"Allt förändras och förändringarna kommer att fortsätta". : Om synen på digitalisering och det digitala imperativet

• Main Author: Hallpers, Anna
• Format: Others
• Language: Swedish
• Published: 2019
• Subjects: Digitalisering; teknik; teknikdeterminism; socio-tekniska perspektiv; bibliotek; Den femte statsmakten; Information Studies; Biblioteks- och informationsvetenskap
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hb:diva-21707

The aim of this master thesis is to examine the use of the word digitalization ("digitalisering") in a Swedish library context, and to relate the use and the assumptions underlying it to different views of technology. The empiric material chosen was the report Den femte statsmakten, published by the National Library of Sweden in 2017 as part of the production of a national library strategy. A tool for structuring and analysing the material was created, based on the different grammatical functions of the words digitalization and digital, also drawing on the works of linguists Fairclough and Fowler. Findings showed that digitalization was often described as an independent actor, impacting on both organizations and individuals. The use of the word digital ranged from describing specific materials and tools, to describing the entire society and the present. These results were then further discussed in relation to different perspectives on technology, revealing a strong deterministic tendency in the studied material, where the current development was taken for granted. Questions about the influence of big tech companies on the technological development and the definition of digital competence were also raised.