Individual Social Capital of Librarians: Results of Research Conducted in 20 Countries

Social capital is a concept that has attracted increased interest among researchers in social science. It was originally introduced to sociological literature in the 1970s by Pierre Bourdieu. The term "social capital" is used to signify a set of specific behaviours and social interactions that many researchers associate with a positive impact on various aspects of human life. These include: democracy, economic development, effective governance, development of communities, education and culture, individual and public health and wellbeing, or even crime prevention. It is often claimed now that libraries as institutions intended to satisfy the intellectual needs of a society and stimulate social development may participate in the development of this capital. The paper presents the results of research on individual social capital of librarians in 20 countries across the world.