Perceptions on empowerment and productivity in academic and public libraries in Botswana
| Date | 01 February 1998 |
| Published date | 01 February 1998 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/01435129810198639 |
| Pages | 49-58 |
| Author | Priti Jain |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science |
Introduction
Productivity improvement is the key issue in
Botswana today. Productivity and good man-
agement have been recognised by the
Botswana government as being important
ingredients in economic growth and develop-
ment. They could result also in a higher stan-
dard of living, leading to a better quality of life
for all Botswana.
Botswana’s productivity movement was
given a boost in February 1996, when the
President of Botswana, Sir Q.K.J. Masire
(1996, p. 1), delivered the 1996 Productivity
Message over Radio Botswana in which he
said, “productivity and the concept of contin-
uous improvement are the insurance of job
security for workers and the raising of stan-
dards for all Botswana”. Though there is very
little reported on productivity in libraries in
Botswana, recently, there has been an increas-
ing interest and awareness of the role of pro-
ductivity in improving library productivity.
In March 1995, a seminar was held by the
Botswana Library Association, in Gaborone
on “The status, role and productivity of
library and information workers in
Botswana”. A paper was presented by Awuku
(1995) on “Productivity in University
libraries of developing countries: West and
Southern African Perspective”. On the 6 May
1996, the Botswana National Library Service
(BNLS) launched books on productivity in
the Gaborone Public Library. The follow-up
was carried out by the Molepolole branch and
other libraries. At present, all the government
sectors, including libraries, are engaged in
work teams.
Justification for the study
Although much has been written on problems
relating to productivity in libraries in Africa
by Alemna (1992), Antwi and Bello (1993),
these researchers did not study barriers to
productivity. Lubans (1992) and Awuku
(1995) noted various factors that cause lower
productivity, but did not attempt to test their
assumptions in an empirical study. This study
therefore verifies the factors claimed to influ-
ence higher and lower productivity. Produc-
tivity, in the context of this study, means the
efficient use of resources, such as labour,
capital, materials, energy, information, and
time to produce quality services for the
library’s clientele.
49
Library Management
Volume 19 · Number 1 · 1998 · pp. 49–58
© MCB University Press · ISSN 0143-5124
Perceptions on
empowerment and
productivity in
academic and public
libraries in Botswana
Priti Jain
The author
Priti Jain is an MLIS student at the University of
Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana.
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to report on a study which was
carried out in order to explore and identify perceived
barriers to productivity in six academic and six public
libraries in Botswana, through an examination of the
perceptions of library personnel. Both qualitative and
quantitative data were collected by means of a question-
naire. The questionnaire used a 5-point Likert scale to
collect data on the measures of higher and lower produc-
tivity. The questionnaires were personally distributed to
111 respondents (63.7 per cent) out of a population of
174. The most pressing barriers to productivity were
identified as: job dissatisfaction, a lack of facilities, a lack
of training, poor management, a lack of commitment, poor
relationships among staff and a lack of WITs/work teams.
In spite of the lack of basic facilities and training, librarians
could still improve their performance and maximise their
output with the resources available. A change in their work
attitudes and commitment to work could also make a
great difference. The study recommends a three-way
communication process, work teams, active participation
of librarians in the productivity movement, regular training
in information technology and good work ethics, all of
which should help improve productivity in both academic
and public libraries in Botswana.
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