Librarians’ Satisfaction with Promotion Practices in University Libraries in South-South, Nigeria

Abstract

In universities, promotion is the recognised avenue through which staff move from one level of position to another and has come to be associated with improved staff performance. The study investigates librarians’ satisfaction with promotion practices in university libraries in South-South, Nigeria. The descriptive survey design was adopted for the study. The targeted population is academic librarians from 14 (federal and state) universities in the South-South region in Nigeria, and the total enumeration sampling technique was adopted. A four-point Likert-type questionnaire was designed to elicit responses on librarians’ satisfaction with their promotion in university libraries. Two hundred and forty-three (243) questionnaires were distributed, out of which 180 were returned and found usable, giving a response rate of 76.2%. The results were analysed with percentages and mean and are presented in tables and figures. The study revealed that librarians have a low view of the practice of promotion because of their dissatisfaction with the promotion practice carried out in the university libraries. Factors such as research publications in local and international journals, attendance of conferences and publication in their proceedings, acquisition of additional qualifications, and years of experience at a particular level were shown to be vital before librarians could be promoted from one rank to another. The findings further established that scoring strategies based on library services and activities, evidence of active participation in professional bodies, and attendance of conferences and workshops are important during the assessment for promotion to the professorial cadre. The study recommends active participation in attending conferences, workshops and collaboration with colleagues and publishing in high impact journals as well as quality service delivery to users of the university community.