Children’s Theatre at the Public Library : a qualitative study of children’s librarians' view of children through purchasing and selection of theatre performances

The purpose of the study is to identify children’s librarians' approaches to children and children's theatre when reasoning about the purchase and selection of children’s theatre, and the view of children that can then be expressed. Questions posed are: What approaches to children’s theatre do children’s librarians express? What view of children do the identified approaches express? The theoretical framework consists of three approaches to reading translated into a theatrical context. The three approaches are pragmatic, traditional and emancipatory. The study is also based on the view of children as beings and becomings. Semistructured interviews were conducted with five children’s librarians and analysed through a qualitative content analysis. The results show that the librarians express several approaches to children’s theatre. Children’s theatre can aim to be an experience and a fun moment, but also make children reflect and develop their critical thinking. As well as to provide knowledge and conveying messages. The theatre performances can also be a way of educating children in the art form and fostering them into the theatre tradition. The results show that the approaches the children’s librarians express are not direct opposites of each other. A theatre performance can, for example, aim to be both experience-focused and at the same time evoke thoughts and reflections. The study also shows that the identified approaches express both a view of children as actors in their own right, but also a view of children as future adults