Civic activity of librarians versus social engagement and individual social capital

Abstract

It is currently acknowledged that, apart from theoretical knowledge and professional competencies, the right attitude and engagement of librarians are important in order for libraries, in their role of local community keystones, to engage in various services beyond the traditional provision of information, such as social animation and engagement or civic education. The paper presents the results of research on the civic activity (civic attitude) of librarians versus their social engagement (social attitude) and level of individual social capital. Surveys conducted in 20 countries of the world confirm that civic activity is linked to the social activity of librarians and a high level of their individual social capital. This means that libraries may actively participate in promoting the civil society and engage in the social integration of local communities.

Keywords

civic activity civil society individual social capital librarians’ attitudes library personnel social engagement

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Anton

(2010) Volunteering in the MLA sector: A discussion. Available at: https://southeastmuseums.org/wp-content/uploads/PDF/Volunteering_in_the_MLA_sector_a_discussion__2010.pdf (accessed 26 October 2020).

Audunson

Andresen

Fagerlid

, et al. (eds) (2020) Libraries, Archives and Museums as Democratic Spaces in a Digital Age. Berlin; Boston: De Gruyter Saur.

Ayoung

Bugre

Baada

FN-A

(2020) An evaluation of the library connectivity project through the lens of the digital inclusion model. Information and Learning Sciences 121(11/12): 805–827.

Baczko

Ogrocka

(2007) Wolontariat, filantropia i 1%. Raport z badań 2007. Warszawa: Fundacja Batorego.

Cisek

Kichewko

(2012) Dialog obywatelski jako forma kreowania kapitału społecznego – teoria i praktyka. In: Moroń

(ed.) Kapitał ludzki i społeczny: kreowanie i zarządzanie. Wrocław: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Wrocławskiego, pp.63–76.

Dziewięcka-Bokun

(2009) Społeczeństwo obywatelskie jako fundament kapitału społecznego. In: Moroń

(ed.) Kapitał ludzki i społeczny: wybrane problemy teorii i praktyki. Wrocław: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Wrocławskiego, pp.60–73.

Engström

Dahlquist

(2020) The will to activate library users and the making of citizens: How different rationalities influence the notion of participation in a library context. The Library Quarterly 90(3): 314–331.

Fukuyama

(1999) Social capital and civil society. Available at: https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/seminar/1999/reforms/fukuyama.htm (accessed 26 October 2020).

Gajowiak

(2012) Kapitał społeczny: przypadek Polski. Warszawa: Polskie Wydawnictwo Ekonomiczne.

10.

Goulding

(2004) Libraries and social capital. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science 36(1): 3–6.

11.

Griffis

Johnson

(2014) Social capital and inclusion in rural public libraries: A qualitative approach. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science 46(2): 96–109.

12.

Hejda

Kozłowska

(2010) Przestrzeń dla mieszkańców z inicjatywą. Warszawa: Fundacja Rozwoju Społeczeństwa Informacyjnego.

13.

Hillenbrand

(2005a) A place for all: Social capital at The Mount Barker Community Library, South Australia. Australasian Public Libraries and Information Services 18(2): 41–60.

14.

Hillenbrand

(2005b) Public libraries as developers of social capital. Australasian Public Libraries and Information Services 18(1): 4–12.

15.

Howlett

Machin

Malmersjo

(2005) Volunteering in museums, libraries and archives. Available at: http://www.volunteerspirit.org/files/volunteer_survey_2006_9500.pdf (accessed 26 October 2020).

16.

Huang

Whang

Xuchuan

(2017) The Internet, Social Capital, and Civic Engagement in Asia. Social Indicators Research 132(2): 559–578.

17.

Ignatow

Webb

Poulin

, et al. (2012) Public libraries and democratization in three developing countries: exploring the role of social capital. Libri 62(1): 67–80.

18.

Institute of Public Affairs (2010) Okrągły stół “Lokalne biblioteki jako centra edukacji obywatelskiej.” Available at: https://www.bibliotekawszkole.pl/krotko/2010/ISP-FRSI-Okragly_stol_bibliotekarzy-ogloszenie.pdf (accessed 26 October 2020).

19.

Jochumsen

Rasmussen

Skot-Hansen

(2012) The four spaces – a new model for the public library. New Library World 113(11/12): 586–597.

20.

Johnson

(2012) How do public libraries create social capital? An analysis of interactions between library staff and patrons. Library & Information Science Research 34(1): 52–62.

21.

Jönsson-Lanevska

(2005) The gate to understanding: Swedish libraries and immigrants. New Library World 106(3/4): 128–140.

22.

Kamińska

(2011) Kapitał ludzki i społeczny na obszarach wiejskich w Polsce. Przykład województwa świętokrzyskiego. Kielce: Instytut Geografii Uniwersytetu Humanistyczno-Przyrodniczego Jana Kochanowskiego w Kielcach.

23.

Klimowicz

Bokajło

(eds)(2010) Kapitał społeczny: interpretacje, impresje, operacjonalizacja. Warszawa: CeDeWu.

