Bibliotekarieskildringar i dagspress : En diskursanalytisk studie om bibliotekarier och deras arbete

Sammanfattning: The aim of the thesis is to examine images and portrayals of librarians in Swedish daily newspapers as well as what tasks librarians are described performing. A lack of studies focusing on the portrayal of librarians in news media has been observed. An understanding of the image of librarians shown to the public could contribute to the possibility of changing the view of librarians and their work, as well as improve the service offered by libraries. The study is based on 58 articles published in three of the most circulated daily newspapers in Sweden during 2022: Aftonbladet, Dagens Nyheter and Svenska Dagbladet. The study is limited to articles published in 2022. Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffes’ discourse theory is used as theory and method. Three discourses are identified, a discourse about librarians as unappealing, a discourse about librarians as unassuming and a literary discourse. The study concludes portrayals of librarians in the articles were mostly positive or neutral. Literature was often described as being a part of tasks performed by librarians and the profession was found to still be regarded as a profession mainly consisting of women, although historic portrayals solely consisted of male librarians.