“Tell Alvesta Commune to not take away the book bus!”

The Need and Potential for a Mobile Library

A CASE STUDY OF THE MOBILE LIBRARY IN ALVESTA COMMUNE

M.A. Peace and Development Studies (Linnaeusuniversity) Course: Methods of Field Work for Peace and Development (4FU420) 26.03.2019

Authors: Andersson, Jonas, [email protected]

Gunzelmann, Janine, [email protected] Martinsson, Philip, [email protected] Tarapatova, Oksana, [email protected] Table of Contents Sammanfattning ...... 2 Summary ...... 2 1.Introduction ...... 3 1.1 Background ...... 3 1.2 Research Objective and Questions ...... 4 1.3 Stakeholders ...... 4 1.4 Mobile Libraries’ Mission and Potential ...... 5 2. Methodology ...... 6 2.1 Research Design ...... 6 2.2 Interviews ...... 6 2.3 Observation ...... 7 2.4 PhotoVoice ...... 8 2.5 Sample Selection ...... 9 2.6 Limitations of the Study ...... 9 2.7 Ethical Considerations ...... 10 3. Findings ...... 11 3.1 Interviews ...... 11 3.1.1 Positive Aspects ...... 11 3.1.2 Improvements and Critical Reflections ...... 11 3.2 Observations ...... 12 3.2.1 Working Conditions ...... 12 3.2.2 Relationship ...... 13 3.2.3 Book Bus Users ...... 13 3.3 PhotoVoice ...... 13 4. Analysis ...... 14 4.1 Interviews with Book Bus Users and Potential Book Bus Users ...... 14 4.2 Observation ...... 15 4.3 Young People living in Rural Areas (PhotoVoice) ...... 15 5. Conclusions ...... 16 6. Recommendations ...... 17 List of References ...... 18 Appendix 1: Interview Code List ...... 19 Appendix 2: Interview guide ...... 20 Appendix 3: Mini PhotoVoice Workshop...... 21 Appendix 4: Terms of reference (ToR) ...... 24

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Sammanfattning

Denna rapport undersöker behovet för invånare i Alvesta kommun av den nuvarande bokbussen genom tre olika målgrupper. Alvesta kommun har idag tre olika typer av bibliotek: stadsbibliotek, skolbibliotek och en bokbuss. Denna rapport fokuserar på bokbussen. Informationen som analyseras kommer ifrån semi strukturerade intervjuer genom nuvarande bokbuss användare, en mindre PhotoVoice Workshop med ungdomar vid Vislanda fritidsgård samt observationer. Rapportens slutsatser är att dagens bokbuss är mycket uppskattad av användarna och framförallt är man nöjd med servicen från bibliotekarierna. Det finns även flera möjligheter till förbättringar, exempelvis: ett större utbud av litteratur för alla olika åldersgrupper, en handikappvänlig entré till bokbussen samt en möjlighet till en social mötesplats. Det är viktigt att tänka på att behålla möjligheten att nå ut till samma kundbas och behålla nyckelaspekter som bokbussen bygger sin legitimitet kring. För vidare rekommendationer vill vi framhäva behovet av digitala resurser för ungdomar samt att nå ut till nya potentiella målgrupper, med fokus på icke-svensktalande.

Summary

This report analyzes the percepted needs of people living in Alvesta Commune in relation to the book bus of the Alvesta Library. Data for the analysis comes from semi-structured interviews with current book bus users and non-users, observations of these as well a PhotoVoice workshop with teenagers at Vislanda fritidsgård. The main findings are that there is a need for a mobile library in the rural areas of Alvesta Commune and that the book bus services and the librarians are very appreciated by its current users. Recommended improvements concern the extension of literature provision for all ages, a handicap friendly entrance and conceptualizing the mobile library as a social meeting place. However, it is important to consider that a new book bus needs to physically be able to reach the same customer base and at the same time keep critical functions from which it is deriving its legitimacy. Further points of consideration include the need for digital resources for young people and inclusion of new potential target groups, such as non-native-Swedish speakers.

2 1.Introduction

“The only thing that you absolutely have to know, is the location of the library” 1 Albert Einstein

Libraries are regarded as the basis for a modern democratic society. Libraries deliver opportunities for knowledge, lifelong learning and contribute to the development of the critical thinking that are the essential components of the Human Capital development. With regards to this public libraries are emerging as an important public actor. According to the law, every Commune in Sweden must have at least one public library2. As stated in the Library Act3, libraries shall promote the development of democratic society, knowledge mediation and free opinion formation, strengthen interest in education, digital knowledge and cultural activities. Therefore the development and the access to the library services remain one of the important issues for the local communities.

This report presents the research findings of the field project on the Alvesta library bus service focusing on the rural parts of Alvesta Commune by four students of the Peace and Development Work Master's programme at Linnæus University. The study has been conducted with the consult agency Nilsson & Månsson and contributes to a preliminary study for the purpose of a renewed mobile library by Nilsson & Månsson. The research findings based on the interviews with book bus users, observations during the working hours of the book bus and PhotoVoice workshop with young people present the needs of the book bus users and ideas\recommendations on its functionality. The field project occurred from the 26th February to 27th March 2019.

1.1 Background The Library service in Alvesta Commune includes public and school libraries. Mobile library (a book bus) is a part of the public library service. The book bus visits 130 different locations monthly, thus book bus users receive a visit every four week on average. The main services the bus provides are the distribution of books and other materials. According to the library staff, the main users as the schools and primary schools, the elderly, those on parental leave, and those with irregular working hours.

The Commune has decided to replace the current bus, which have led to the rethinking of the physical design, appearance, and its functionality.

Further in this report, we refer interchangeably to ‘the mobile library’ and the ‘book bus’, whereas the customers are referred to as ‘book bus users’.