24.

Kotarski

(2013) Kapitał ludzki i kapitał społeczny a rozwój województwa podkarpackiego. Rzeszów: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Rzeszowskiego.

25.

Kołodziejska

(2010) Biblioteki publiczne w strukturze społecznej. Warszawa: SBP.

26.

Lin

(2001) Social Capital. A Theory of Social Structure and Action. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

27.

Łobocka

(2013) Centra informacji i galerie – współczesne tendencje organizacji przestrzeni publicznej w bibliotekach polskich. In: Wojciechowska

(ed.) Fizyczna przestrzeń biblioteki. Gdańsk: Wydawnictwo Edward Mitek, pp.53–64.

28.

Lor

(2016) Libraries, internationalism, and peace. Available at: http://librariesforpeace.org/files/2016/07/Lor_LibrariesInternati_3104661_12072016132640.pdf (accessed 26 October 2020).

29.

McClure

CHR

Jaeger

(2009) Public Libraries and Internet Service Roles. Measuring and Maximizing Internet Services. Chicago, IL: American Library Association.

30.

Moorefield-Lang

(2014) Makers in the library: case studies of 3D printers and maker spaces in library settings. Library Hi Tech 32(4): 583–593.

31.

Pazderski

(2014) Biblioteka Publiczna jako przestrzeń nieformalnej edukacji obywatelskiej i kształtowania wspólnotowych postaw. In: Jasiewicz

Zybert

E B

(eds) Czas przemian – czas wyzwań. Rola bibliotek i ośrodków informacji w procesie kształtowania kompetencji współczesnego człowieka. Warszawa: SBP, pp.144–176.

32.

Pors

(2007) Globalisation, culture and social capital: library professionals on the move. Library Management 28(4/5): 181–190.

33.

Pors

(2008) Trust and organizational effectiveness. Discrepancies between users’ service preferences and the library system’s construction of their needs. Performance Measurement and Metrics 9(1): 59–68.

34.

Putnam

(1993) Making Democracy Work: Civic Traditions in Modern Italy. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

35.

Quadri

(2014) Changing roles of libraries and academic librarians in a knowledge society. American Educational Research Journal 2(4): 157–160.

36.

Resnis

Natale

(2020) Demonstrating library impact: Liaison assessment. The Journal of Academic Librarianship 46(4): 102158.

37.

Söderholm

Nolin

(2015) Collection redux: The public library as a place of community borrowing. The Library Quarterly 85(3): 244–260.

38.

Stanley

(2006) The third place: The role of the library in today’s society. One-Person Library 23(6): 7–8.

39.

Styła

(2009) Kwestionariusz do Pomiaru Indywidualnego Kapitału Społecznego (KPIKS) – wstępna propozycja oparta na idei generatora zasobów Toma Snijdersa. Psychologia Społeczna 10(1/2): 67–77.

40.

Topolski

(2020) The modified principal component analysis feature extraction method for the task of diagnosing chronic lymphocytic leukemia type B-CLL. Journal of Universal Computer Science 26(6): 734–746.

41.

Valadbigi

Ghobadi

(2011) Civil society and social capital in the modern Mena region: A conceptual analysis. Central European Journal of International & Security Studies 5(3): 217–231.

42.

Van der Gaag

Snijders

TAB

(2004) Proposals for the measurement of individual social capital. In: Flap

Völker

(eds) Creation and Returns of Social Capital: A New Research Program. London: Routledge, pp.29–49.

43.

Van der Gaag

Snijders

TAB

(2005) The Resource Generator: Measurement of individual social capital with concrete items. Social Networks 27(1): 1–29.

44.

Vårheim

(2007) Social capital and the multiethnic challenge: The role of the public library. In: Sharma

(ed.) Social Capital: An Introduction. Hyderabad: ICFAI University Press, pp.100–110.

45.

Wiener Holocaust Library (2020) Working and volunteering. Available at: https://www.wienerlibrary.co.uk/Work-with-Us (accessed 26 October 2020).

46.

Wojciechowska

(2019) Kształtowanie kapitału społecznego – ujęcie z perspektywy bibliotekoznawczej. Warszawa: Difin.

47.

Wojciechowska

(2020) Social capital, trust and social activity among librarians: Results of research conducted in 20 countries across the world. Library & Information Science Research 42(4): 101049.

48.

Wojciechowska

(2021a) Individual social capital of librarians: Results of research conducted in 20 countries. Libri: International Journal of Libraries and Information Studies 71(1): 77–90.

49.

Wojciechowska

(2021c) Trust as a factor in building cognitive social capital among library workers and users. Implications for library managers. The Journal of Academic Librarianship 47(1): 1–9.

50.

Wojciechowska

(2021b) Social capital in the theory and research of LIS professionals in the light of the literature on the subject. Review of current knowledge. Global Knowledge, Memory and Communication. Epub ahead of print 25 February. DOI: 10.1108/gkmc-08-2020-0108