This study contained two parts, Part A and Part B. Part A was a national survey of beginning academic librarians to determine what management functions they perform, their perception of their preparation to perform these functions, and what experiences were most useful in preparing them for managerial responsibilities. A stratified random sample representing 15 percent of all small, medium, and large academic libraries in the United States was employed which returned 84.8 percent of the mailing. The SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) was utilized to analyze returns and run appropriate statistical tests. / Results indicated that 81 percent of beginning academic librarians have supervisory responsibilities. Over half of them perform all five of the management functions included on the research instrument (planning, organizing, staffing, controlling, and directing). However, mean perceptions of preparation for all functions were less than at the satisfactory level. / Little difference was noted in the perception of preparation of librarians in small, medium, and large libraries, with only 2 of the 33 activities showing a significant difference in the means. Males and females had a significant difference of perceived preparation for only 1 of 99 administrative activities analyzed. / Management courses taught in ALA accredited library schools in the U.S. were surveyed in Part B to determine if these courses were required of students planning to be academic librarians, and if the courses were oriented toward the management functions studied in Part A. / Fifty-four of the 62 library schools replied, revealing that 68.5 percent required a basic management course, 33.5 percent required an academic library management course, 20.4 percent required both, and 14.8 percent have no required management course. / Course materials furnished by faculty revealed that the basic management courses emphasized management functions, while the academic library management courses were oriented toward the type of library concept. / Conclusions are that beginning academic librarians perform a variety of management functions, and that library schools' curriculum should include a course that covers these basic functions as a required course for all students. Recommendations are offered for further study of related administration areas. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 44-07, Section: A, page: 1962. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1983.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_75152 |
| Contributors | WILKES, ADELINE WOOD., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 231 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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