A study of PhD dissertations in library and information science (LIS) was carried out to investigate which research topics have been of interest in Nordic LIS institutions. Seventy-nine doctoral dissertations from 2005 to 2014, published by 13 different research institutions, were retrieved from the institutions' archives and from library catalogues. Compared to other metastudies on research topics in LIS, this study on Nordic PhD dissertations revealed a noteworthy difference, namely the high number of dissertations on topics related to cultural policy and literature. The findings are discussed from the perspective of sociology of literature, according to questions of power. The main purpose of the study is to show the relevance of sociology of literature in the diverse and rich research field of library and information science.