"Det är lite ge och ta" : Google och folkbibliotekarieuppdraget

The purpose of this master’s thesis is to gain a better understanding of how public librarians describe their interactions with Google Search, as well as their opinions on both the company and the search engine Google. The main focus of interest is the information seeking process that public librarians perform in response to questions from library users, and the alternatives and choices, such as different databases and search engines, that are available to them in these situations. A qualitative analysis of seven interviews with public librarians is presented. The theoretical framework is inspired by posthuman and sociotechnical approaches. Actor-Network Theory (ANT) is used to describe and analyze how the librarians’ actions connect them to other actors – both human and non-human – and what kind of network they are shaping together. The findings suggest that the librarians continuously turn to Google Search in order to find information and answers that the library users need. They also express critical opinions regarding both the search engine and the company behind it. However, in relation to the library users’ questions, Google Search is still conceptualized as a helpful resource by the librarians. It is a well integrated, and almost invisible, part of their work. This makes the company as well as the search engine Google a significant actor in the present network, and also decreases the presence of alternative information seeking resources and potential actors. It is concluded that the opinions held by the librarians are of minor importance for the course of action they choose to take in their information seeking. Google seems to function as a necessity to fulfill the assignment as a public librarian, as it is described by the interviewees. (Less)