Social capital and public libraries: The need for research

Abstract

Empirical research on public libraries and social capital has primarily been oriented toward discovering how libraries contribute to social capital in local contexts, rather than contributing to solving the theoretical puzzles of the social capital literature. In spite of this, it has produced interesting findings that align with new developments in social capital research. These findings emphasize the significance of institutions in generating social capital. By outlining and applying the main theoretical perspectives on generating social capital, this paper analyzes the findings of the literature on public libraries and how social capital is created. Theoretical perspectives on social capital will undoubtedly benefit the study of social capital's creation in and by the library. Including library-specific social capital research within the wider social capital research community can benefit social capital research in general.