Introduction

Networks are everywhere. Interconnection defines many, if not most, aspects of life. Transport, economic and communication networks, for example, shape how we collectively engage with the world around us, and social networks structure how we interact with those around us. The connections, and the nature of the connections, in which we are all deeply enmeshed can be viewed as foundational to understanding social life. As Castells (1996, p. 469) wrote, networks are the primary social morphology of our time. Rainie and Wellman (2012, pp. 21–57) describe the emergence of networked individualism, facilitated by online technologies, as a revolution in how people relate to one another. Others have gone so far as to hypothesise that virtually every aspect of our lives is driven by our social networks, ranging from our health to our emotions to our political choices (Christakis & Fowler 2011).

Libraries are no stranger to networks, connecting both libraries and librarians and other library employees. For decades, libraries have engaged in organisational networks to enhance services to users. Library consortia and resource-sharing networks are key examples of how libraries have worked together to achieve efficiencies, better leverage collective resources and foster innovation. Librarians and other employees of academic libraries have also, of course, long been part of social networks with each other and with other members of their campus communities. As we consider the social future of academic libraries, however, it is important to consider the ways in which position within social networks may enable or constrain new roles at organisational and individual levels. The interlocking networks of academic librarians, with other librarians, faculty and other professionals, and of academic libraries, represent a complex social environment that can be challenging, if not impossible, to conceptualise without doing so in the relational framework of social networks.

Social network theory and social capital: a brief introduction

Before discussing the relationship between social network theory, social capital and the future of libraries, it is helpful to outline some basic conceptual underpinning of the theory. A natural place to start is by defining a social network and outlining some of its properties.