Research Study - “Staff Development & Continuing Professional Education –

Policy and Practice in Australian Academic & Research Libraries”

Survey Questionnaire

This research project, which is being conducted under the auspices of the La Trobe University Library Research Committee, is investigating current staff development* practice in Australian academic and research libraries. This research builds on and updates research undertaken by Trask (1981)[i], Gray (1986)[ii] and Bridgland (1997)[iii]. These earlier studies dealt with aspects of the staff development and continuing professional education function in the same set of Australian libraries.

Your participation in this study is important in providing current data on this topic. The end product of this research project will be to add to the body of knowledge of contemporary human resource management practice in Australian libraries.

The results of this research project will be presented as a paper at the IFLA - 5th World Conference on Continuing Education for the Library & Information Services Professions in August 2002 and also published in the Conference Proceedings. All information provided in response to the questionnaire below will, unless specific approval is given by the information provider, be non-identifiable in the final conference paper.

Copies of the conference paper will be will be made available to all participants in this survey.

If you have any questions about any aspect of this research project please contact me: , 03 9479 1918.

Ian Smith

Senior Librarian (Personnel)

La Trobe University. 19/10/01

*(For the purposes of this study the term "staff development" is used to cover the broad areas of staff training, staff development and continuing professional education.)

To answer the questions please enter text or check the appropriate box. Use the TAB function to move through the form.

1. Staff development policy
1.1 Does your library have a formally stated policy on staff development ? / Yes
No (go è to question 2)
1.2 If you answered YES to 1.1, would you be prepared to make a copy available to this researcher? / Yes
No
Comments:
2. Staff development in the library
2.1 Which of these statements best fits your library: / The library has a planned staff development program
The library has an informal approach to staff development
The library regards staff development as primarily the responsibility of individual staff members
Comments:
2.2 Which of these phrases best describes the approach of your library to staff development: / There is no overall co-ordination of staff development in the library, staff development is the responsibility of managers in each area of the library
Overall co-ordination of staff development is the responsibility of a designated library staff member
Responsibility for staff development is shared between area managers and a staff member with designated authority for staff development
Staff development is the responsibility of a library staff development committee
Other (please specify):
2.3 Does your library have a Staff Development Committee? / Yes (continue to question 2.4)
No (go è to question 3)
2.4 To whom does that Committee report?
2.5 Does the Committee have defined Terms of Reference or a role statement? / Yes
No
2.6 If yes, would you be prepared to make a copy available to this researcher? / Yes
No
Comments:
3. The characteristics of your staff development program
3.1 Are staff development activities in your library conducted… (check as many as apply) / On the job
In-house with internal Library trainers
In-house with external trainers
Externally
In other ways (please specify):
Comments:
3.2 Does your Library’s staff development program include… (check as many as apply) / Orientation/induction programs
Attendance at conferences/ pre/post conference workshops with Library support.
External study courses (Degree, Diploma, etc)
In-house short courses
External short courses
Seminars/workshops
In-service training programs
Job exchanges within the library
Staff exchanges with other organizations
Attendance at continuing professional education programs
Visits to other libraries
Support for research work
Reports of research work in progress and/or completed
Support for publication
Guest speakers
Other (please specify)
Comments:
3.3 Thinking about the staff development program in your library over the past five years, has the amount of staff development activity: / Increased?
Decreased?
Stayed the same?
Comments:
4. Factors Influencing Staff Development
4.1 Has the increased use of information technology in service delivery in the library and information services sector effected your staff development program? / Yes (continue to question4.2)
No (go è to question 4.3)
4.2 Which of the following statements apply to your library? (check as many as apply) / Increased information technology applications have had an impact on the focus and content of our staff development program
Increased information technology applications has led to a greater need to train staff in IT applications
We make increased use of information technology in staff development programs (e.g. computer aided instruction)
Other (please specify)
Comments:
4.3 Does your Library have a formal Strategic Plan? / Yes (continue to question 4.4)
No (go è to question 4.5)
4.4 What level of priority is staff development allocated in the Strategic Plan? / A high priority
A medium priority
A low priority
Comments:
4.5 Have any other factors had a significant influence on your staff development program? / Yes
No (go è to question 5)
If yes, please briefly outline what these factors are and how they have impacted.
5. Recognition and Incentives
5.1 Does your library have in place any of these incentives to encourage staff members to undertake staff development programs? (check as many as apply) / Yes, paid time to attend staff development programs
Yes, travel and per diem allowances
Yes, payment of course fees
Yes, enhanced opportunity for promotion
Other (please specify)
No (go è to question 5.2)
Comments:
5.2 Does your library have in place any of these forms of recognition for staff members who have participated in staff development activities: (check as many as apply) / Formal accreditation/certification following completion of staff development courses
In-house certification of participation in staff development activities
Documentation of participation on staff member’s personal files
Other (please specify):
No (go è to question 6)
Comments:
6. Evaluation
6.1 Do you have mechanisms in place for evaluating the effectiveness of staff development in your library? / Yes (continue to question 6.2)
No (go è to question 7)
6.2 Do the evaluation mechanisms comprise: (check as many as apply) / Completion, by participants, of evaluation forms at the completion of a training/development program
Completion, by participants, of evaluation forms at some time after the completion of a training/development program
Review of evaluation forms by the person/s with primary responsibility for staff development
Review of evaluation forms by the Staff Development Committee
A periodic review of specific parts of the staff development program
A periodic review of the overall staff development program
Other (please specify)
Comments:
7. Some information about you and your organisation
7.1 Name of your library:
7.2 How many staff (equivalent full time) are employed in your Library? / EFT
7.3 Of these, what proportion of the total are classified as: / Professional staff %
Para-professional staff %
Library Assistants,
administrative staff
and/or technical staff %
7.4 Your name
7.5 Telephone contact number / Area code Tel:
7.6 Email address?:
7.7 Position (title)
7.8 In this position are you… / The Director of equivalent of your Library
A senior manager whose responsibilities include staff development in the library as a whole
A middle manager whose responsibilities include staff development in the library as a whole
A middle manager whose primary responsibility is for staff development in the library as a whole
Other: (please specify)
Do you have any other comments you wish to make?

Thank you for completing this questionnaire. I appreciate the time you have taken.

Please SAVE your document as StaffDevReply.doc, and return the survey by email as a Word file attachment to . Alternatively, you can print the form and post it to Ian Smith, Senior Librarian (Personnel), La Trobe University, Victoria 3086. Please return the completed survey by Friday, 9th November.

If you have any questions or comments you can contact me by telephone: 03 9479 1918, or by email

The information you provide will be used to write a report that is to be presented as a paper at the IFLA - 5th World Conference on Continuing Education for the Library & Information Services Professions in August 2002 and also published in the Conference Proceedings. Copies of the report will be available in August 2002. Please indicate below if you wish to receive a copy of the completed report.

No

Yes

Send to Name:

Address:

Address:

State:

Postcode:

Ian Smith. 19/10/01

1

[i] Trask, Margaret Staff Development in Libraries; Report of a Study Project September 1981 – June 1982, Lindfield, N.S.W., Kurin-gai College of Advanced Education, 1983.

[ii] Gray, John L, “Staff Development policies and Practices in Some Australian Libraries”, in Lifestyles and Librarians, Proceedings of the 24th LAA Conference, Darwin 1986

[iii] Bridgland, Angela The Impact of the National Training Reform Agenda …, PhD Thesis, University of Melbourne, 1997