1G. Morra, Pythonic Geodynamics. Lecture Notes in Earth System Sciences (Cham: Springer International Publishing AG, 2018), 96. 2 C. Ranemo, “What figures can tell”, Scandinavian Library Quarterly 46, no. 3 (2013): 16 - 17. 3 SFS 2013: 801, Bibliotekslag (Stockholm: Kulturdepartmentet, 2013), https://www.riksdagen.se/sv/dokument-lagar/dokument/svensk-forfattningssamling/bibliotekslag- 2013801_sfs-2013-801.

3 1.2 Research Objective and Questions As there is a demand from Alvesta Commune to bring about new remote library services as a part of the development of the library functions, it is of importance to explore the needs and perceptions of the library bus users in order to understand how the functions of the book bus could be improved.

The research objective of the field study is to analyze current activities of the mobile library and to make recommendations on how the mobile library can be developed within the changing of its concept according to the needs of users and the way of the contribution to the community.

In order to find out how the concept of the book bus could be changed, we were focusing on the research questions:

- What are the perceived needs of people living in the Alvesta Commune in terms of a book bus?

With the sub questions:

- How do actual users perceive (think of/ use) the current book bus? - How could the bus be improved concerning the potential and actual users’ perception (and percepted needs)? - Is there a need for a book bus in order to enhance an individual’s or the whole communities mobility? - How does the book bus influence users mobility?

For more details, see the Terms of Reference (ToR) in Appendix 4.

1.3 Stakeholders

Public libraries of local and remote communities are often the pivotal point of cultural and social life, it is thus important to consider various stakeholders who may have different impact, roles and perspectives on the current situation.

a) Librarians: works in the book bus, although that is not their only responsibility as they fill other functions in the Alvesta library.

b) Community residents: may be related or not related to the book bus service. However the general observation is that the main beneficiary group are represented mostly by the elderly, people on parental leave and those with irregular working hours.

c) Potential book bus users: people who, for various reasons, cannot or/ have no access to local libraries. Highlighted examples in the ToR in relation to potential target groups are young people from Alvesta commune or non-native Swedish speakers.

4 1.4 Mobile Libraries’ Mission and Potential The history of mobile libraries may be traced back into at least the 19th century. Back then, they were one the most used methods to disseminate books to people that otherwise had no access to stationary libraries. But what exactly classifies or distinguishes a mobile library? According to Bikos and Papadimitriou, mobile libraries are libraries “in any form that move in any manner, offer library services, are served by specialised staff and work in an organised manner within an institutional framework”. 4

Hence, there are two conditions that need to be fulfilled in order to classify as a mobile library: 1. Provide library services 2. Being mobile

Providing library services means, aiming at serving the public by disseminating knowledge and information.This may be facilitated both by providing literature and further material as well as by providing specific services (such as lending out, printing, access to digital resources, etc.). Service provision obviously differs in intensity depending on the capacity of the respective library as well as the community it serves; and may be subsumed under the points of education, entertainment as well as communication and connection.

Being mobile, moreover, may be defined as a “change of position in space in relation to a fixed point, as the movement of vehicles and pedestrians or even as the action taken to achieve a goal, an effect and as activation/action that seeks to face something– contains, in a broader perspective, the concept of change, alteration and conversion”.5 Mobility, hence, requires flexibility and adaptability, both in relation to the route as well as the material and services offered. This notion of constant change does not, however, exclude stable elements such as a fixed schedule.

Moreover, constant adaptation and flexibility, as the inherent qualities of a mobile library, emanate from and around the respective users’ needs and conditions. The higher this adaptive ability of a mobile library, the better its capacity to accommodate and serve its actual and potential audience effectively and, thus, satisfyingly.

One further point concerns the actual and potential users of a mobile library. Generally, mobile libraries serve everyone and should be available to everyone. Yet, they are of particular importance for parts of the population that have special needs or live under particular conditions in relation to their mobility and are not able to access a local, stationary library. Hence, population groups that mobile libraries should pay particular attention to include (but are not limited to) prisoners, elderly people, unemployed, people confined to their homes for several reasons or homeless people.

4 G. Bikos and P. Papadimitrious, “Mobile Libraries: Defining the phenomeno”, International Journal of Library and Information Science 10, no. 3 (March 2018): 36. 5 Bikos and Papadimitrious, “Mobile Libraries: Defining the phenomeno”, 37.

5 Since the capacity of mobile libraries to adjust to the needs of these groups depends very much on the “mentality, willingness and skills of those responsible for their operation” 6, this report aims at generating and providing information that is needed to enhance the adaptive capacity for the Alvesta Mobile Library.

Finally, and in line with Bikos and Papadimitriou, “[w]e consider the education, entertainment and communication services provided by […] mobile libraries to be invaluable and, therefore, believe that they should be supported by everyone so as to continue their significant activity”.7

2. Methodology

2.1 Research Design Following the already mentioned research objective and research questions the field case study follows an inductive design. Induction as the overall design of this study seems reasonable for two interlinked reasons, which is the need to contextualize the report, practically, to Nilsson and Månsson and secondly, to shape the report without robust preconceptions that would in turn harness any policy recommendation. Hence, we are following the standpoint of acknowledging the perceptions of the interviewees without imposing unsustainable frames, methodologies or references, thereby contaminating the study with as little prior external influence as possible.8

Following the thoughts of Strauss and Corbin9, research begins with a thematic area of study and allows the theory, concept or framework to emerge from the raw data. In the case of this report, it became evident early in the sampling process that the book bus as an institution fulfills a larger societal purpose for the users. Answers such as ‘wide geographical outreach’, ‘door-to-door strategies’ and ‘access to knowledge’ informed our decisions to use the concept of mobility to analyse our findings.

Furthermore, the strategy to collect data consisted of semi-structured interviewing, participatory observations and photovoice workshops targeting librarians, mobile library users, and non-users. The aim of this chapter is to present these frequently used methods along with its methodological processes.

