Ten Years Later: Support Staff Perceptions and Opinions on Technology in the Workplace

A SURVEY CONCERNING UNIVERSITY-LIBRARY support-staff perceptions and opinions about technological change was conducted early in 1998. The results are compared to the results of a similar survey administered to the same population in 1988. The evolving perceptions, opinions, and suggestions of this educated and highly experienced group of library personnel are offered as a resource for better planning of library automation and for the improvement of the library as workplace. INTRODUCTION Support staff, librarians, and administrators working together amicably, even enthusiastically, toward cooperatively created goals emanating from a cooperatively written vision statement, could quite possibly find solutions to some of the major challenges now facing libraries, many of which are related to technological change. Changes in the kinds of tools we use at work and the kinds of resources we have available are catalysts for new philosophies, new concepts of service, new designs for our workday, and new feelings-positive and negative-about our work. Change in the magnitude we are now experiencing is almost sure to cause turbulence. Collegial understanding among all of the members of a library staff, if carefully fostered, can certainly minimize trouble and maximize the many strengths available to make technological transitions smoother. A questionnaire distributed in 1988 was designed to study the perceptions of library support staff concerning new technologies that were Dorothy E.Jones, Reference Department, Northern Illinois University Libraries, DeKalb, IL 60115 LIBRARY TRENDS, Vol. 47, No. 4, Spring 1999, pp. 711-745 01999 The Board of Trustees, University of Illinois 712 LIBRARY TRENDS/SPRING 1999 beginning to affect libraries and the way library work was done. The study was published as an article in Librarj Trends (Jones, 1989). Ten years later, it is appropriate to gather again the opinions of support staff on issues of technology in order to see which changes in work situations and attitudes have occurred over the past ten years. Only in understanding what happens in the workplace and how people are reacting to changes can we find ways to create a better work environment for library employees. It is the belief of this author that library employees who feel they are heard and valued will make exceptional contributions to the institution in which they work-in times of stress as well as in ordinary times. DESCRIPTION OF THE RESEARCH The raw material for this article was gathered by means of a questionnaire distributed to the support staff of three university libraries. The questions are not discussed in this article in the same order as they appeared in the questionnaire but are designated by their questionnaire numbers. The reader may refer to the questionnaire itself, which is included in the appendix at the end of this article. Most of the questions are the same as those asked in the survey which was sent to the same population in 1988. There are some minor wording changes in this 1998 survey to reflect the passage of time and to improve clarity. There are also ten new questions added to the 1998 survey (numbers 4, 7 , 14, 15, 23, 24, 25, 26, 31, and 32). These were included in response to areas of concern that have emerged during the past ten years. Question 29, while basically the same as a question asked in the 1988 surrey, now includes the category of “student help.” Some libraries are using more student help in place of diminishing numbers of full-time employees. The questionnaire was distributed to the support staff of the same three academic libraries surveyed in 1988-the libraries of the University of California at Santa Barbara; Northern Illinois University in DeKalb; and the University of Richmond in Richmond, Virginia. One library is located on the west coast, one in the Midwest, and one on the east coast. Two of the libraries are part of state university systems, and one (the University of Richmond) is a private university. Their sizes range from approximately 3,800 students to 23,000 students. For the current 1998 survey, 218 questionnaires were distributed, with 118individuals (54 percent) responding. In 1988, 267 questionnaires were distributed, with 133 individuals (50 percent) responding. Averaging the number of staff in the three universities, there is 18 percent less support staff in 1998 than there were in 1988. The response rate is 4 percent greater in 1998 than in 1988 but, because of the decrease in numbers of support staff employed at all three universities, the actual numbers of responses are smaller. Percentages or, in fact, any statistics mentioned in this article for specific or separate libraries will be given in random order so that no particular numbers JONES/TECHNOLOGY IN THE WORKPLACE 713 of responses can be associated with a particular library. The results of the questionnaire, for the most part, will be presented without drawing conclusions. Discussion of possible reasons for statistical changes between the 1988 and 1998 results are only conjectural. The results of the survey have been calculated in the same way in 1998that they were in 1988 so that comparisons can be made easily. However, some additional perspectives on the raw numerical results are included in this 1998 article, resulting in additional charts and figures not included in the 1988 article. It is the opinion of this author that statistics are almost always open to several interpretations and are seldom either absolute or determinative but are often very helpful as indicators. There are always unseen and unknown factors present within the general populations surveyed, and each individual answering the survey questions will have included non-measurable and uncalculated interpretations of the questions in his or her responses. DESCRIPTION INSTRUMENT F THE SURVEY The current survey consists of thirty-four multiple choice questions, some of which require only one answer, and some of which allow the respondent to check more than one answer if more than one applies-e.g., questions 5 and 29. The thirty-four questions concerning technology in the workplace are followed by one page of questions concerning the respondent’s personal background in terms of education (kind and amount) and library experience (kind and length). Respondents were encouraged to write comments in the margins as they answered the questions. A special place for comments was also included after question 34. All respondents were promised, both in the cover letter which accompanied each questionnaire and at the end of the questionnaire itself: “Individuals who answer the questionnaire will remain anonymous. Results will in no way be presented or tabulated to reflect negatively on a particular library.” RESULTS OF THE SURVEY Educational Background of Support Staff As in 1988, the educational level of support staff is high (see Figure 1).In 1998,78 percent have an undergraduate or graduate-level degree. Almost all respondents indicated that they had participated in miscellaneous training programs or courses. Forty-four respondents took posthigh school course work which did not result in a degree. These courses covered a wide range of subjects including computing, art, music, English literature, language study, education, management, library science, social work, psychology, and others. Almost all respondents had participated in some form of technology training in their libraries. 714 LIBRARY TRENDS/SPRING 1999 v) 5 0 c, S 8 40c 3 30 B Y2 0 0 c, f 10: n 0 7 I I I Q, tn tn 0 CI 0 .tn -CI z 2 0 c CI tn 0 0 iri v) 0 L c L S n m ._I I s IHighest Degree/Diploma Received Figure 1. Educational Background of Respondents. 109 Respondents Answered this Question, 9 did not. The major and minor subjects studied for college/university degrees earned by support staff are concentrated in the humanities, followed by the social sciences, and a small number of science/math/technology emphases. Boundaries separating disciplines are not precise, and several people listed double majors or minors. However, a “straw count” of majors, minors, and graduate-study disciplines of respondents shows about seventy humanities, fifty-five social science, and nineteen science emphases. Included in the fifty-five social science emphases are ten people with an educational emphasis in library science. Library Work-Experience There was a noticeable difference between the percentages of respondents in 1988 and in 1998 who omitted answers to the “Personal Background” questions. In 1988,6 percent of respondents omitted answers to the questions on the amount of their library employment experience-in 1998,16 percent omitted these. In 1998,17 percent did not identify their job titles or departments. JONES/TECHNOLOGY IN THE WORKPLACE 715 Of all the respondents who answered the questions concerning length of library service, 98 percent have had more than three years’ experience working in libraries, 90 percent have had more than three years experience in the library in which they are now employed, and 75 percent have had more than three years experience in their present position. These rates are higher than the rates of experience in 1988. In both surveys, 1988 and 1998, the high rates of experience follow a similar pattern in each of the libraries surveyed (see Table 1and Figures 2 and 3) . TABLE1. EXPERIENCE COLLEGE STAFF OF THREE LIBRARIES’ Percentage of Staff Library A 1988 1998 Library B 1988 1998 Library C 1988 1998 -with more than 3 years experience in library work 74 96 82 97 85 96 -with more than 3 years experience at present library 67 93 69 94 70 85 2a. Present position