Abstract
This paper argues for applying social network analysis (SNA) theoretically and methodologically to study information organizations, specifically the contemporary public library and its network relations with its communities. A brief review of SNA’s origins, theoretical underpinnings, and key concepts is followed by a discussion of why and how public library research could benefit from taking this perspective, and the multiple options available for defining the library-user relational tie as the unit of analysis. Constraints affecting data collection and analysis are also noted.
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Hicks, D., Cavanagh, M.M., VanScoy, A. (2020). Social Network Analysis: Making Public Library Communities Visible. In: Sundqvist, A., Berget, G., Nolin, J., Skjerdingstad, K. (eds) Sustainable Digital Communities. iConference 2020. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 12051. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-43687-2_74
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