"...ett klassifikationssystem är ju en spegling av världen så att säga." : en studie av bibliotekariers maktmedvetenhet och utmaningar vid övergången från SAB till DDK

Abstract

In 2008, the National Library of Sweden decided to transition from the Swedish system of classification, SAB, to the internationally established system Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC). The aim of this master’s thesis is to study the process of transition and the effect of this transition on the library collections and users of three Swedish libraries: two university libraries and one public library. This is done through qualitative focus interviews with three groups consisting of eleven respondents, librarians employed at the three respective libraries. The theoretical framework used when analysing the results of these interviews is critical discourse analysis as described by Norman Fairclough. The analysis of the empirical material focuses on three groups of users: patrons, librarians and the society. The study shows that patrons are affected for example by the application of an American/international system of organisation, in that certain established fields of knowledge that are traditionally grouped in Swedish libraries will now be spread out over various fields. Librarians are affected in their daily practical work during and after the transition. The interviews also show that most of the librarians have a great awareness of the arbitrary nature of each classification system. Finally, society as a whole, Sweden as a country, is also a user of the system – one user among a number of countries using the system, adapting its own systems of classification according to Dewey but also adapting the system according to its own needs. The country as a user is now integrated in an international context for classification and knowledge organisation