2.2 Interviews The interviews were made remotely and ad-hoc at the book bus. All participants is anonymous and the coding of the participants is in appendix 1. The qualitative data was

6 ibid. 7 ibid, 39. 8 Bryman, Social Research Methods, 397. 9 A. Strauss and J. Corbin, Basics of qualitative research. 2nd Edition (Newbury Park: SAGE Publications, 1998).

6 gathered by semi-structured interviews with book bus users. The interviews took place after the respondents visit at the book bus or over the phone the day after. The reason semi- structured interviews were chosen was because of the ability to change the interview question after the respondent. 10In that way the respondent could add anything they feel was relevant and we could choose to ask follow up questions to the respondent.

2.3 Observation The scope of the observation lies within study of the single community and defines into the study observation of the book bus in the remote areas of the Alvesta community. The general purpose for observations is to discover how people are using book bus and to interpret their experience.

Figure 1: Ethnographic Research11 Observations were focused on the social situations of the residents interaction with book bus. The observation cycle consists of the descriptive observations that were continued till the end of the field work (see Figure 1), with the development of the focused and later on selective observations during the observation cycle. Every type of the observation stage was corresponding to the type of the questions developed for it that permits to guide the observations and to analyse data in more focused way and possibly to reveal some patterns. At the initial descriptive stage the observation questions are formulated widely considering the dimensions such as space, actors, goals, time, feelings. The condensed notes of the field journals with observations correspond and rely to these questions:

Who are the actors of this social situation? What are the activities the actors perform? What are the ways the space is used by actors? What are the feelings experiences by actors? How do activities vary at different time? What are the goals of the actors?

Based on the data of the descriptive observations the structural questions derived that served for the focused observations: Who are the book bus users (gender, age)? What are the relationship between librarians and users? How is the working environment in the books bus? How do the people reaching the bus? How is used the functional space of the book bus?

10 Bryman, Social Research Methods. 11 J.P. Spradley, Participant observation (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1980). 34

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In order to make selective observations, the contrast questions were posed. The contrast questions are based on the differences existing among the observing objects: What are the difference between the working environment in the book bus and the norms (or in the library)? What are the existing groups of the library users?

2.4 PhotoVoice One further method we used to gather qualitative data was the method of PhotoVoice. This method basically makes use of photographs in order to communicate a message. However, it is the participants themselves that use a camera to take pictures in order to answer a research question. Hence, our role as researchers was to facilitate the process of taking pictures and supporting the respondents to “formulate answers from their own perspective that reflect each individual’s message”.12 This method is usually practiced in groups and includes a second step of presenting, selecting and discussing the individually taken pictures in the group. In one last step, the selected pictures may be used for research or advocacy purposes and in most cases the process is finalized by presenting the results to and raising awareness in a wider community, e.g. through a photo exhibition. Moreover, this method may be a powerful way to communicate with policymakers and give otherwise unheard groups the chance to speak out and be heard).13The method of PhotoVoice is part of the so called participatory methods, saying that the method is put into the participants’ hands and this way allows for “greater access to social research knowledge beyond the academy”.14

In terms of our research, this method seemed especially promising in working with younger people. Growing up in a digital era, and surrounded by countless images and pictures, many teenagers are naturally familiar with using digital technologies, which makes this method especially conducive for their participating and enables them to express themselves in a more multifaceted and, thus, richer way.15 However, PhotoVoice comes along with some strong ethical considerations (see following section) and often is in itself not sufficient to generate comprehensive data due to “the limitations of participants’ experiences and inability to portray some issues visually”.16 Hence, we used it as a supplementary method, to approach a group of younger respondents, which enriched our data set and increased its significance.

12 J. Hussey, (ed.), M. Bakker, S. Jongeling, K. van Kakebeeke and R. van Zorge, PhotoVoice: Facilitator's guide (Rutgers, 2016), 33. 13 A.Gubrium and K. Harper, K., Participatory visual and digital methods (London and New York: Routledge, 2016); Hussey et al., PhotoVoice: Facilitator's guide. 14 Gubrium and Harper, Participatory visual and digital methods, 13. 15 A. Blackmann and T. Fairey, The PhotoVoice Manual: A guide to designing and running participatory photography projects (London: PhotoVoice, 2007). 16 Gubrium and Harper, Participatory visual and digital methods, 88-89.

8 2.5 Sample Selection There were three different target groups; user of the book bus, participants at the language café and youth at Vislanda fritidsgård (youth center). In the Terms of Reference it is stated that our main target group was the users of the book bus and what needs they have with the book bus. Therefore the main focus and information comes from the first target group; users of the book bus.

The first target group, which is users of the book bus, was randomized selected, they were selected because they used the book bus the two specifics day we were attending the book bus tour. The selection of book bus tour was made during the meeting with the librarians with our time limit in mind and their expertise of what routes that most people attend the book bus stops. The process ended up with two routes, on these routes we get 6 ad-hoc interviews and 8 phone interviews. The respondents were mostly elderly women with some elements of parents with children in primary school age. The interviews were hold in Swedish with and by Swedish native speaker.

The second target group called participants at the language café was randomized selection. They were selected because of their attendance at the language café on that day we had our workshop. In the workshop we later had conversation/ad-hoc interviews with 4 participants about the book bus. The interviews were hold in Swedish, however the respondents were attending the language café to learn Swedish and hence the conversations had language difficulties.

The third target group called youth at Vislanda fritidsgård was 6 randomized selected kids, 4 girls and 2 boys, in the age of 12-13 that attended the youth center that Friday we had our photovoice workshop. The selection of fritidsgård was based on contact information from the head of youth in Alvesta Commune to six different youth centers. Vislanda fritidsgård was the one that answered and welcomed us first. The workshop was held in Swedish and English were some of the English parts were translated to Swedish.

