"Det är ju inte helt lätt eftersom vi är vuxna." : Interaktion och marknadsföring till ungdomar på svenska folkbibliotek

Sammanfattning: The purpose of this paper is to examine the strategies used by library personell to motivate young people between the ages of thirteen and seventeen to visit the library or otherwise make use of its services. This question is answered through empiric material in the form of semi-structured interviews with librarians at five different libraries in southern Sweden. The findings are then analysed through the lens of the four spaces model, which is used to categorize and evaluate the results. The interviews show that the librarians share an interest in creating a library that appeals to the youth, but likewise acknowledge that doing so is a difficult and complicated challenge. Although most of the libraries did not operate under a clearly defined strategy when marketing to this demographic, the description of the librarians’ work was fairly consistent among the interviewees. The libraries use various methods such as cooperating with other youth-centered institutions and hosting activities based around user participation. Only on select issues, such as the implementation of social media, did the interviewees present differing opinions. The results also show that young peoples’ usage of the library is largely location-dependent as libraries in smaller communities experience considerably higher difficulty in attracting young visitors. The findings of this study are largely consistent with previous research concerning public libraries’ work with young people and user interaction.