”Är man i en samisk förvaltningskommun ska det stå Girjerájus på väggen!” : En studie av det koloniala arvet och samiska perspektiv i svensk biblioteksverksamhet

• Main Author: Hast, Matilda
• Format: Others
• Language: Swedish
• Published: Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för ABM 2020
• Subjects: Indigenous peoples; Sami (European people); Library; Public services (Libraries); Postcolonialism; Ursprungsbefolkningar; Samer; Bibliotek; Publik service på bibliotek; Kolonialism; Postkolonialism; Information Studies; Biblioteks- och informationsvetenskap
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-415551

Introduction: Indigenous matters are viewed as a priority by the library profession around the world and the library law in Sweden states that the national minorities, which include the indigenous Sámi people, are a prioritised group. Despite these facts there is little research on indigenous matters in relation to libraries, library practice, and service. In Sweden especially, there is little focus on the colonial heritage and what effects, if any, it has on the library. Method: This essay aims to examine three areas. First, how libraries in Sweden work to promote and support the Sámi population in regards to culture, language, and identity. Second, what needs and wishes the Sámi population have in regards to library service. Lastly, whether or not the colonial heritage is visible in library practice and service and to what extent. The colonial heritage and its effects is a pervasive theme throughout the essay. To answer these questions three librarians from two different libraries and three Sámi informants were interviewed.  Analysis: Since the heritage from colonialism is a key theme it was natural to apply a postcolonial framework for the text analysis of the interview transcriptions.  Results: The findings show that the colonial heritage is still visible in library practice and service, although not deliberate from the profession. The two libraries in question are working to counteract the colonial heritage while promoting and supporting the Sámi population by providing books in the Sámi languages and making effort to give them a prominent place in the physical library room.  Conclusion: There is still a need for improvements in regards to giving the languages a prominent place in the libraries with for instance signage and shelf placement. As well as organising activities for and about the Sámi population, as pointed out from the Sámi informants. One solution may be to give the Sámi status as an indigenous people in the Swedish library law instead of merely status as a national minority. This could give libraries the economic resources they often lack and thus motivating them to prioritise and make extra efforts in their work to the Sámi population. This is a two years master’s thesis in Library and Information Science.