This thesis examines the role of violence and harassment towards staff in Swedish public libraries as well as the preventative measures used by the libraries. A link to a web survey was distributed to 60 libraries and answered by 38 respondents. The study included regular public libraries and public libraries integrated with school libraries. The survey regarded their situation in 2012. Three questions were used as a starting point:- What sort of problems exist in Swedish public libraries concerning violence and harassment towards library staff?- How do Swedish public libraries seek to prevent violence and harassment towards their staff and how could this preventative work be further evolved?- Is there a difference between the two types of libraries with reference to the problems with workplace violence and the preventative measures taken?The answers of the survey were structured and analyzed by using different theories and approaches to crime prevention and thereafter compared with the outcomes of another study on crime in a library setting. The results of the study showed that although the problems with violence and harassment were limited, quite a wide range of preventative measures were already in use. The integrated libraries in the study were less affected by these problems and used fewer security measures than the regular public ones.