Public librarians about environmental scanning : Interview study with 5 Swedish public librarians

The purpose of the study is to reach knowledge about how public librarians understands and describes environmental scanning as a working process in a Swedish public library. The study consists of 5 interviews with public librarians working within the same organization. The empirical material is presented in two ways. The first one is what aspects of the external world the librarians find important. The second is through a theoretical framework based on Magnus Hoppes model of environmental scanning, including communication and cognitive processes aswell as ways of analyzing information from the external world. Analysis shows that the relationship between the library it's environment requires different kinds of environmental scanning, often directed by the interests and professional ideals of the individual librarian.Program: Bibliotekari