2.6 Limitations of the Study The most notable limitation of our study was the constrained access we had to users of the mobile library given its fixed routes. In this, we are also aware that spending more time in Alvesta would have provided us with much more in-depth knowledge that in turn could have generated better sampling. It was also the case that we were only two native Swedish speakers (males) in a setting were not all interviewees were comfortable in speaking English, hence it hindered our capacity to some extent to collect additional interviews. Furthermore, in line with an ethical standpoint, the internal working process by the group in which we interpreted our findings were often dependent on the two native Swedish speakers to provide a correct and accurate illustration of respondents’ answers. Another aspect that limited our study was the actual setting of where we conducted the interviews. On a positive note, and as agreed upon with the mobile librarians, we sought to conduct interviews without their physical presence in order to let the interviewee speak more freely but also in order to minimize biases. However, in terms of the face-to-face interviews, the preconditions were not particularly conducive due to the ad-hoc nature of our sampling which left the interviewee

9 with no or little preparation and since the weather constrained access to longer and more detailed interviews. This implied for example that some of the interviewees had not thought thoroughly about what larger societal purposes the bokbuss could fill within the rural perimeters of Alvesta.

Concerning the PhotoVoice workshop, the participants were spatially limited to the building and its surroundings where the workshop took place in order to take their pictures. Timewise, we and the participants were bound to one evening to generate the data, which is relatively short.

The study is, moreover delimited to a set of qualitative methods - namely, interviewing, observing and PhotoVoice - in order to generate data. These findings, or better, their analysis, in turn, is delimited by our choice of a theoretical framework. Findings will be interpreted in terms of the concept of mobility. In other words, the analysis’ focus is on a person’s mobility to access library services and on the mobile library’s influence on the mobility of people living in Alvesta Commune.

2.7 Ethical Considerations A field study requires high standard for ethically-grounded decision-making with regards to the conduct of interviews, treatment of sources and mitigation of authors’ biases so that interviewees are not put in harm’s way. Therefore: respecting limits and privacy; stressing an unbiased language; setting an appropriate environment; ability to listen; respecting the moral and legal order of the society; information about consent, anonymity and confidentiality (during and after) have been of uttermost importance. An effort to brief the interviewee(s) prior to the meeting about the research, including the use of it was also taken into account. In terms of the participatory observation process, same ethics have been applied. Although these considerations were taken from a researchers standpoint, we are also aware from personal observations that some citizens of the rural areas of Alvesta Commune were suspicious about our presence and there was thus a need to keep a low profile in some of the areas.

In terms of PhotoVoice, it is of utmost importance to only work on the basis of each participant’s and/or their legal representative’s (written) consent. Moreover, pictures may only display persons if the displayed persons agree on a written basis. When interpreting the results of a PhotoVoice workshop, caution must be paid to the risk of misinterpretation and misuse of the pictures in terms of the message they may or may not communicate. Yet, the risk of misinterpreting the meaning of a picture, even though diminished by discussing it with its photographer, can rarely be eliminated completely. In our case some of the participants decided not to comment on their pictures, leaving us with the task of (mis)interpreting. Hence, our analysis took place with this ethical dilemma in mind and may only be considered as this: a subjective interpretation.

Lastly, all personal identifiers have been removed from notes, transcripts and electronic files, and people representing certain institutions, communities or other social groups will be considered to speak for a foundation or unit rather than themselves. Interviews are hence

10 coded (e.g. INTW BB 5 or INTW LC 3) with the possibility of finding more detailed information in appendix 1.

3. Findings

3.1 Interviews This section seeks to primarily outline the perceptions of the book bus users. To some extent as well, it seeks to give a synopsis of a handful of actors’ perceptions that are not directly connected to the book bus. In this way, this chapter serves as an input to the general public discourse on the book bus as an institution and its related dynamics.

3.1.1 Positive Aspects The majority of respondents is actively using the book bus for different purposes, on different locations and many times have collectively expressed a deep appreciation of its general function in the rural perimeters of Alvesta. In particular, the general perception was that the staff and service provided were of high quality and is, thus, one of the major reasons why users frequently choose to return to and simultaneously engage with the book bus (INTW BB1-4; INTW BB6; INTW BB 8; INTW BB14). For example, one the respondents expressed appreciation of the librarians’ good knowledge and profile based on which they were able to contextualize the literature dependent on the user’s book interest (INTW BB 8). Others highlighted their appreciation for the geographical outreach, and stated that they enjoyed the aspect of having books delivered to the front door, or near a meeting point, for reasons of time scarcity or health complications (INTW BB8-9; INTW BB 11-12). In terms of the latter, three respondents proclaimed that the book bus serves an important role in monitoring local areas and more generally fills a function in overseeing elderly people’s health (INTW BB6; INTW BB 13-14). In relation to this, one respondent expressed the need for the book bus to visit this person in the future (when the person is too old to go to meeting points) (INTW BB 14) - which reflects the importance of the book bus as an access point to literature and knowledge for elderly people.

3.1.2 Improvements and Critical Reflections In terms of the outlook of a potential new bus, two respondents reflected upon a difficult trade-off that according to them, needs to be scrutinized carefully so that the bus is adaptable for the rural context and the people in need of the institution. Their worry was that a much larger bus would constrain its ability to reach out to certain areas, especially the most rural ones, and, hence, a larger bus with the capability to attract social gatherings at certain locations would not necessarily serve the people most in need (INTW LC 1&2).

However, there is a proclaimed interest in a larger selection of literature, which comes naturally with the creation of a new (larger) bus (INTW LC 1&2; INTW BB3; INTW BB6;

11 INTW BB9 & INTW BB13). In line with this, the previous book bus was both bigger in size and in provision of literature. The contemporary, smaller service is compensated somewhat by the availability of ad-hoc loans on sight. Yet, the current loaning service has a tendency to be prolonged, meaning that books often arrive one month later (INTW BB8).

