Stories of storytime : the discursive shaping of professional identity among Swedish children’s librarians

• Introduction. This paper reports an empirical study on Swedish children’s librarians’ shaping of professional identity, as it emerges from the participants’ statements about their work with storytime activities and the competences required. Method. The empirical material consists of a transcript from one focus group interview with eight children’s librarians. Analysis. A discursively oriented text analysis was conducted. The transcript was initially examined in terms of the explicit contents of the participants’ statements. It was then interpreted further with an analytical focus on the concepts of professional identity and key narratives. Results. The analysis indicates both shared and conflicting ideas concerning work methods and competencies that define and legitimise librarians’ storytime sessions. In discussing competences, the librarians’ point out inter-professional relations, especially to teachers, as important aspects of identity shaping. A key narrative unfolds, with the library presented as an enclosed, magical space. Conclusions. Storytime is a debated object of professional expertise. There is a lack of a specialist terminology for storytime activities, which may counteract the professional knowledge claims of this female-intensive group. The professional identity of children’s librarians appears multifaceted and somewhat vague and thus calls for further investigation.

Subject headings

HUMANIORA  -- Annan humaniora -- Övrig annan humaniora (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- Other Humanities -- Other Humanities not elsewhere specified (hsv//eng)

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Annan samhällsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Other Social Sciences (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Library and Information Science

Biblioteks- och informationsvetenskap

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)