Det levande biblioteket : retorik kring fördomar och möten. En argumentationsanalys i relation till folkbibliotekets mångfaldsuppdrag.

Sammanfattning: The living library started in Denmark at the festival of Roskilde in 2000. It was initiated by the youth organisation ”Stop volden” (”Stop the violence”). Since 2005 the idea of lending a human being who represents a prejudice has also become a practice in a few public libraries in Sweden. I found it interesting to analyse the living library in relation to the mission of diversity in the public library. The concept of the living library and its rhetorics about prejudices and meetings are analysed from The Living Library Organiser’s Guide, published by the Nordic council of Ministers. The rhetorics are related to the practice in the public library, methodologically based on an inquiry and interviews with four librarians and one living book. The results from my research indicate that the living library is part of the politics of cultural diversity, a creed that supports the idea of recognizing diverse cultures in order to gain knowledge, understanding and a peaceful coexistence in society. The main impression of the rhetorics of the handbook indicates however that the cultural representation of the event is essential and static. The other as different and opposed to an implicit norm is therefore reproduced. The public library however shows a different way where the representation of stereotypes is less obvious and the actual meeting between human beings is essential. The results from this study indicate that the living library is a way for the public library to market itself as an organisation associated with human rights and a new exciting image.