Several of our respondents were elder and, therefore, showed interest in having a more handicap-friendly entrance (INTW BB11-12). In this context, one respondent expressed grievance over the lack of chairs to use when waiting in a queue to the librarians or when it is crowded, although, that is often compensated through the librarians “door-to-door” strategy (INTW BB1).

On the other hand, several of the respondents (INTW BB2; INTW BB4 & INTW BB6) would like to keep the book bus in its current setting and service and there are no necessary improvements needed, except an enhancement of the range of books.

As noted by two interviewees, the book bus has the potential to be more than ‘just a book bus’ in terms of its role in the rural perimeters of Alvesta with the example of being a meeting place. However, keeping the quality of the librarians steering the book bus is still one of the more important aspects in its ongoing function (INTW BB1; INTW BB3 & INTW BB6).

Two of the respondents at the language café in Alvesta Library explained that one of the dynamics hindering the possibility of a new bus and, hence, equally restraining its capacity is the disappearance of the Alvesta cultural council. Due to this, it became more complicated to allocate resources and there was a clear gap between Alvesta Commune and the mobile library as an institution on the way forward (INTW LC 1&2).

With regards to the potential target groups of refugees, immigrants and non-native-Swedish speakers, two of the respondents were of the opinion that it is difficult to develop a sound route for the book bus given the ever changing migration policy and resettlement of the target group, and the resulting confusion of their whereabouts. As it stands, local initiatives by mostly retired people and immigrants have temporarily filled this ‘access to knowledge vacuum’ (INTW LC 1&2). There is, however, a critical need, as proclaimed by the librarian steering local integration efforts, and two other respondents, to cover a route where immigrant females currently on parental care can gain access to literature, hence, also gaining access to the swedish society (INTW L1; INTW LC 1&2). The book bus was, moreover, not (well-)known by two respondents at the language café (INTW LC 3-4).

3.2 Observations

3.2.1 Working Conditions Based on two days of book bus observations resulted in the description of the following working conditions within the bus (and a subsequent necessity of improvements):

- Automatisation, accessibility: the books are loaded with the help of a hand truck cart filled with six to seven boxes that need to be hand-lifted.

- No access to toilet facilities while the bus is on a trip

12 - Considering temperature: Lack of heating and/or air conditioning (i.e. uncomfortable temperatures in winter and summer)

- Capacity of the bus: There is just one chair to sit for the visitors. The bus can take about three to four users at the same time (excluding librarians).

3.2.2 Relationship The relationship with the clients are warm, the librarians know them by names and it seems that they have a mutual, trusting and friendly relationship.

3.2.3 Book Bus Users Most of the book bus users during the two days of observations were women aged 40-60, also among the visitors was one man (35-45 age) and 3 kids. 6 of the users arrived by car for a book bus stop, the rest 12 were walking to the bus (or were reached by the bus near their homes). In general majority they all were likely to talk and to be interviewed. The main activities were to return the books and take new books (pre ordered or from the shelves).

3.3 PhotoVoice The PhotoVoice workshop at the Fritidsgård Vislanda, was conducted with a group of six randomly selected girls (4) and boys (2) aged 12 -13. On a side note, we agreed beforehand, that our target group would need no instructions on how to use a camera or take a “good” picture, which again allowed us to convey the workshop in a relatively short time span.

After preparing a detailed program (see Appendix 3), we visited Vislanda Fritidsgård on a Friday evening and randomly asked the kids if they were willing to join a PhotoVoice workshop. Contrary to what we heard before from different sources, it was no problem to motivate the kids to participate, hene, our decision to keep the number of participants at six persons. The person responsible for the Fritidsgård was very welcoming and offered us a separate room to conduct the workshop which we gladly made use of. After a first introduction game the kids obviously warmed up to us as the research team. They participated in a very respectful and motivated manner which made it very easy for us to explain and conduct what we had planned. After asking the kids which language they would be more comfortable in, we decided that one of our Swedish group members would be the main speaker and translate everything the non-native-Swedish group members said into Swedish. Yet, it became clear that most of the kids understood very well what was said in English, not least apparent through their own switching into English.

Before going into the actual PhotoVoice process, we played a game in which the kids had to decide if they liked a certain thing (that we announced) or not, by moving to an “i-like” or “i- don’t-like” sign. The last thing to decide on was a library and all but one kid decided they did not like it.

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We then moved on to explain the method of PhotoVoice. The kids seemed to understand quite fast how this method works and after we made sure everyone had a working mobile phone camera (we lended out two of our own phones), they were sent out to take their own pictures (five at the most), so as to answer the question: “How should a library be so that you would use it?”.

As one last program point, we came together again in a circle and aimed at creating an atmosphere conducive to discuss and elaborate on the pictures taken. Two of the kids readily explained what they had in mind when taking their pictures (see analysis chapter for pictures and comments), however, the other four kids decided not to comment on their pictures but still took active part in this last circle. Before sending them off, we handed out consent forms that the kids and their parents had to sign so that we can at a later point publish the pictures taken.

We then designed a mini exhibition out of the pictures (see picture below) that shall be published as a mobile exhibition in the book bus of Alvesta’s library (to date we are still waiting to receive all the consent forms in order to hand over the exhibition to the librarians of the book bus - as discussed and agreed upon with them and the kids respectively).

4. Analysis

4.1 Interviews with Book Bus Users and Potential Book Bus Users Overall and foremost, the book bus has had a history of supporting and serving the mobility of the rural Alvesta through classical door-to-door strategies with a wide geographical reach, overseeing elderly people, and developing sound profiles of the users in order to contextualize the literature. These dynamics, which have been (and still are) defining the appropriation of the respondents, have informed the book bus’ core access and skills and are generally viewed as cornerstones in the development of a new bus. In terms of access, several of the respondents appreciated the mobility of the book bus, since the lack of their own mobility created a demand for the book bus services to the rural areas of Alvesta Commune. Several different respondents stated the positive aspects of the services from the librarians. The skills and knowledge of the librarians created these often mentioned appreciation aspects. The recommendations by the librarians for new books and its users, for example, clearly show the librarians’ skills. Moreover, the respondents’ way of bringing this up in the interview is their appreciation of the librarians’ skills. The book bus’ mobility also responds to the need for indirect oversight of people’s health and social aspects, even though, this is not the primary raison d'être for the book bus. Therefore, possible improvements of the bus are rather of material than humanitarian nature.

