The present study attempted to measure the overlap of tasks being
performed by Librarians Class One and Library Technicians Grades Two
and Three in special libraries located in Commonwealth Government
Departments and Statutory Authorities in the ACT. Overlap was also
measured between the two groups in libraries with six or more staff,
since size of library could have affected the results; and between
graduates (those employees with university or college of advanced
education degrees or graduate diplomas in library and information
science), and nongraduates (those without such qualifications).
To measure the overlap, a task list questionnaire was devised based
on task lists utilised in other research studies or which had been
the outcome of professional workshops. Work level guidelines and
position classification standards developed by pertinent Australian
employing authorities and the Library Association of Australia were
also used.
Results suggested that there may be considerable overlap in work
being performed by Librarians Class One and Library Technicians
Grades Two and Three in the nominated libraries. Of the eight
functional areas of library work into which the task list
questionnaire was divided, only two areas, Reference, and Current
Awareness and User Services, resulted in proportions of the groups
tested being assigned the tasks in significantly different
proportions. For the six other functional areas, representing 125 of
the 160 tasks Librarians Class One and Library Technicians Grades Two
and Three performed the same tasks in similar proportions. Testing
for size of library and qualifications of respondents made very
little difference to these results.
Conclusions drawn from the present study are limited because the
questionnaire ignored the level of importance and the time occupied
in completing these tasks. Other constraints occurred in relation to
conclusions which could be made. The questionnaire methodology as
utilised by the present study is more likely to evoke responses to
what is there; and it does not identify what should be done or how
well tasks are performed. The study is limited to special libraries
within Commonwealth Government Departments and Statutory Authorities
and is confined to three levels of staff only, Librarians Class One
and Library Technicians Grades Two and Three.
Despite these limitations, it seems clear that the levels of staff
included in the present study are often assigned tasks on the basis
of what tasks have to be done, rather than with regard to matching
level of task to level of position within the boundaries of the work
level guidelines; and this situation is also true of the larger
libraries with six or more staff.
These results have implications for those involved in educating
professional librarians and library technicians, for the
interpretation given by the profession to the meaning of
professionalism and for staff relations between librarians and
library technicians. Debate by the profession concerning the roles of
librarians and library technicians is an issue demanding urgent
attention.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/219046 |
| Date | January 1990 |
| Creators | Hyland, Margaret, n/a |
| Publisher | University of Canberra. Communication |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | ), Copyright Margaret Hyland |
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