Folkbibliotekarier och öppen vetenskap : En enkätstudie om folkbibliotekariers kunskaper, erfarenheter och attityder till öppet tillgänglig vetenskap

Sammanfattning

This bachelor’s thesis attempts to explore the relation between public librarians and open access to science, and what attitudes they carry regarding the usefulness of openly accessible science in their practical operations. The study conducts a survey which collects both quantitative data from questions with predefined answers, and qualitative data in form of respondents’ own comments to aforementioned questions. In total, 68 respondents from two Swedish regions contributed to the survey. This empirical evidence is then interpreted through Kemmis theoretical framework of professional practice to identify practices related to the use and perceptions of open access to science, as well as the factors that may contribute to shaping or maintaining these practices. The results from the survey indicate that public librarians rarely work routinely with openly accessible science, and many respondents express a lack of knowledge and experience in regards to this sort of practice. Several of the respondents indicate interest in these resources, while others argue that such resources are not relevant to their assignments. The respondents’ relation to scientific resources can be understood through Kemmis’ three dimensions of practice theory as a machine where each bolt represents an aspect that together forms a practice. The machine in this analogy symbolises the practice that public librarians rarely have an established tradition of working with scientific resources. Lastly, possible ways to reform contemporary practices is discussed alongside a brief reasoning of the importance of conducting more research within this field.