Samspel mellan generationer : en kvalitativ studie om social inkludering av äldre och generationsöverskridande verksamhet på folkbibliotek

Sammanfattning

The incentive for this paper lies in the demographic development towards a larger population of older adults worldwide. Furthermore, there is a growing concern of involuntary loneliness becoming a big public health problem in Sweden, and it is particularly found among the elderly and young adults. How do public librarians currently view this phenomenon and in what ways do it affect their operations towards older adults?An additional question this study aims to discover is what kind of intergenerational programs exist at librariesand which limitations and possibilities can be identified in the public library work in regard to this topic? This approach and area of research is rarely found within the field of library and information science, why this study attempts to help fill that gap. Through a qualitative methodology using interviews and a text analysis based on a socio-spatial framework, the answers to these questions are explored. Some conclusions were drawn. Social inclusion is best achieved through a combination of many different means, one of which is intergenerational programs. When organizing intergenerational programs in libraries, considerations should be given during the planning phase, but serendipitous side effects should not be underestimated. A combined approach that enables several outcomestherefore seems advantageous. Making use of both low- and high-intensity arenas for this purpose is also beneficial. Factors such as collaboration, a common interest and legitimacy appear to increase the success for intergenerational interactions, whereas a lack of a social “glue”, weak spatial conditions, and stereotypical beliefs may hinder them.