How do public libraries create social capital? An analysis of interactions between library staff and patrons
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Johnson (2012) identifies several mechanisms through which libraries may contribute to social capital: trust-building, referral to resources, social support, reduction of isolation and help in navigating an increasingly digital world.
“Based on interviews with staff in neighbourhood branch libraries, the article identifies several mechanisms through which libraries may contribute to social capital: trustbuilding, referral to resources, social support, reduction of isolation and help in navigating an increasingly digital world.”
From Public libraries as social infrastructure: An integrative review of community roles (2026) · cites this paper as Johnson, 2012
Libraries are not abstract containers of social capital but places where specific kinds of interactions make relational resources more likely.
“Libraries are not depicted as abstract containers of social capital but as places where specific kinds of interactions make relational resources more likely.”
From Public libraries as social infrastructure: An integrative review of community roles (2026) · cites this paper as Johnson, 2012
Libraries create opportunities for weak-tie contact, observation, recognition and low-intensity interaction among diverse users and between users and staff.
“Libraries create opportunities for weak-tie contact, observation, recognition and low-intensity interaction among diverse users and between users and staff (Audunson, 2005;Johnson, 2012;Vårheim, 2014).”
From Public libraries as social infrastructure: An integrative review of community roles (2026) · cites this paper as Johnson, 2012
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References 59 · Cited by 126
- Authors
- Johnson, C. A.
- Affiliations
- Western University (CA)
- Corresponding author
- Johnson, Catherine A.
- Venue
- Library & Information Science Research
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2012-01
- Volume
- 34
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 52-62
- ISSN
- 0164-0763 (ISSN-L)
- 0740-8188
- OpenAlex
- W2142077605
- Cited by
- 126
- References
- 59
- Citations by year
- 2026: 12 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 12 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 10 · 2014: 8 · 2013: 7 · 2012: 2
- FWCI
- 38.14
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Library & Information Science Research (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Johns Hopkins University
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Library and Information Sciences › Library Science and Administration
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Information Systems › Web and Library Services
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social Capital and Networks
- Keywords
- social capital, public libraries, library staff, library users, trust, social support, social isolation, community resources, local libraries, digital literacy, community gathering space
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Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
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