Public Librarian on Equal Terms? A study based on interviews on qualifications of public librarians, the understanding of the librarians of the required qualifications, and the activities of the public libraries.

We studied the understanding of public librarians of the required qualifications for a public librarian, what these qualifications embody and how they should be used, and if there are any differences between geographic regions. We also compared our results to the Library Code, which describes the responsibilities of the public libraries. To complete our study, we interviewed fourteen public librarians at eight different public libraries located in both urban and rural areas in Sweden. Our results showed that even though the qualifications specified by the Library Code were identical, they were emphasized and used differently by the public libraries included in our study. This illustrates that the public libraries prioritize and focus differently on the various aspects of the Library Code. There are many possible reasons for this difference, including what segment of the population is using the library, the specific interest of the librarians, the geographic region, and the outcome of political decisions in the respective regions.Uppsatsnivå: