Libraries at University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Abstract
This study investigated performance management approaches for effective service delivery in university libraries. The main purpose of this study was to assess the performance management approaches used in federal university libraries in South East, Nigeria. The research design adopted was descriptive survey. The population of the study was 103 librarians in federal university libraries in South-East, Nigeria. No sampling was used as the number was considered manageable. The instrument used in gathering data for the study was 38-item questionnaire which was validated by three experts. Data collected from the questionnaire on the research questions were analyzed using mean and standard deviation. Findings revealed the patterns of performance management employed in federal university libraries which include performance appraisal, duties rotation, controlled activities and regulation of staff attendance. Result also showed that the performance management approaches for effective service delivery in federal universities are periodic appraisal of librarians' job performance, periodic rotation of librarians from one section of the library to another, through clear and well-defined rules passed down to all employees in the library and reward for outstanding performance. Result showed that performance management contributes to effective job performance by enabling librarians to understand their job expectations and encourages positive work attitude. Based on these findings, the researcher recommended that federal governments should encourage performance management in university libraries by providing enough funds capable of maintaining constant training and development of librarians and providing incentives to motivate librarians to work with full commitment.