Recreating Staff Development Practices For Efficient Staff Performance In Academic Libraries In Nigeria

Project and Seminar Material for Library and Information Science

Recreating Staff Development Practices For Efficient Staff Performance In Academic Libraries In Nigeria (Daniel)

Abstract

This study sought to investigate the Recreating staff development practices for efficient Staff performance in academic Libraries in Nigeria. Four research questions guided the study and a null hypothesis were tested at 0.5 level of significance. The research design was a survey. The population of the study comprised 102 librarians from the six federal university libraries in South-South Nigeria. The entire population was studied hence there was no sampling. Questionnaire was the instrument used for data collection. Data collected was analyzed using descriptive statistics of mean scores. Pearson correlation was used to test the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The study found that staff training practices that exist in the university libraries studied include orientation, computer literacy simulation exercise, in-service workshop among others. Whereas the staff development practices that exist in these libraries were job rotation, seminar, consultancy, publication and research, institutional education, study leave, mentorship/coaching and professional association. The result of the analysis showed that training and development programmes have a positive influence on librarian’s job performance. Based on the findings, the study recommends among others that university libraries in South-South Nigeria should make training and development of their librarians a regular exercise. This will foster professional development and better services in these libraries.

Table of Content

  • Title Page
  • Certification
  • Dedication
  • Acknowledgement
  • Table of Content
  • List of Tables
  • Abstract

Chapter One:

Introduction

  • 1.1 Background of the Study
  • 1.2 Statement of the Problem
  • 1.3 Objective of the Study
  • 1.4 Research Questions
  • 1.5 Research Hypothesis
  • 1.6 Significance of the Study
  • 1.7 Scope of the Study
  • 1.8 Limitation of the Study
  • 1.9 Definition of Terms
  • 1.10 Organisations of the Study

Chapter Two:

Review of Literature

  • 2.1 Conceptual Framework
  • 2.2 Theoretical Framework
  • 2.3 Empirical Review

Chapter Three:

Research Methodology

  • 3.1 Research Design
  • 3.2 Population of the Study
  • 3.3 Sample Size Determination
  • 3.4 Sample Size Selection Technique and Procedure
  • 3.5 Research Instrument and Administration
  • 3.6 Method of Data Collection
  • 3.7 Method of Data Analysis
  • 3.8 Validity of the Study
  • 3.9 Reliability of the Study
  • 3.10 Ethical Consideration

Chapter Four:

Data Presentation and Analysis

  • 4.1 Data Presentation
  • 4.2 Analysis of Data
  • 4.3 Answering Research Questions
  • 4.4 Test of Hypotheses

Chapter Five:

Summary, Conclusion and Recommendation

  • 5.1 Summary
  • 5.2 Conclusion
  • 5.3 Recommendation
  • References
  • APPENDIX
  • QUESTIONNAIRE

Chapter One

Introduction

1.1 Background to the Study

University libraries are academic libraries set up by the university solely to support teaching, learning and research in the institution. They support the academic programme of the university through their information resources and facilities. In the acquisition of these information resources, every discipline in the university curriculum is given serious consideration. Services offered by the university libraries include provision of an organized collection of printed or other materials or combination thereof, a staff trained to provide and interpret such materials as required to meet the information, cultural, recreational or educational needs of clientele and the physical facilities necessary to support such a collection, staff, and students (Abubakar, 2016). The university library also provides reference services and all possible information needs for researchers, students, academic staff as well as neighbouring communities. University libraries provide technical service such as book binding, printing, editorial and reprographic services. These services are aimed at ensuring fast and quick accessibility to the available print and non- print information resources to staff and students at all times.

Current advances in information and communication technology which has led to the creation of knowledge based economy and market globalization has consequently made the development of human resources in academic libraries a burning issue. Human resource development is a set of systematic and planned activities designed by an organization to provide its members with the opportunities to learn the necessary skills to meet current and future job performance (Desler& Cole, 2013). Librarians acquire, organize, evaluate and disseminate information, providing support to members of the university community including students, researchers and teaching staff. According to Sambe, Esohe and Gomina (2015), a professional librarian applies theory and technology to creation, selection, organization, management, preservation, dissemination and utilization of collections of all formats in the library. Their main role involves facilitating and supporting learning by teaching information retrieval skills to students and staff within classrooms or virtual learning environment. Saka, Abubakar and Abubakar (2014) stated that librarians in Nigerian universities enjoy equal academic status/benefits like their counterparts (faculty members) undertaking teaching and research functions as well as scholarly contributing to knowledge. Librarianship is a user centred profession requiring their practitioners to manage learning resources while keeping the library users’ needs in mind.

