A public library and its users : users conceptions of service related to library intentions

The aim of this MA thesis is to examine how users regard and receive the services offered by a specific public library. We also examine what the conception of service means to the users and how they perceive this service being offered by the library. We look upon if and to what extent the service conception depends on contact with the library staff. The methods used are qualitative interviews and analyses of documents directing the library activities. The public library we have examined in this respect is the public library of Västerås. General findings of the study was that our respondents did not relate to the offers and services of the library. The library as information centre, educational centre, cultural centre and meeting place, which it claims to be, did not correspond with their conceptions of the library. Nor was the significance of these words clear to them and they had different opinions of their meanings. This shows a semantic discrepancy between the participants; between the intentions in the directing documents and the operational concept on one hand and the users impressions of the service offered on the other. We think the causes for this discrepancy can partly be accounted for in the wording of these documents with its abstract and visionary language, far from a practical reality. Another possibility is that the expectations on the public library and its service is depending on the economical reductions in public services as a whole. We also think there is a lack of knowledge concerning what needs and demands the library is filling and what part it takes in the users everyday life. Furthermore we have found a solid confidence in the library staff and a strong approval of the personal contact with the employees. In the light of these facts we find it remarkable that the users so seldom ask for professional assistance. We consider this a contradiction and possibly a consequence of lowered expectations of the library service.Uppsatsnivå: