ERIC Number: EJ1386648
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023
Pages: 26
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1361-4533
EISSN: EISSN-1740-7834
The Importance and Level of Individual Social Capital among Academic Librarians
New Review of Academic Librarianship, v29 n1 p51-76 2023
Academic libraries, apart from their main function, which is to provide information services to academic communities, may also perform a number of social roles in the broad meaning of the term. Accordingly, they now tend to serve as the third place offering inclusion and animation activities to academic as well as local communities (including potential students) and to groups in risk of social exclusion (immigrants, persons with disabilities, senior citizens, etc.) or in need of various kinds of care and support. However, for libraries to be able to fulfil those tasks, they need properly trained staff who not only have the required competencies but also the right social attitudes. The paper presents an analysis of the social attitudes of academic librarians from twenty countries across the world as compared to the personnel of other types of libraries. The level of individual social capital, activity in social networks, aspirations in life and social and civic engagement were investigated. It was noted that the respondents tend to undervalue the importance of the work done by libraries for local communities. At the same time, the research showed that academic librarians have a somewhat lower level of individual social capital and trust than public librarians and less extensive social networks. Nonetheless, they are open to relationships with others, which enables them to engage in various social projects.
Descriptors: Social Capital, Academic Libraries, Librarians, Librarian Attitudes, Library Role, Social Networks, Social Attitudes, Aspiration, Trust (Psychology), Public Libraries, School Libraries, Special Libraries, Comparative Analysis, Foreign Countries
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Australia; Austria; Belarus; Belgium; Canada; Czech Republic; Denmark; France; Germany; Hungary; Ireland; New Zealand; Poland; Russia; Slovakia; Sweden; Switzerland; Ukraine; United Kingdom; United States
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A