The duty of a librarian in a university library includes selecting, developing, cataloguing and classifying library resources. Others include answering researchers’ enquiries, management of staff, (including recruitment, training) and/ or playing supervisory role. Other duties performed by librarians include supporting independent research and learning, assisting readers to use computer equipment, conducting literature search, and providing library resources to users. In Nigeria, one is qualified to become a librarian when he has obtained a degree in Library and Information Science in a recognised university (The Librarian Registration Council of Nigeria, 2010). Librarians are expected to possess strong IT skills, team work and managerial skills, verbal communication skills and familiarity with the use of databases and the Internet. However, these skills can only be well displayed if librarians are exposed to efficient training and development programmes.

Training is a learning process in which employees acquire skills, experience and attitudes that they need in order to perform their job better for the achievement of their organizational goals. According to Amoah-Mensah (2016), training is the formal and modification of behaviour through learning which occurs as a result of education, instruction and planned experience. Training involves the acquisition and changing skills, knowledge, attitude and social behaviour for the purpose of an occupation or work (Aroge, 2012). Training is the preparation for specific skills which is job or task-oriented, rather than personal. Staff training is a programme that helps employees to learn specific knowledge or skills to improve performance in their current job. A training programme allows an employee to strengthen those skills he needs to improve on his job. Training results are specific. The basic idea behind training is to give the employee the skills required for him to accomplish the requirements of his job. Training is increasingly considered to be a key function in helping university libraries achieve their goals through its staff as it is becoming more generally accepted that there is a correlation between organizational success and investment in training and development.

Staff development is a long term educational process, utilizing a systematic and organized procedure by which managerial personnel gain conceptual and theoretical knowledge for general purpose. Library staff development can be viewed as activities and programmes that help staff members of the library to learn about responsibilities and develop required skills necessary to accomplish institutional and divisional goals of the library. Dutta (2012) define staff development as processes, programmes and activities through which every organization develops, enhances and improves the skills, competences and overall performances of its employees and workers. Development is a long term plan rather than learning tasks that are needed immediately (Kimberlee, 2018). While training focuses on skills and competencies needed to perform employee’s current jobs, development is training of a long term nature which prepares a current employee for future jobs within an organization. Training typically involves providing employees the knowledge and skills needed to do a particular task at hand but development have a longer term focus. It prepares the staff for future responsibilities in the work place.

Staff development and training programmes help the employee to build confidence in the organization as he sees himself as part of the development process and success of the organization. Staff training and development also helps develop engagement and reinforces institutional goals (Kimberlee, 2018). Efficient training can make an individual staff member feel confident in his or her abilities. Staff training and development can solve a variety of manpower problems which militate against optimal productivity in the institution. These can be summarized as increasing the quality of work and raising morale of personnel, helping to develop new skills, knowledge, understanding for work, using rightly new tools among others.

The importance of training and development programmes in the university libraries cannot be over emphasized. Ifidon and Ifidon (2007) identified the objective of library training and development as: to enable staff to make a more effective contribution to the library’s total effort in its service mission; makes the individual look for satisfaction that goes beyond economic gain; self-pride, self-respect and achievement; prepare the staff for challenge of complex modern technology which require an integration of activities and persons of diverse and specialized competence; enables the library staff to develop a life of their own outside the library; make the staff receptive to change and innovation rather than resistant to them; create a climate where the dignity of employees as human beings, not just as factors contributing to the library’s efficiency is respected; and to prepare the individual for a new, different and higher responsibility.

The university library like any other organization is aimed at achieving goals and objectives set by its parent institution. Attainment of high productivity cannot be achieved if the overall job performance is not enhanced. If a university library wants to achieve the highest degree of job performance, efficient and sufficient staff training and development must be put in place. Performance therefore is the implementation of an action of one’s ability in relation to achieving the quality, quantity, cooperation, dependability and creativity in behaviour of an individual (Ekere, 2012). Performance is considered as the measure of quality of human capital which is held as the key thrust in the organization. As Saka (2013) observed, job performance is the ability to carry out statutory functions which are based on the field of specialization or areas of development as well as organization’s objective. Saka further stated that job performance in library situation is directed towards meeting not only the user’s information needs but also serves as basis or criteria for staff promotion.