Following the reasoning of one respondent, the book bus has the potential to be ‘more than just a book bus’, but if not carefully thought through can instead constrain its capacity and some of the cornerstones that the bus has built its legitimacy on. For example, the respondents informed us about their need for a larger variation of the literature in the book

14 bus, however, they also highlighted that a new larger book bus could stop its mobility within rural areas. Today’s book bus is missing a handicap friendly entrance which can be solved through a new book bus. A handicap friendly entrance would assist the users during both the door-door strategy as well as at public meeting places. This, once more, leads to the the opportunity of becoming more than a book bus, i.e. a social meeting place for the actual and potential users.

In accordance with a handful of interviewees, one of the more critical aspects of the book bus is the need of new target groups. This is linked to the access for for non-native-Swedish speakers to be able to use the book bus and find literature that is connected to them (i.e. written in easy Swedish). This feature is to date only included in the main library in Alvesta (INTW L1). The expansion of the route of the book bus to areas where immigrants can access it, is, thus, a point to consider.

4.2 Observation The analysis of the observation through the mobility lens shows that the current capacity of the bus is constrained timewise and in terms of accessibility to receive more people. However, this has mainly a relevance for public stops and during times when the book bus has high rate of visitors. Approximately 30% of the observed users were reaching the book bus by car, although aggregated factors such as weather conditions, amounts of lended books or health issues must be taken into account when looking at this data. For example, during the observation days the weather was cold and rainy and one of the user brought back significant amounts of books and another user came with a relative with significant health issues. The remaining 70% of the users reached the bus by walking from nearby residence, which proves that the bus stops close to the places where the book bus users live. The villages where the book bus users were observed are situated far away from the main roads and the Alvesta center, thereby there is adding value and appreciation for the book bus service.

4.3 Young People living in Rural Areas (PhotoVoice) Before analyzing the PhotoVoice workshop at the Fritidsgård in Vislanda, it is important to bear in mind that we had a different research question that we directly asked the participants. Questions within a PhotoVoice workshop usually have an obviously subjective component so that participants can answer it with a picture out of their perspective. With posing the question of how a library should be so that “you” would use it, we wanted to find out teenagers’ needs in terms of library services and how to make libraries responsive to these needs.

The first hint that we received during the workshop was that all except one participant stated that they did not like libraries (during the “i-(don’t)-like”-game), which we expected. The main data of interest here are the pictures the participants took. Observations, moreover, complement this data set. However, not all pictures taken were later commented on (in fact, most were not commented), leaving us with a very big leeway of interpretation and, thus, a

15 big risk of misinterpreting the findings. We do by no means claim that what we see in the pictures is what the participants had in mind, but sensitively will try our best (in combination with the observations and our interaction with the participants) to gain some insight in their actual needs. In the end, we ourselves are the participants and our interpretation is as subjective as any other participant’s of the workshop. Due to copyright restrictions the original pictures will not be displayed in this report, yet, while analyzing, all pictures were grouped around three categories that we defined as follows: 1. The wish for specific literature a. Examples from the photos: Astrid Lindgreen books, Manga books, travel literature 2. Access to digital resources a. Examples from the photos: TV screens, gaming opportunities, mobile phones 3. The wish for further endowment and equipment that goes beyond literature a. Examples from the photos: couches, candy, clocks, board games, safety endowment

5. Conclusions

Coming back to the initial research question (What are the percepted needs of people living in the Alvesta Commune in terms of a mobile library?) as well as the mobility framework, the previous analysis implies that there still is a need for a mobile library in the Alvesta Commune. Based on the analysis of the PhotoVoice workshop, younger people that are living in rural areas are very interested in libraries as a way to have access to digital resources. They, moreover, were interested in a rather specific kind of literature (Astrid Lindgren and Manga books) and expressed a need for socialization, leisure and fun, in addition to education. Libraries do have the potential to very practically influence the travel mobility of younger people, yet, it depends very much on the youngsters if they make use of this opportunity.

The book bus service is very appreciated by its current users. Yet, it has the potential to improve in terms of the literature content and physical endowment, such as increasing the range of literature and designing a more handicap friendly entrance. The new book bus can solve this problem, yet, it is important to take logistic points into consideration, i.e. practical issues such as the size of the bus and if it would still be able to reach all previous customers that at times live in rather remote places with very limited parking spaces. A new book bus could furthermore include opportunities for a social meeting place.

Based on the observations during the field study, we conclude, that especially in remote areas, there is a high need for library services. While the relationship between librarians and book bus users is very friendly and welcoming and, hence, contributing to the quality of the library services, there is a need for more space in the bus. In addition, the improvement of the working conditions for the librarians themselves should definitely be taken into consideration when designing a new book bus.

16 In sum, the need for a mobile library in the Alvesta Commune is perceived and expressed very obviously by its current users, which implies great potential for a new book bus. Alvesta’s mobile library contributes decisively to the community’s and its individuals’ mobility and has the potential to also reach a younger target group by making use of this virtue as a mobility enhancer.

6. Recommendations

Our recommendations based on the previous analysis read as follows: - Larger variation of literature and as well increase the access with a more handicap friendly book bus. - Enhance access to digital resources (either through internet or in the mobile library itself) - In order to design libraries as a place to socialize and have fun, they locations where one can be loud and bring friends/ socialize with others → in terms of the bus it would definitely need more space inside to allow for such an endeavour - Review the possibility of having additional target groups, in particular marginalized immigrant females on parental care with the aim of expanding integration efforts. - Take into account the need for improvement of the working conditions in the book bus; importance for people to save the same stops to reach already existing users.

