A biblioteca pública como tema de estudo nos programas de pós-graduação em ciência da informação no Brasil

Abstract

This article presents part of the dissertation research results, which had as its core issue the Public Library - PL as subject of the Master's and Doctorate studies carried out in the realm of Information Science - IS. Our interest in the study emerged from the necessity of verifying the way universities have left room for a discussion on such theme in their research agendas. It aimed at investigating the insertion of the PL and the frequency it was addressed in those studies; as well as which characteristics of this production and which focus was placed on the issue. Thus, the objective was to analyze the scientific output on the PL in Graduate Programs in Information Science - PPGCI in Brazil, encompassing the period from 1970 to 2015. The research was descriptive, with a quantitative and qualitative approach. Procedures of content analyses were applied. 88 theses and dissertations were identified in 13 PPGCI that addressed the PL. The results show that the studies focus, mainly, on six thematic categories, as follows: functions; service analysis; history and problems; planning and public policies for culture and information; culture/mediation and user/library use. These themes comprise 65 studies, representing 74% of the total amount. The other categories are as follows: community library; Public Library and education; collections development; library professional; disclosure and miscellaneous accounted for 23 studies (26%). The research showed that the PL theme has been addressed frequently, although in limited amounts and discontinuously.