Läkande text och samtal : Uppfattning och användning av biblioterapi på folkbibliotek

Bibliotherapy is activities centered around how texts can affect the reader rather than exploring the meaning of the text itself. There are some different theories/terminology regarding bibliotherapy presented in this thesis. Bibliotherapy can be categorized after how it is organized or the process that is thought to take place within the individual/s. This wide range of categorization offers complexity to the term. The purpose of this thesis is to examine attitudes towards and the use of bibliotherapy as a method within Swedish public libraries. Furthermore, when used, what forms of bibliotherapy have or are occupied, as bibliotherapy is a complex term and can encompass several different methods. To answer the purpose in this thesis, semi-structured interviews were conducted with six librarians who have worked with bibliotherapy or something similar at Swedish public libraries. The analysis of the interviews identified several recurring themes. These themes relate to the organization of bibliotherapeutic activities such as target groups and environmental factors or the perceptions around bibliotherapy such as importance of education and bibliotherapy as a controversial term. The most prominent form of bibliotherapy occupied by the public libraries where the interviewees work are activities organized in groups, using fiction with focus on group discussions. This can be categorized as the theoretical forms interactive and creative bibliotherapy. The interviewed librarians perceive that this activities can affect users, e.g. as developing, escapist and social, this relates to the theory about the bibliotherapeutic process