ABSTRACT

This study was carried out to examine the impact of staff training and development on effective library management in public universities in Nigeria using the University of Uyo Library, Akwa Ibom State as a case study. The study was specifically carried out to examine the benefits of staff training and development at public universities, examine the challenges affecting staff training and development in public universities, and determine whether training programmes will improve the quality of library management in public universities. The study employed the descriptive survey research design. The study population comprised 150 professional librarians, para-professional librarians, library officers, library assistants, and other library personnel working at the University of Uyo Library, while a total of 109 respondents were selected as sample size using the Taro Yamane formula. Out of the 109 questionnaires distributed, 105 were returned and 105 were validated for analysis. The questionnaire was used for data collection, while the data collected were analyzed using frequency tables, mean scores, standard deviation, and Chi-square statistical analysis with the aid of SPSS version 25. From the responses obtained and analyzed, the findings revealed that staff training and development improve employee productivity in university libraries with a mean score of 4.08, enhance the professional competence of library personnel with a mean score of 4.00, contribute to improved service delivery with a mean score of 4.02, enable library staff to effectively utilize modern information technologies with a mean score of 4.05, increase job satisfaction among library personnel with a mean score of 3.93, and improve the overall performance of university libraries with a mean score of 4.01. The study also showed that inadequate funding with a mean score of 4.11, lack of management support with a mean score of 4.00, insufficient training facilities with a mean score of 4.04, high cost of professional development programmes with a mean score of 4.05, shortage of staff with a mean score of 3.96, and limited access to information and communication technologies with a mean score of 4.02 constitute major challenges affecting staff training and development in public universities. Likewise, training programmes were found to improve the effectiveness of library management practices with a mean score of 4.09, enhance decision-making in library administration with a mean score of 4.02, improve the quality of library services provided to users with a mean score of 4.07, contribute to effective management of library resources and collections with a mean score of 4.04, enhance the ability of library staff to adapt to technological changes with a mean score of 4.07, and promote efficient and effective library management with a mean score of 4.03. The Chi-square hypothesis test further revealed that training programmes significantly improve the quality of library management in public universities at X² = 22.15, P = .000. The study concluded that staff training and development have a significant impact on effective library management in public universities through improved productivity, professional competence, service delivery, technological adaptability, and administrative effectiveness. The study therefore recommends that university management should provide adequate funding for staff training and development programmes, establish comprehensive staff development policies, invest in modern information and communication technology facilities, and organize regular training programmes to enhance the effectiveness of library management.

Keywords: Staff Training, Staff Development, Library Management, Public Universities, Library Personnel, University of Uyo Library.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of study

Staff training and development is an important part of any organization's human resource management strategy. It is the most important tool for any company's success. Training is defined as "bringing a person to a desired condition of efficiency via education and practice," according to the Concise Oxford Dictionary (2006). The Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (2005) defines development as "change that improves a product, plan, idea, or other thing." As a result, one of the most critical functions of good resource management and service delivery is employee training and development. Training and development, according to Rowley (1995), is important for the organization's human resource base to be maintained and must be considered as an inherent part of the core organizational strategy. Whether the readership is utilizing a public, university, school, or private library, Casteleyn (1992) believes that all libraries should strive to have efficient personnel in order to give effective library service to the people they wish to serve. Library buildings with big collections without qualified experts, according to Adeniji, Babalola, and Adeniji (2012), might be defined as glorified warehouses. Training is thus critical in the library industry, but each library organization must define what it means to have a desirable state of efficiency for itself, as requirements vary from library to library and country to country. The training, on the other hand, should be structured to ensure efficient performance for the library system's and users' benefits. To underline the need for training, Nzotta (1983) claims that librarianship is a labor-intensive profession in which providing good and efficient service necessitates a wide range of abilities and well-trained personnel. According to him, the library's physical structure may account for 5% of the success of its services. Books, periodicals, CD ROMs, microfilms, and other electronic resources are among the collections. However, the staff accounts for 75% of what it takes to run a successful library. In order to serve their patrons, academic, school, public, and special libraries all house collections of published and unpublished books, printed and electronic books, and other reading and audiovisual materials.As a service institution, the library delivers information to information searchers who may be current or potential users. The library's environment is rapidly changing; technology and the expansion of electronic information are having a significant impact on society as a whole, and libraries in particular. These changes necessitate ongoing training and development of library staff; people require new skills to cope with the growing amount of information in their lives. As a result, it is critical for institution heads to prioritize education and ongoing professional training and development of their library staff in order to ensure quality service delivery. Library consumers, according to Nwali (1990), seek efficient and effective service delivery. They don't want to read long manuals, understand database intricacies, or be aware of intricate search methods or strategies. To deal with this predicament, librarians and information workers have developed a strong culture of responding to new professional development opportunities in order to ensure that their abilities keep up with the ever-changing environment in which they work. Keeping up with today's world of rapid change and innovation is a difficult task. To be effective, information professionals must be well trained.The goal of staff training and development programs is to guarantee that both individual employees and the organization get the most out of their training and development investments. Individuals and organizations must evaluate training in terms of reaction, learning, behavior modification, results, and return on investment in order to identify the additional value for individual employees and the organization. Many organizations judge the effectiveness of training interventions only by the participants' initial reactions. Staff training and development programs must be reviewed, and employees who benefit from training must be able to apply their newly gained knowledge, skills, and talents on the job.

1.2 Statement of problem

Every staff in an organization need professional development and training. However, it is the obligation of the university administration to teach and develop library employees in order to provide current and future services to patrons. Regular training programs should be offered to library employees in order to help them comprehend, enhance their skills, and execute their jobs more effectively. However, it appears that there is a lack of staff training and development in libraries, and if there is, it is insufficient and does not address staff needs. Libraries' services are also being altered as a result of new technology, such as online reference and instructions, desktop document delivery, and automated self-service systems. As a result, staff training and development programs have been established to assist library employees in staying current with these new advancements in the profession of librarianship. Despite the importance of staff training and development programs, these libraries have not fully utilized the full potential of these programs, nor have they reaped the full benefits of training and development, because the majority of these programs are not evaluated to determine the extent to which they contribute to improved performance. As a result, university libraries continue to struggle with designing and implementing automation projects, poor library service delivery, a lack of knowledge of current best practices, poor collection management, and the majority of library customers are not information literate.

1.3 Objective of study

The following are primary objectives of this study

i.          To examine the benefits of staff training and development at public universities

ii.        To examine the challenges affecting staff training and development in public universities

iii.      To determine whether training programs will improve the quality of library management in public universities.

1.4 Research questions

i.          What is the benefit of staff training and development at public universities?

ii.        What are the challenges affecting staff training and development at public universities?

iii.      Will training programs improve the quality of library management at public universities?

1.5 Significance of study

It is crucial to understand the library's role inside the university in order to address the informational needs of its users. The study will draw management's attention to the importance of ongoing training in order to improve library services, as well as the specific areas where training is required. It is hoped that stakeholders will recognize the value of training and implement regular training programs for their employees. Other libraries can do similar research to evaluate if their library employees benefit from training and development programs.

1.6 Scope of study

This study aims at assessing the impact of staff training and development on effective library management in public universities in Nigeria. The University of Uyo will be the focus of this study.

1.7 Limitation of study

Finance,inadequate materials and time constraint were the challenges the researchers encountered during the course of the study

1.8 Definition of terms

Staff: A group of persons, as employees, charged with carrying out the work of an establishment or executing some undertaking.

Training: Training is teaching, or developing in oneself or others, any skills and knowledge or fitness that relate to specific useful competencies.

Library: A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are easily accessible for use and not just for display purposes.

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