| Summary: | This study examines the closure of public libraries, and the nonprofit organizations takeover of them as a phenomenon. The aim is to understand why the nonprofit takeover is common and what the takeover symbolizes and if the discourse in media invokes the views on libraries and the profession.Interviews were made with librarians, politicians and representatives of a nonprofit organization to study different sides of the phenomenon. Other empirical data were found in local and national newspapers and media-channels. I discovered that public libraries are highly valued by both politicians and the community. The study also showed that a library in a community makes people feel valued. It is often the economical problems of the communities that increases the risk of library closures. The politicians request in media, where they sometimes demand nonprofit organizations to take over library activity, can reflect upon the value of the profession and the opinions about the field. The takeover seems to be an effort of keeping the symbol that the library represents in the community and it also seems to be a symbol for the community. The symbol is for example associated with a democratic meeting-place, education and integration. The librarian is associated with good service. This is a two years master’s thesis in library and information science.
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