Vara ifred men höra ihop : Gemenskapskänsla och folkbibliotek som plats

Sammanfattning: This thesis examines how library patrons experience the public library as a physical place and how their emotions and opinions fit into the concept sense of community. Nine informants were selected and interviewed about their habits, experiences, preferences, opinions and emotions when visiting their respective most-used libraries. Using the theoretical framework developed by David W. McMillan and David M. Chavis for the concept sense of community as an analytical tool, the transcribed interviews have been closely studied and analysed in terms of the different criteria that make up a sense of community according to the theory. Some criteria were found to be relatively weak in the interview data, such as a shared emotional bond and strict boundary settings. Other criteria were better represented, such as a sense of personal investment, mutual influence between patron and library, a sense of belonging, fulfilment of needs, and shared values. The informants were particularly unified when discussing the importance of a public library for a local community as a place that welcomes all for free, values culture and knowledge, and provides a multitude of books and media in a calm, peaceful environment. The conclusion was drawn that public library patrons do feel a sense of community with their local library, its staff and other users, and that there’s a connection to this sense of community and the sense of being a citizen in Sweden as a whole. Physical factors such as interaction with staff and the make-up of the collection were found to be of particular importance to patrons, but other physical factors also influenced how they viewed and made use of specific public libraries.