Skolbibliotekariens påverkan på elevers läsintresse : En aktionsstudie med användarperspektiv

Sammanfattning

Introduction. This thesis examines how the school librarian’s work affects pupils’ reading and their interest in literature. The aim is to identify how pupils’ interest and commitment to a new book genre differs based on the level of interference from the school librarian during the presentations of this genre. Method. We have introduced new books in a new genre for pupils in a primary school in central Sweden. Our study is based on action research where we knowingly influenced the participating pupils to different extents, and examined the results of this influence. By applying a user’s perspective, we studied the pupils during their visits to the school library, held focus groups with a few pupils from each class, and gathered statistics of books being lent from the school library. Analysis. The analytical framework for this thesis combines theory from the sociocultural perspective with conceptions regarding reading strategies. Results. Our results show that the level of interference from the school librarian affected the pupils’ interest in the new book genre to a high extent. Pupils that did not have an interest in the subject beforehand gained a bigger engagement for it by reading books in the genre after the school librarian’s presentation. The pupils' interest in the new books also rose during the focus groups when they got more information about the books. Conclusion. Since the study clearly presents what difference an active school librarian’s work makes for the pupils’ reading motivation, it shows the great importance of having an educated librarian in every school library. This is a two years master’s thesis in Library and Information Science.