Ephemera are a special type of sources included in the collections of public libraries as part of the local studies collection. These sources are difficult to acquire, house, catalogue, and make available to users. The purpose of the master's thesis was to gain a comprehensive insight into the issue of ephemera in public libraries from the perspective of librarians and users. Librarians from 18 public libraries filled out a survey questionnaire on the acquisition of ephemera, on promoting the collection, and on its cataloguing practice in public libraries. Users' attitudes towards ephemera were examined through interviews conducted with five local historians. A part of the research was to examine the quality of 28 collective entries from the KIT Škofja Loka library. All surveyed libraries contain examples of ephemera in their local studies collections, which in most cases they received as a gift. The librarians also often collect ephemera. Exhibitions are the most common way of presenting ephemera. The majority of the surveyed librarians has pointed out that ephemera are very rarely used and that they are difficult to organize and process. In the interviews the historians stated that they never look for ephemera in public libraries, but rather turn to archives and individuals. Most of them were not familiar with the term ephemera and were not aware of the existence of the ephemera collection in the KIT Škofja Loka library. The thesis also gives a few suggestions for bringing these sources closer to the users.
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