"Hur stor skada kan det göra att läsa en bok?": En kvalitativ studie av bibliotekariers förhållningssätt till trigger warnings

Sammanfattning

Trigger warnings have become an increasingly common feature when literature is discussed on digital platforms, particularly on BookTok. However, research on how such warnings are understood and handled in everyday library practice remains limited. This study therefore took its starting point in an identified knowledge gap concerning how librarians relate to and work with trigger warnings when promoting fiction to young readers. The study employed a qualitative methodology consisting of semi-structured interviews and document analysis. The theoretical framework consisted of practice theory, genre theory and Genette’s theory of the paratext. The aim was to investigate how public and school librarians understand and handle these trigger warnings in relation to young users, and how these considerations influence acquisition, display, and reference interviews within library practice. The findings were further analysed in relation to the expectations and regulations that shape different library contexts. The study shows that trigger warnings are not handled as an explicit or standardised tool. Instead, they are embedded in communicative and situational practices in which librarians balance access to literature, protection of young readers, perceptions of particular genres, and the risk of steering readers through professional judgement. Overall, the findings show that the handling of trigger warnings is shaped by the libraries’ young users, librarians’ attitudes toward particular genres and potentially triggering content, as well as by questions of expectations, responsibility and institutional regulations.