Selection of non-fiction literature : A comparative literature study of collection development of non-fiction literature at public libraries.

The aim of this study is to investigate methods of collection development, the users’ influence on selection and quality aspects, focusing on non-fiction literature in Swedish public libraries. To find out opinions of collection development, I use the method comparative literature study. Antonio Gramsci’s concept hegemony forms the theoretical background, and hegemony as concept is related to a library context by using Maj Klasson’s text on the librarians’ different positions of authorities. The focus of the study is therefore on the librarian’s position as authority, in contrast to the users’ position, regarding selection of non-fiction literature. A short historical review leads to the factors influencing collection development today. Swedish library policy documents, the Swedish library constitution, Unesco’s public library manifesto are some of the formal factors influencing collection development at Swedish public libraries. The analysis consists of three macro themes found while reading the empirical texts: collection development, quality aspects and users. These macro themes are divided into micro themes in order to analyse the chosen empirical texts. The result of the study shows a difference in authority between librarians and users regarding collection development, the complexity of non-fiction literature and the users’ influence on literature selection. These authority differences is expressed in the texts as whether the librarians or the users are considered as the authority, and why, in developing methods for literature selection. Concerning quality aspects, a difference was found between the texts, since one of them acknowledges the users as the most important reference to select quality literature, and not the librarians.Uppsatsnivå: