Att inte backa in i framtiden : En kvalitativ intervjustudie av audiovisuella mediers roll och funktion vid svenska folkbibliotek

Sammanfattning: Beginning in the late 20th century, public libraries in Sweden have been offering its patrons the opportunity to check out films just as they would books. Taking place over the last decade, however, the methods by which we predominantly consume films have gone through major changes – mainly caused by our increased digital presence and, more importantly, the extensive development of popular streaming services. To keep up with these changes, libraries are becoming increasingly dependent on streaming services made specifically for them, namely Cineasterna and Viddla. To inquire about the ways in which these changes have affected the presence of audio-visual media at public libraries, I have conducted interviews with librarians at five libraries in Sweden regarding their current and historical audio-visual collection as well as their thoughts and opinions on the medium as a whole. Having analysed the results of these interviews through the lens of S. R. Ranganathan’s seminal work The Five Laws of Library Science, I have concluded that audio-visual media do indeed play a significantly different role in libraries today than they did before the presence of streaming services. While all libraries taking part in my research still have a physical film collection, most were hesitant in acquiring new films and none were planning on increasing their acquisition in the future. Additionally, films were regarded as less important than books, and generally seen as a bonus more than a primary medium of relevance. Comparing these findings to previous research, one can conclude that streaming services in libraries can be seen as the logical next step for libraries to take, especially regarding the wants and needs of its patrons. However, many researchers believe that libraries should maintain a physical film collection seeing as this provides a way for the library to take control of the films it provides and ensures that the collection is relevant for the community it serves.