This study was designed to ascertain, analyse and compare the perceptions of College
Librarians and their associates about the role responsibility which College Librarians in
libraries in New South Wales Colleges of Advanced Education (CAEs) were actually
assuming and ideally should be assuming as part of their role as library managers.
Using as its basis a theoretical framework of role and role-related concepts, as developed
by social psychologists such as Kahn et al. (1964), a role set group of Principals,
Registrars and Senior Library Staff was identified as the survey population.
A review of the literature about CAEs and their libraries and overseas studies about the
role of library managers assisted with the development of a role responsibility
questionnaire.
Data from the questionnaire was analysed in respect of actual and ideal role responsibility
and any gaps between actual and ideal role responsibility. Gaps between perceptions of
actual and ideal role responsibility between College Librarians and associates may
indicate a potential for role conflict for persons enacting the role of College Librarian.
This study found statistically significant results in respect of both actual and ideal role
responsibility between College Librarians and Senior Library Staff, which indicated that
there was not clear agreement between the two groups about either the role responsibility
currently assumed by College Librarians and that which ideally should be assumed. In
respect of the gap between actual and ideal role responsibility, however, there was no
statistically significant result between College Librarians and associates, indicating that
the potential for role conflict resulting from divergent perceptions between role set groups
was not evident. This does not preclude the potential for role conflict from other sources.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/218632 |
| Date | January 1990 |
| Creators | Williamson, Vicki, n/a |
| Publisher | University of Canberra. Library and Information Studies |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | ), Copyright Vicki Williamson |
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