The Use of Social Intelligence as a Tool for Improving the Relevance of Libraries in the Society
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Date
2021-12
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Abstract
The roles libraries play in contributing to the progress of the society cannot be overemphasized
because libraries are one of the institutions needed for the over-all attainment of 21st-century
goals. This paper argues that the use of Social Intelligence in the library services would aid the
creation of new experience for library users and other stakeholders, which will result in
increasing the credibility and recognition of libraries across various societies. Its main objective
is to create awareness for the potential benefits of Social Intelligence to the library practices in
the society. It uses the Social Intelligence Model of Daniel Goleman 2006. The components of
the Model Social Awareness – primal empathy, attunement, empathetic accuracy, social
recognition - and Social Facilities – synchrony, self-presentation, influence and concern – are
used to describe the applicability of the Model to improving library relevance in the society. It
concludes that Social Intelligence can be efficiently deployed in the context of Librarianship
because it exposes an emerging new science with startling implications for the interpersonal
world of library personnel and library users and recommends that library personnel should be
exposed to and trained Social Intelligence because doing so will equip them in acquiring the
requisite abilities needed to play their part in positioning libraries for relevance in the society
they are established.