Further points to take into consideration based on the previous analysis: - Would a bigger book bus be able to logistically reach the current target group? - Allow kids time to spend in libraries → mobile libraries might reduce their commuting time and thus give them more time to actually spend in the library, hence, the book bus could try to explicitly reach out to homes with teenagers/ children in rural areas - The safety of libraries, i.e. a safe space for personal development: how could the perception of safety be enhanced?

Based on a peer-review discussion at the seminar, on March 25, the following aspects was highlighted in addition to the aforementioned: - Is the bus able to take weekend routes to reach out to more respondents that are not available during working hours/ weekdays. - Is there a need for including elderly men/ male retirees as a possible new target group? - Lessons learned from other countries can provide interesting input; E.g. the cases of Bangladesh and Colombia.

17 List of References

Bikos, G. and Papadimitriou, P. “Mobile Libraries: Defining the phenomenon” International Journal of Library and Information Science 10, no. 3 (March 2018): 35-40. Blackmann, A. and Fairey, T. The PhotoVoice Manual: A guide to designing and running participatory photography projects. London: PhotoVoice, 2007. Bryman. A. Social Research Methods. 5th Edition. Oxford University Press, New York, 2016. Gubrium, A. and Harper, K. Participatory visual and digital methods. London and New York: Routledge, 2016 Hussey, J. (ed.), Bakker, M., Jongeling, S., van Kakebeeke, K. and van Zorge, R. Photo Voice: Facilitator's guide. Rutgers, 2016. Morra, G. Pythonic Geodynamics. Lecture Notes in Earth System Sciences. Cham: Springer International Publishing AG, 2018. Ranemo, C. “What figures can tell.” Scandinavian Library Quarterly 46, no. 3 (2013): 16 - 17. SFS 2013:801, Bibliotekslag. Stockholm: Kulturdepartmentet, 2013, https://www.riksdagen.se/sv/dokument-lagar/dokument/svensk- forfattningssamling/bibliotekslag-2013801_sfs-2013-801. Strauss, A. and Corbin, J. Basics of qualitative research. 2nd Edition. Newbury Park: SAGE Publications, 1998. Spradley, J.P. Participant observation. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1980. Thorhauge, J. Nordic public libraries: the Nordic cultural sphere and its public libraries. København: Danish National Library Authority, 2002.

18 Appendix 1: Interview Code List

19 Appendix 2: Interview guide

→ for book bus users

● How are you using the book bus? ● (Hur använder du bokbussen idag?) ● Why are you using the book bus? ● (Varför använder du bokbussen idag?) ● What is your perception of the book bus? ● (Vad är din uppfattning av bokbussen idag?) ● To what extent does the bokbus fulfill your needs? ● (Till vilken utsträckning uppfyller bokbussen dina behov?) ● What kind of aspects/services of the current bus would you like to transfer to the new book bus (given there will be a new bus)? ● (Vad skulle du vilja behålla till den nya bokbussen?) ● What services would you like to add, that are currently missing, to the new book bus? ● (Vad skulle du vilja förändra med till den nya bokbussen?) ● Access/functions/schedule? (Tillgänglighet/funktioner/schema) ● Are there any new functions the book bus could have? (Är det några nya funktioner den nya bokbussen skulle kunna få?) ● Is there anything you would like to tell us about the book bus? ● (Är det något du skulle vilja berätta för oss angående bokbussen?)

→ for potential book bus users (mainly språk café participants)

● How do you use the library? ● Why do you use the library? ● What would you like to change with the library? ● Are you aware of the bokbus/do you use it? (yes/no) ● no: ● Why are you not using it? (I live in Alvesta, have access to the Library → end of the interview?) ● Which changes would make it accessible for you? ● Yes: (questionnaire for bus users)

Observation focus points

● Look at the customer group. ● Look at the relationship between librarians and users. ● Look at the working environment.

20 Appendix 3: Mini PhotoVoice Workshop

● Aim: ● find out how to make libraries more attractive for/ more responsive to the needs of youngsters ● find out in how far mobility is a criterion for teenagers in relation to library services ● Objectives: ● gather opinions about libraries (from young people’s that currently don’t use them) ● gather ideas on how libraries should be so that young people use them ● design a mobile exhibition

● Research Question: How should a library be so that you would use it?

● Material: ● consent forms ● candy ● thumbs up/down cards ● Laptop ● spare phones ● cable to connect phones to laptop ● foam or tennis ball

● Workshop Program: (responsible main speaker: Janine; translator: Jonas)

● explain why we are here: ● we want to find out something and need YOUR help doing that (because we can’t by ourselves), YOUR opinion and personal experiences are super important, and we’d really appreciate your help ● agree on ground rule: only participate if you want to, but if you do, participate with respect (i.e. listen to others and actively take part)!

● Ice Breaker: ● Name game (say your name and what you had for breakfast, repeat the ones before you OR Time Bomb: throw ball while calling s.o.’s name; if you take more than 2 seconds to call the next name you’re out) ● (if time: Fruitsalad or “Boo”… P.79 in PV manual) ● “I (don’t) like game”: ● 2 sides of the room:i like/ i don’t like (will be marked by a thumbs up and down sign); we say different things and kids have to go to respective side ● music ● winter ● Pizza ● maths ● shopping ● flying ● mobile phones

21 ● taking pictures/ photography ● books ● libraries → (ask why on each side)

● Little intro on libraries: I personally love to travel the world (show pictures?) and found out that in libraries you can find a lot about the world without actually going to the country (movies, documentaries, people from everywhere, ideas on how to travel, adventure stories,...) ● Libraries can be super fun and exciting places, but only if we together search for ideas on how to change that! Imagine digital libraries, libraries in busses that drive around! etc. (there are no limits!) ● So again, your help is needed to turn libraries into cool places, that’s why we are here, and if you agree to participate it’s totally up to you on how this project will turn out

