Collaborations and alliances: social intelligence applied to academic libraries
| Pages | 406-415 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/01435120710774530 |
| Published date | 31 July 2007 |
| Date | 31 July 2007 |
| Author | Lluís M. Anglada |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science |
Collaborations and alliances:
social intelligence applied to
academic libraries
Lluı
´s M. Anglada
Consortium of Academic Libraries of Catalonia, Barcelona, Spain
Abstract
Purpose – This paper seeks to analyze the different forms of library cooperation and the different
types of relations that can be established for collaboration among libraries.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper attempts to show how cooperation as an application
of the social intelligence is a tool to improve library services. For that, the paper uses the situation of
Spanish university libraries between 1980 and 2005. Adopting an evolutionary approach, the study
shows how cooperation has affected library organizations, and concludes that the current situation
shows an intelligent adaptation to the needs of society.
Findings – Using the evolution of the academic libraries in Spain between 1980 and 2005, the paper
analyzes six different forms of relation or cooperation that can be established by libraries. Those are:
companionship, collaboration, association, cooperation, alliances and fraternization. The paper
attempts to provide some guidelines for cooperation that may be of value to university libraries in their
path towards the future. The approach is global, systemic and evolutionary. It is global in the sense
that Spanish university libraries are taken as a model for exemplifying trends that are applicable to all
types of libraries all over the world. It is systemic in the sense that it sees the Spanish case as one of a
wide range of processes that do not occur in isolation in a world in which libraries – even at an
international level – form part of a whole. Finally, it is evolutionary in the sense that it considers that
the future will be built on our current achievements, which in turn depended on those of the past.
Originality/value – The paper is of interest because it reveals that the development of individual
living beings and species depends to a large extent on their ability to cooperate. Similarly, the
development of organizations and groups of organizations depends on their ability to work together
and to establish a framework in which individual goals are attained thanks to external achievements
or situations. Libraries are no exception to this, and may in fact serve as a paradigmatic example.
Throughout history they have tended to develop powerful mechanisms of cooperation.
Keywords Academic libraries, Universities,Strategic alliances, Spain
Paper type Research paper
There are intelligent couples and stupid couples, intelligent families and stupid families,
intelligent societies and stupid societies. The criterion is always the same: intelligent groups
gather information better, i.e. they adapt better to reality, perceive the problems earlier, invent
effective solutions and put them into practice. Thus, in addition to personal intelligence
(which can be used privately or publicly) we find social intelligence (Marina, 2004).
1. Introduction: viewpoints and definitions
The development of individual living beings and species depends to a large extent on
their ability to cooperate. Similarly, the development of organizations and groups of
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0143-5124.htm
A version of this article was previously published in Spanish in Anales de Documentacı
´on, Vol. 9,
2006, pp. 7-15 (University of Murcia).
LM
28,6/7
406
Received 12 January 2007
Revised 21 February 2007
Accepted 14 March 2007
Library Management
Vol. 28 No. 6/7, 2007
pp. 406-415
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0143-5124
DOI 10.1108/01435120710774530
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