The International Library’s multilingual website : providing multicultural library services on the web

Sweden is today often defined as a multicultural society. The implications on organizing and providing information in public libraries are many, since the systems presently used in the western hemisphere are not adapted to multi-cultural information. This thesis aims to outline ethical and practical problems that arise when organising and providing information concerning cultures other than western, and not least, when dealing with material in other scripts. With this theoretical framework the thesis examines the website of the International Library in Stockholm, a website built to serve users of different languages and scripts than Swedish. The research questions in this thesis are: 1, what specific problems can be distinguished within library work in a multicultural and multilingual environment? 2, what problems and needs were considered in the creation and design of the International Library’s website? And 3, can examples of problems and possible solutions of these be seen in the information and it’s organisation on the International Library’s website? The empiric material consists of the International Library’s website, and interviews with three informants involved in developing it. The study of the website has been conducted in two parts; in the first I have examined what kind of information has been made available on the website and how this connects to the library’s mission. The second part is a study of the material that has become searchable on the website, on how it is searchable, how it is classified and catalogued, and what kind of information is included in the records of the catalogue. The result of the thesis is that both practical and ideological problems arise in information organization and -provision in other languages and scripts. These problems can result in difficulties for users to find the information they need, an effect that in turn counters the thought of everybody’s equal right to public libraries and the information they provide. The study of the website shows the possibilities and limitations of providing multicultural and multilingual library services on the web