i JOB SATISFACTION AMONG LIBRARIANS IN ACADEMIC LIBRARIES IN NIGER STATE, NIGERIA BY NNAKAIHE PRISCA OLUCHI PG/MLS/08/49382 A PROJECT SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF MASTER OF LIBRARY SCIENCE (MLS) DEPARTMENT OF LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCE UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA SUPERVISOR: DR. R. E. OZIOKO MAY, 2012 ii APPROVAL PAGE This work by Nnakaihe Prisca Oluchi PG/MLS/ 08/49382 has been approved for the Department of Library and Information Science, By _______________ ________________ Dr. R. E. Ozioko Prof. V. W. Dike Supervisor Head of Department _______________ ________________ Internal Examiner External Examiner _______________ Prof. S. A. Ezeudu Dean of Faculty iii CERTIFICATION PAGE NNAKAIHE PRISCA OLUCHI, a post graduate student in the Department of Library and Information Science with Registration Number PG/MLS/08/49382, has satisfactorily completed research requirements for the award of Masters in Library and Information Science. The work embodied in this thesis is original and has not been submitted in part or in full for another degree of this or any other university. ______________________________ ______________________________ Nnakaihe Prisca Oluchi Dr. R. E. Ozioko Student (Name and Signature) Supervisor (Name and Signature) iv DEDICATION This work is dedicated to the Almighty God for His immeasurable mercies that saw me through, and to the memory of my late father, Mr. R. E. Nnakaihe. v AKNOWLEDGEMENTS With deep sense of appreciation, the researcher sincerely appreciates the efforts of her ever dependable supervisor, Dr. R. E. Ozioko who despite his busy schedules showed an undivided attention to this work until completion. She also want to appreciate in a special way, Dr. V.N. Nwachukwu who was always interested in the completion of this work. Let me thank in a special way, Dr. F.C. Ekere, Dr. A. J.C. Mole, Mrs. Meg Ngwuchukwu and a host of other wonderful lecturers in the department whose teachings and guidance have helped her in making necessary corrections to this research. She say thanks to you all. She is most grateful to numerous friends and colleagues who have contributed so much to the development of this work through their relentless prayers and directives and corrections; Dr. P. U. Akor, Dr. Mrs. J. N. Udensi, Mrs. Joy Chinasu, Mrs. Pat Chukwu, Chika Amos, Amara Ibe, Mrs T. Arinze and a host of others I say thank you all. Her most gratitude also goes to her beloved husband, who has been her source of encouragement to continue with this research work each time she feels that it is becoming too difficult to continue with this work. His love and encouragement throughout the period of this research has been my source of inspiration, may God continue to bless him. Nnakaihe Prisca Oluchi Department of Library and Information Science University of Nigeria Nsukka. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Title page -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- i Approval page -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- ii Certification -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- iii Dedication -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- iv Acknowledgements -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- v Abstract -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- vi Table of Content -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- vii List of Tables -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- viii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION -- -- -- -- -- -- 1 Background to the Study -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 1 Statement of the Problem -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 9 Purpose of the Study -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 10 Research Questions -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 10 Significance of the Study -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 11 Scope of the study -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 11 CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF RELATED LETERATURE -- -- -- 13 Conceptual Framework -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 13 Causes of Job Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction in Academic Libraries -- 13 Factors Affecting Job Satisfaction -- -- -- -- -- -- 16 Strategies for Improving Job Satisfaction -- -- -- -- -- 20 Review of Related Empirical Studies -- -- -- -- -- 22 Summary of Literature Review -- -- -- -- -- -- 24 CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODS -- -- -- -- -- 26 Research Design -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 26 Area of Study -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 26 Population of the Study -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 27 Sample and Sampling Technique -- -- -- -- -- -- 27 Instrument for Data Collection -- -- -- -- -- -- 27 Validation of Instrument -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 27 Method of Data Collection -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 28 Method of Data Analysis -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 28 CHAPTER FOUR: PRESENTATION OF DATA -- -- -- -- 29 CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSSION -- -- -- 35 Discussion of Findings -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 35 Implications of the Study -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 36 Recommendations -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 37 Limitations of the Study -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 37 Suggestions for Further Research -- -- -- -- -- -- 38 Conclusion -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 38 REFERENCES -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 40 APPENDIXES -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 42 vii LIST OF TABLES Tables Pages 1. Mean Responses of Librarians on Level of Satisfaction -- -- -- 29 2. Mean Responses of Librarians on Behavior when not Satisfied -- -- 30 3. Mean Responses of Librarians on Factors Responsible for Job Satisfaction -- 31 4. Mean Responses of Librarians on Problems Associated with Job Satisfaction 33 5. Mean Responses of Librarians on Strategies to Enhance Job Satisfaction -- 32 viii ABSTRACT The research work carried out was Job satisfaction among academic librarians in academic libraries in Niger State. The general objective of the study is to find out the level of job satisfaction found among the academic librarians in academic libraries in Niger state. The survey research design was used to conduct the study. The population of the study was the 58 academic librarians in Niger state. Due to the small number of the librarians involved no sampling technique was adopted, therefore all the academic librarians were used for the study. Questionnaire was used as the instrument for data collection and the data was analyzed using mean. The results from the findings showed that there is commendable level of job satisfaction among the librarians; the librarians do not resort to lateness to work, abandoning duty, and loss of morale when they are not satisfied with their job, friendly subordinates and positive working environment are some of the factors responsible for job satisfaction. Lack of opportunities for socialization and promotion, lack of managerial skills by the administrators and bad library tools are some of the problems associated with job satisfaction, and annual leave, medical coverage, friendly and competent subordinates are some of the strategies for encouraging and enhancing job satisfaction. It is recommended that the librarians in these academic libraries should be encouraged through sponsorship to attend workshops and seminars. The researcher also recommended that annual leave and medical coverage should be made a regular benefit for the librarians; it was also recommended that academic librarians should be encouraged through sponsorship to attend conferences, workshops and seminars as these will enable them acquire more knowledge and competence. ix CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION Background to the Study Academic libraries refer to all the libraries that exist in institutions of higher learning ranging from universities, polytechnics, colleges of Education, and any other form of tertiary institution. Their major aim is to provide the curricular educational needs of the students and the entire academic community, example, supporting the teaching staff in the up – to – date materials required for their teaching jobs. Since the Nigerian independence in 1960, the academic libraries have not been accorded the position they deserve, owing partly to the disruption of political leadership, poor economic situation, and nonchalant attitude of the parent institutions. Moreover, the librarians who have managed the libraries have not been so concerned about how their libraries should look like in terms of architectural designs and resources improvement (Ekere, 2006). According to him, the site of a library should permit sufficient space for ornamental trees, a good drainage system, elaborate parking lot, toilets, and lots more. In the context of this study, it is important to consider the welfare/ happiness of the librarians while planning, for the academic library environment putting into account, the furnishing of their offices, good toilets and so on. One of the biggest factors that is affecting the environment of academic libraries today is the in ability of the government to contract the establishment of library architecture/buildings to the professionals (Librarians) hence “out of annoyance, the librarians usually abandon such contractors and never bothered about what is happening. Since the librarians are not mentioned in the statutes in the establishment of libraries, they do not form part of the decision making body in the ministry of education. They usually feel disillusioned to contribute to the design of the library buildings even when they have ideas on better things to do (Ekere, 2006). x In a text, Ode and Omokaro (2007), academic libraries are those libraries established, owned and funded by university which they are part. Thus, they are often referred to as academic libraries. As integral part of the institutions which they serve, they design their collections and services to meet the instructional program of the particular institution. Academic libraries are recent phenomenon in Africa as a whole (Ode and Omokaro, 2007). In Nigeria, the first academic libraries came in to being with