the librarian’s point of view. This study aims to examine library display from the users’ perspective. We wanted to find out if users found library display to be helpful, and whether it was possible to connect their thoughts on display to their thoughts on the librarian’s work. A questionnaire was distributed to users exiting a public library. It included questions on the users’ reaction to the displays they had encountered and their thoughts as to how librarians choose the books to be displayed. The users were also asked whether they approved of displaying books in general and their reasons for doing so or not. The results were interpreted in the light of a model proposed by Raber (1996) and developed by Sandin (2011), which divides librarians into three categories: social activist/emancipatory, traditionalist/conservative, and populist/pragmatic. In this study, the model was used to define and categorise users’ views on librarians and display. The results suggest that users tend to view library display as helpful in the library. The users’ views on display could largely be divided according to Raber’s/Sandin’s model. The dominant perspectives among the users were the social activist/emancipatory perspective and the populist/pragmatic perspective. The traditionalist/conservative perspective was expressed by a significant minority of users.