The advent of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) has changed the sophistication and pattern of information needs of librarians. This development has made impactful changes in the collection, storage, retrieval, distribution and access process of information. The university library therefore requires librarians to possess a greater variety of skills with which to utilize these modern information and communication technologies to enhance their services and provide adequate resources for the university community. It is imperative that the university administrators must recognize that library staff must be given the opportunities to develop their skills, knowledge and abilities for them to contribute effectively to the fulfilment of the library’s mandate and strategic objectives. Continuous training and development of library staff is a significant factor in encouraging innovation and creativity and ensuring that the library is the information starting point of users (Cobblah, 2015).

No matter the size of a functional academic library as well as the scope and strength of the collection, the library management cannot meet its set goals if librarians are not well-trained and developed. In the work parlance, a number of factors interact to affect both the quantity and quality of workers’ efforts towards their job performance. How acquainted they are with their jobs may affect their performance in their jobs, their relationships with their co-workers, subordinates, clients, physical health, social lives and adjustment. In the long-run these will affect the mental health, happiness and longevity of librarians. Well trained staff are happier and more productive. They tend to perform duties assigned to them with total commitment, concentration and dedication, the end of which is a good result. Employees who are well trained to perform their duties usually are conscientious workers who show pride in the quality and quantity of their work. However, enthusiasm, commitment, pride and productivity are the cornerstone of employee engagement.

Staff training and development programmes in the library include simple orientation programmes, organized visits, seminars and conferences, participatory management, job rotation, internal training programmes, formal professional library education, short courses and so on. Lack of training and development of librarians in university libraries may affect the quality of service, professional career development and this will affect productivity and job performance of librarians. This implies that when librarians are exposed to training and development they will contribute their quota in the teaching, learning and research activities of the university.

1.2 Statement of Problem

Today, library services in universities the world over is becoming IT driven. Traditional library services based mainly on print media is no longer in vogue. Both teaching and learning have assumed a new dimension in most academic communities. Changes in the learning and research environment that complement the new technology is also changing the services library provides. These new services include online references, desktop document delivery, automated self-service system, Online Public Access Catalogue and others. Expectedly, university libraries in response to these changes need to institute regular staff training and development to enhance librarian’s job performance.

Clearly, an employee’s productivity has a direct bearing with the level of learning or skill which he has acquired before or during employment. Given that one cannot give what he does not have, a librarian’s contribution towards the growth and success of library service in the university is dependent on the quality of training and development which he has acquired. From the researchers experience in federal university library in Nigeria, it was observed that some library users no longer show interest in using the library. Out of curiosity, the researchers approached some of them to find out the reason. They complained that they no longer receive the attention they desired from library staff especially the librarians. This necessitated the need to embark on this study to investigate whether lack of staff training and development contributed to librarian’s job performance in federal university libraries in South-South Nigeria. This study was therefore carried out to determine the Recreating staff development practices for efficient Staff performance in academic Libraries in Nigeria a case of libraries in South-South Nigeria.

1.3 Objective of the Study

The main purpose of the study is to investigate the Recreating staff development practices for efficient Staff performance in academic Libraries in Nigeria. Specifically, the study seeks to:

  1. Identify the various staff training programmes that exist in academic Libraries in Nigeria;
  2. Find out various staff development programmes that exist in academic Libraries in Nigeria;
  3. Determine the job performance mean scores of librarians based on the extent of staff training received in academic Libraries in Nigeria;
  4. Determine the job performance mean scores of librarians based on the extent of staff development programmes received in academic Libraries in Nigeria.

1.4 Research Questions

The following research questions guided the study:

  1. What are the various staff training practices that exist in academic Libraries in Nigeria?
  2. What are various staff development practices that exist in academic Libraries in Nigeria?
  3. What is the job performance mean scores of librarians based on the extent of staff training received in academic Libraries in Nigeria ?
  4. What is the job performance mean scores of librarians based on the extent of staff development practices received in academic Libraries in Nigeria ?

1.5 Hypothesis

The following hypothesis were formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance;

  • Ho: staff development practices has no effect on efficient Staff performance in academic Libraries in Nigeria
  • Hi: staff development practices has an effect on efficient Staff performance in academic Libraries in Nigeria.

1.6 Scope of the Study

The study focused on the influence of staff training and development on librarian’s job performance in federal university libraries in South–South Nigeria. The study aimed at identifying available staff training and development programmes that exist in federal university libraries in South-South Nigeria. It also sought to ascertain the influence of staff training and development on librarians’ job performance in federal universities in South- South Nigeria. The study covered all the federal university libraries in the South-South Nigeria.

