”Men dom kan ju i alla fall läsa” : Litteratur på teckenspråk

Sammanfattning: The goal of this Master’s thesis is to explore the approach and general attitude of public libraries regarding Sign Language Literature. There is a need to study and advance how the deaf can find ways to read in their own language, as it is as important to them to be able to read in their language, as it is to the next hearing person. The purpose is to define and explain the full capacity of the problem. In the process of research, by investigating how library staff approaches and deal with deaf patrons, the nature of the patron-staff relationship is revealed. A closer look at the collections of Sign Language Literature that are found in libraries today, further expose how the deaf patrons’ fundamental need for literature in their own language has been marginalized. In collecting data, the method used was qualitative descriptive alignment. Based on fourteen interviews in total, eight public libraries, three state deaf school libraries and three library advisors were included in the research process. Moreover were previous research and the method of subjective interpretation of law used. As this thesis seeks to put forth, results show that library staff has little or no knowledge of deaf people and their needs. Although the respondents maintain a positive attitude toward Sign Language Literature when asked, they lack specific training in how to successfully accommodate deaf patrons; thus, libraries and their staff remain somewhat ignorant in their approach, failing to take their deaf patrons as seriously as the hearing population.