The aim of this master thesis is to investigate how the OPACs Online Public Access Catalogue used by public libraries have adapted the features and possibilities offered by online catalogues, for the purpose of searching for fiction. This is done by comparing five OPACs to Amazon.com, an online bookstore. The questions investigated are: Have the OPACs developed from the principles of the card catalogue and adapted to the features and possibilities offered by online catalogues, when searching for fiction? Can the library catalogue provide the same features as Amazon.com, when searching for fiction? How do the OPACs use the resources that online catalogues provide when searching for fiction, compared with Amazon.com? The thesis is based on two qualitative studies. The first study presents five OPACs from different library systems and examines which features they have in common with Amazon.com. The second study examines how five public libraries use the potential features of their OPACs. The OPACs have started to develop features and possibilities that online catalogues provide but they have not completely abandoned the principles of the card catalogues. Most OPACs still only allow keyword searches and do not support browsing through genres and subjects. They do not offer a designated area for fictional search only. So far the libraries have not developed the OPACs potential to include additional information such as covers and reviews. The users have some possibilities to interact with the OPACs to make them more useful for their personal needs. Nr 63 Maria Broman: Ungdomar och nättidningsläsning En kvalitativ studie av nio gymnasieungdomars förhållande till dagstidningar på Internet Adolescents and Net Newspaper Reading A Qualitative Study of Nine High School Students' Relations to Newspapers on the Internet This Master Thesis deals with nine high school students' relations to, and reading of, newspapers on the Internet. In the context of the Internet and net newspapers, adolescents represent a group that is particularly interesting to study. For instance, they have a positive attitude towards Net newspapers and they are the first generation to grow up with the Internet and thereby associated technology. Moreover, mass media is an important part of young peoples' daily lives. A qualitative approach was used, resulting in interviews with four girls and five boys. The study reveals that the adolescents visit a newspaper site primarily to read the news and not to utilise the interactive services available. Highly valued aspects of Net newspapers are that they are free of charge and easily accessible from home. Nevertheless, the informants almost exclusively read Aftonbladet, the singularly most popular alternative on the Net. Furthermore, it was found that Internet newspaper reading has a natural place in the adolescents' lives for the time being, a habit connected to other activities such as surfing the Net and practising sports and music...
