CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1      Background of the study

Human resources play a pivot role in the economic development of developing countries (Armstrong, 2009). Across Nigerian universities we have human resources which determine the success or failure of such institutions. For productivity to be achieved in a university, the administrators, librarians, lecturers and even the non-academic staff need to work together as a team to achieve this. Staff are not trained in school with the specific skills they need to have to manage a particular position during their work lives, and that is why organizations train their staff with the necessary knowledge and skills they need to have in other for them to be very effective at their jobs.

Academic libraries in Nigerian universities are the strong base of knowledge for all members of the universities. The lecturers benefit from the library when they want to carry out their researches; students equally stand to gain by widening their knowledge, writing their assignments and projects. The library is a knowledge base that should be treasured by lovers of knowledge and that brings to mind the need to feed it with the needed human and material resources.

Moreover, for a library to fully satisfy the academic community, formidable human resources are required (Insaidoo 2001). The fact remains that when a library is well equipped, the staff will indirectly be equipped. Therefore, having a purpose driven human resources will help turn the objectives of a library into reality.

Training of staff entails empowering them with new skills for the purpose of the job, while development involves consciously or unconsciously enhancing those skills (Cole, 2002). The main reason for which organizations engage in training their human resources is to enjoy them maximally, because training makes employees very competent at their jobs (Meyer and Smith 2000: p324).

Staff training and development should be geared towards the needs and services of the library without neglecting the efforts of those who worked towards achieving these. A trained staff has the ability will be very conversant with the books stock that both he and the students will not experience any form of difficulty; indirectly building the students’ confidence in the competence of the staff in discharging his duty. Training staff enables staff to know the laid down procedures of their jobs and the outcomes if there are violated.

Training of staff creates avenue for new knowledge, skill and expertise they need for the actualization of the goals of the library (Mathis and Jackson 2004). It’s not just about achieving the goals of having a library, but even the staff stands to benefit from being trained as they are being motivated and inspired as to how important their job is.

With the advent of technology, there is much need to train librarians, most especially on how to use the internet even as the need to maintain the library is beyond having books on the shelves. They must not be left behind even as the world has become a global village through saving, transferring, retrieving and processing of information. In University of Jos, ICT is a new service platform that helps students’ back-up information gotten from hard copies, and that is why there is need to train staff to be proficient in the use of computers.

However, it is therefore necessary to train librarians and even in the development of libraries in other to enhance performance level and increase productivity; even as the absence of training affects productivity, quality of service and career development. Hence, librarians and other supporting staff ought to be trained in other to discharge their duties effectively.

This study is meant to examine the impact of training staff on library development.

1.2      Statement of the problem

Libraries in Nigerian institutions have become a shadow of their old selves. The governing bodies of most institutions seem to have scraped out funding meant for libraries. The libraries due to poor funding are still equipped with out-dated books. As a result of this, students and even lecturers of the institution who would like to carry out research are greatly discouraged.

Similarly, there are no funding allocated for the training of librarians and other supporting staff. Workshops and seminars that can expose the staff to new knowledge and skills pertaining to their jobs are not organized; thereby affecting the quality of their service.

Another problem associated with the study is the poor remuneration of library staff. Some Nigerian institutions pay pea nut salaries to their library staff, thereby not motivating them to perform their duties effectively.

It’s as a result of these problems the researcher wants to know the impact of staff training on library development.

1.3      Aims/ Objectives of the study

The major aim of this study is to examine the impact of staff training on library development; a case study of University of Jos library.

Other specific objectives include:

1.  To examine the challenges affecting staff training and library development in University of Jos.

2.  To discover how staff training and library development is performed in University of Jos.

3.  To discover the relationship between staff training and productivity.

4.  To examine how staff training can influence library development.

1.4      Research questions

1.  What is the impact of staff training on library development?

2.  What are the challenges affecting staff training and library development in University of Jos?

3.  How is staffs’ training and library development performed in University of Jos?

4.  What is the relationship between staff training and productivity?

1.5      Research Hypothesis

H0: There is no impact of staff training on library development.

H1: There is an impact of staff training on library development.

Significance of the study/ Justification of the study

This study is meant to inform and educate the board of directors of Nigerian tertiary institutions, government and policy makers on how the importance of staff training on library development.

It is meant to recommend staff training to those institutions that are not practicing it, most especially when it comes to library development.

This study seeks to inform the government that when allocating funds to institutions, special funds should be allocated to train and maintain the libraries staff and libraries respectively.

However, this study is relevant to policy makers as they could include staff training as being compulsory for all universities members of staff.

This study will be of immense benefit to other researchers who intend to know more on this topic and can also be used by non-researchers to build more on their work. This study contributes to knowledge and could serve as a guide for other work or study.

1.6      Scope/ Limitations of the study

This study is restricted on the impact of staff training on library development, with University of Jos as a case study.

Limitations of study

1.        Financial constraint- Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).

2.        Time constraint- The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted for the research work.

1.7      Definition of terms

Impact: This is the action of one object coming forcibly into contact with another.

Staff training: This is training to improve the performance or knowledge of the employees or workforce of a company, etc.

Library development: Library Development provides leadership, grants, and other assistance to libraries, archives, and literacy communities to improve services for the academic community.