"Of course, we don´t set boundaries” : A discourse analysis of the way the Swedish daily press depict public libraries work with integration

Not since the Second World War, Sweden has experienced such an increase in immigration numbers. Between 2012-2015 the media reported, almost on a daily basis, varying types of information on the refugee situation. Inevitably, every single area and institution in our society is affected by the refugee crisis. However, this master's thesis is restricted to an examination of the role of the public library in the integration process of refugees in Sweden, as highlighted in the media. The aim of the study is to identify how the public libraries integration work towards refugees is depicted in Swedish daily press. Our objectives are to describe how refugees and libraries are illustrated in the press and to examine how particular library services directed towards refugees, are described. The overall research question is: What discourse or discourses can be identified in the material regarding this work? The method and theoretical framework is a discourse analysis inspired by Laclau’s and Mouffe’s discourse theory. Sahlin's four room model was used to provide us with a practical tool in order to conduct the analysis. Our findings show that it was possible to identify four distinct discourses: a popular educational discourse, a literature mediation discourse, a discourse of the library as a physical space and a discourse of the library as a meeting place. Our most salient conclusion is that the traditional role of the library, as an institution of popular education and literature media-tion, is evident also from an integration work perspective