Emotional Intelligence in Library Disaster Response Assistance Teams: Which Competencies Emerged?

Abstract

This qualitative study examines the relationship between emotional intelligence competencies and the personal attributes of library disaster response assistance team (DRAT) members. Using appreciative inquiry protocol to conduct interviews at two academic libraries, the study presents findings from emergent thematic coding of interview transcripts, documents, and artifacts as well as through the application of predetermined concept choice mapping of the data. Study findings suggest a strong relationship between emotional intelligence competencies and attributes exhibited by DRAT members as they dealt with the disasters at their respective institutions and may inform library leaders who appoint and provide training for team members.