1.8 Limitation of the Study

In the course of carrying out this study, the researcher experienced some constraints, which included time constraints, financial constraints, language barriers, and the attitude of the respondents. However, the researcher were able to manage these just to ensure the success of this study.

1.9 Definition of Terms

Library:

A building or room containing collections of books, periodicals, and sometimes films and recorded music for use or borrowing by the public or the members of an institution

Staff:

All the people employed by a particular organization.

Training:

The action of teaching a person or animal a particular skill or type of behaviour.

1.10 Organization of the Study

This research work is organized in five chapters, for easy understanding, as follows.

  1. Chapter one is concern with the introduction, which consist of the (overview, of the study), historical background, statement of problem, objectives of the study, research hypotheses, significance of the study, scope and limitation of the study, definition of terms and historical background of the study.
  2. Chapter two highlights the theoretical framework on which the study is based, thus the review of related literature.
  3. Chapter three deals on the research design and methodology adopted in the study.
  4. Chapter four concentrate on the data collection and analysis and presentation of finding.
  5. Chapter five gives summary, conclusion, and recommendations made of the study.

Chapter Five

Summary, Conclusions and Recommendations:

5.1 Introduction

This chapter summarizes the findings on Recreating staff development practices for efficient Staff performance in academic Libraries in Nigeria, South-south states as case study. The chapter consists of summary of the study, conclusions, and recommendations.

5.2 Summary of Findings

After the analysis, the following findings emerged:

  1. Staff training programmes that exist in university libraries in South-South Nigeria include orientation, in service training, computer literacy, simulation exercise, study tour, visit to other libraries, lectures, workshop, job rotation, and teaching by example, mentorship/coaching, and on the job training among others.
  2. Development programmes that exist in university libraries in South-South Nigeria include job rotation job enlargement, case study, job enlargement, case study, seminar/conference/workshop, consultancy training, publication research, institutional education, exchange/sabbatical leave, study visits, mentorship/coaching, long distance learning, professional association, self-development, and performance appraisal and seminar/conference/workshop among others.
  3. Mean rating of job performance variables of librarians in federal university libraries in South-South Nigeria based on staff training programmes received were high. These job performance variables include understanding the information needs of users and understanding the information sources, acquisition and organisation of information, evaluation, retrieval and timely delivery of information were high. Staff training has great influence on job performance of librarians in federal university libraries in South-South Nigeria.
  4. Mean rating of job performance variables of librarians in federal university libraries in South-South Nigeria based on staff development programmes received were high. These job performance variables include understanding the information needs of users and understanding the information sources, acquisition and organisation of information, evaluation, retrieval and timely delivery of information were high. Staff development has a great influence on job performance of librarians in federal university libraries in South-South Nigeria.

5.3 Conclusion

Based on the findings of this study, it would be concluded that the staff training programmes found in the libraries of South-South Nigeria are orientation or training in service training, mentorship/coaching, on the job training, computer literacy, simulation exercise, study tour, visit to other libraries, lectures, in-service workshop, job rotation, and teaching by example respectively. Similarly, the development programmes found in university libraries studied in South-South Nigeria include, job rotation job enlargement, case study,seminar/conference/workshop,consultant training, publication research, institutional education, exchange/sabbatical leaves, study visits, mentorship/coaching, long distance learning, professional association, self-development, and performance appraisal respectively. Results from the findings revealed that staff training and development have a great influence on job performance mean scores of librarians in federal university libraries in South-South Nigeria.

5.4 Recommendations

Based on the findings of this study, the following were recommended:

  1. University library management in South-South Nigeria should make conscious effort to ensure that all staff training packages that exist in university libraries are provided for their staff to enhance better job performance.
  2. Staff development programmes in university libraries equip libraries both for present and future man power development. Hence librarians should be sponsored to attend such programmes.
  3. Staff training and development should be part of human resources policies in university libraries in South-South Nigeria.
  4. Staff training and development should be a regular exercise in university libraries in South-South Nigeria. As such it should be a part and parcel of the Human Resources Management Policy in these institutions.
  5. Some of these staff training and development are capital intensive as such university libraries should strategize on how to raise funds both internally and externally to sponsor their staff to attend and benefit from these programmes.
  6. Participation in staff training and development should be made a pre-condition for staff promotion.
  7. University libraries in South-South Nigeria should device means of evaluating the impact of these programmes on librarians who participated in these programmes.

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