Assessing the Emotional Intelligence Profile of Public Librarians in Malaysia: Descriptive Analysis

This article reports the findings of a study that measures the Emotional Intelligence (EI) among librarians in Public Libraries in Malaysia. Public librarians are important assets since they are social agents that advocate the development of a knowledge society in Malaysia. As employees in service organizations, they are expected to be highly dynamic and provide quality services. These jobs involve communicating, empathizing with, understanding, and learning from other members working in the organizations. These skills require not only a high degree of intellectual ability but a high level of EI. EI, therefore, seems essential to be measured for library employees’ understanding of other people’s feelings, and for them to be involved in a relationship that will facilitate successful management and performance. The participants comprised of public librarians randomly selected from Malaysian public libraries and the National Library of Malaysia. Quantitative data were collected using a Public Librarian Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (PubLIBEIQ). Adopting a survey research methodology involving 180 librarians working in public libraries in Malaysia, the findings suggest that their EI level is relatively high. The findings can be used by the relevant authorities to identify the required training, job recruitment; workshop and curriculum need to further improve their EI level leading towards better job performance