● explaining method and RQ ● it would be super boring to just write your answers down. that’s why we’d like to do that by taking pictures with your own phones. i.e. we’ll ask you a question and then you will answer this by taking a picture (no more than 5 per person in the end) ● example → How important is your mobile phone for you? (one of us takes phone and takes picture of s.o. else of us, hugging his/her phone; explain: “that picture shows that my phone is really important for me”. Then take picture of s.o. throwing phone into garbage (just pretend) and explain “this shows that the phone is NOT very important for me”) → find a better example?! ● In the end we will take the best pictures and make an exhibition out of them. But that only works of the pictures are good (not shaky or too dark etc…) (see at the end for 2 optional games in case we have spare time) ● The question for you is: How should a library be so that you would use it?/ so that you think its cool? Hur skulle ett bibliotek vara så att du skulle använda det? Så att du tycker att det är coolt? (show on laptop/ presentation slide, ask if they understand the question) ● remember: Your name will be under the pictures for the exhibition (either digital/ online OR in the library bus)! You can give your opinion through these pictures! There is no right and wrong, just your own opinion counts. Try to make good pictures that can be used in an exhibition. ● most important rule: ● Don’t take pictures of people that are not in this circle. You can go out of this room to take pictures, but make sure that no other face is on the picture ● Come back after you’ve taken the pictures and we’ll upload your 5 favourite pics to the laptop and show them to everyone (you can explain what you mean by them if you want to)

● picture taking time

● Picture presentation ● upload pics

22 ● in circle: show on laptop, if people want they can explain (and we take notes on what they said!!); together select 3-5 best pics of each person ● Consent forms ● we need your parents signature, otherwise your pictures will NOT be in the exhibition, so please don’t forget! ● Take one consent form home with you, sign it yourself and let your parents sign, and bring it back here as soon as possible (give it to the leaders that are here, we will collect it from them) ● (give out consent forms) ● Thank you so much for participating! Without you that would not have been possible!!! We will inform you when the exhibition takes place.

23 Appendix 4: Terms of reference (ToR)

What next for Alvesta’s Mobile Library - Terms of reference This field project will the past and potential social benefits of the Alvesta Mobile library, focussing on rural parts of Alvesta Commune, and contribute to a preliminary study for a replace mobile library. Sponsoring organisation: The project is on behalf of Nilsson & Månsson AB, a consultancy company based in Växjö that works with sustainable development, culture and leadership and organization. Nilsson & Månsson has been commissioned by Alvesta Commune to Background The library service in Alversta Commune covers both public libraries and school libraries. The public libraries include the main library, four branches, a mobile library (a book bus) and the digital library. There are integrated school libraries (branch + school) located in Vislanda and Grimslöv, and Moheda will be integrated in 2019. Four schools have their own school librarian, two have staffed libraries with other staff and two schools receive library services from the main library. Table 1: Schedule of Library services

Main Library Branch Libraries Bokbuss Digitala biblioteket

Alvesta (6 d/w) Vislanda (5d/w) 9 trips for the general Website available 24/7 public and the primary schools/w

Lönashult (1d/w) 1 primary school/w

Moheda (5 d/w) 2 school trips/w

Grimslöv (2d/w)

Each month the bus visits 130 different locations (see Table 1 above), and book bus users in general receive a visit every four weeks on average. The main services the bus provides are distributing books and other lending iterms. The staff describe the main users as the schools and primary schools, the elderly, those on parental leave, and those with irregular working hours. The Commune has decided to replace the current bus, and library is undertaking a feasibility study on how the mobile library can be developed. This is an opportunity not only to rethink the physical design of the mobile library, but also what it does. What does it mean to delivery cultural resources away from the branch libraries? Library activities have a broader mission than just lending books. According to the Library Act, libraries shall promote the development of democratic society, knowledge mediation and free opinion formation, strengthen interest in education, digital knowledge and cultural activities. Prioritized target

24 groups are children / young people, persons with functional challenges, persons with a mother tongue other than Swedish and national minorities in the Library Act. Task The group is asked to contribute to a preliminary study that will analyze current activities and, based on this, give suggestions on how the mobile library can be developed. The preliminary study will also review opportunities for improved work environment for the staff (This includes loading, handing out books, meetings with users etc.) and to some extent weigh in sustainability aspects in the mobile business. The group is also invited to think proactively about what else a mobile library can contribute to the community, and make some suggestions of their own, based on the field study. Questions about privacy / integrity will be discussed further at the meeting prior to the field study. Methods The study will draw on the following four methodological strands:

· Participant observation and qualitative interviewing with rural residents, librarians and other stakeholders.

· A short internet based survey.

· Photovoice workshops in ate least two locations.

· Expertise on the changing roles of libraries in community life. One or more study opportunities could be organised at one of the larger and longer stops that the book bus does, for example at Torne and in Torpsbruk. This applies to times when both the book bus is in place and possibly on other occasion to also capture opinions from people who live in the area. Guiding questions

· What are the current patterns of use of the mobile library?

· What does the bus mean for today’s users?

· How are the current users affected by any change?

· What new target groups could the mobile reach?

· How can the timetable change and improve?

· What services and activities could be found in a new mobile library?

· What is the mobile library like as a work environment?

· What design criteria are there for the interior of a new mobile libary?

· What are the advantages and disadvantages of a larger and smaller bus for the mobile libray?

· How are the branch libraries affected by a new mobile library? Initial Contact: Alexandra Stiernspets Nylén [email protected]; Erica Månsson [email protected]. Briefing meeting – Tuesday 26thFebruary: 4pm, Videum Reception Additional resources: Ask for Nilsson & Månsson background documents NB – Check about confidentiality of report. Can we manage making it public at all(albeit in a limited way) ?

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