Social and Cultural Capital in Public Libraries and Its Impact on the Organization of New Forms of Services and Implementation of Social Projects

Abstract

Public libraries are institutions of culture that, apart from their basic tasks, may also perform various social functions. Since they treat all customers equally and are open to all citizens regardless of their status, they enjoy a high level of trust in local communities. Thus, they may participate in social integration and activity, social capital building and civic engagement processes. This, however, requires not only adequate facilities but also outgoing and engaged personnel. The research analyzed the attitudes of public librarians and compared them to the attitudes of librarians working in other types of libraries. Differences were reported in some areas, suggesting that certain actions are needed in library management.