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Building Social Capital in Contemporary Major U.S. Public Libraries: Leading Information Services and Beyond

Building Social Capital in Contemporary Major U.S. Public Libraries: Leading Information Services and Beyond

Helen Chui Ling Kee (The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong), Mimi Mei Wa Chan (The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong), and Dickson K. W. Chiu (The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong)
Copyright: © 2023 |Pages: 31
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-6684-8671-9.ch010
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Abstract

As the US is a highly ethnically diverse country and the origin of public libraries, this chapter explores how US public libraries construct social capital for the public via various services and activities. This chapter selected nine cases of US public libraries with interviews of their management for analysis of library services and activities related to empowering library users and building their social capital. The findings indicate that libraries are community meeting places connecting community members through library programs, activities, and information services as community educational institutions that empower underprivileged people and new immigrants by satisfying their information needs. The process contributes to the social development of library users and their communities, building social capital. Scant studies summarize the good practice of renowned public libraries in building social capital. This chapter contributes to understanding the good practice of US public libraries as a creator of social capital, serving as a reference for public libraries worldwide.
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Introduction

With more than a century of history, many public libraries have been transformed from places providing physical books for reading to community builders and developers of social capital (American Library Association, 2017). During the past decade, the discussion of public libraries as a creator of social capital for library users has been ubiquitous in Library and Information Services (LIS) literature (Ferguson, 2012; Leung et al., 2022; Lu et al., 2023). Technology has become an integral part of contemporary society, transforming the way individuals interact and engage with one another. In the United States, public libraries have harnessed the power of technology to create and sustain social capital within communities.

This chapter explores how US public libraries construct social capital for library users via various services and activities through nine cases of US public libraries in the contemporary globalized information environment. While there are case studies for some individual libraries, scant research summarizes good practices of renowned public libraries to build social capital. This research can provide a reference for public libraries in other countries to build social capital for library users to fill the gap.

This research chooses US libraries as the study cases as public libraries originated in the US. The Peterborough Town Library, established in 1833, is the first tax-supported public library globally (Peterborough Town Library). Another example is the Boston Public Library. Established in 1848, it is considered the US's earliest free major municipal library (Boston Public Library, 2019).

Furthermore, it is worthwhile to explore how public libraries in the US, a highly ethnically diverse country and the origin of public libraries, offer library services and activities to empower library users of different ethnicities and build their social capital. As such, this study aims to answer the following research questions (RQ):

  • RQ1. What are the library services and activities provided for building the social capital of library users?

  • RQ2. How do library managers lead and manage these library services and activities to empower library users and build social capital?

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