Keynote Address: Crossed Wires: Management, Communication and Culture in Public Libraries
A large scale survey, distributed Australia wide, of public library managers and their staff was
undertaken in 2006. The survey aimed to investigate where there appeared to be a gap between public library manager’s perceptions of their skills and their actual skill level as rated by library staff.
Using a limited form of 360 degree feedback, the survey asked managers to rate themselves against a set of criteria and also asked their staff to assess their managers against the same criteria. At the end of the survey, free text comments were encouraged. The response process ensured that all respondents were anonymous with only their status (manager or staff member) indicated.
With over 220 responses, the result has supplied valuable data to assist in targeting areas for potential training and development strategies. In addition, the free text responses have also been closely analysed to identify themes and areas of concern across the spectrum. The results indicated doubts over manager’s abilities to handle challenging situations and make ‘hard’ decisions, together with a concern regarding favouritism and bias in their dealings with staff. More positively, managers were generally perceived as having a strong influence on the culture of the workplace, setting a positive and enthusiastic example.
These findings provide a practical insight that library technicians and other library workers can use in better understanding the nature of their workplace and its management practices. It also highlights potential areas of misunderstanding between staff and their managers and, from the free text feedback, provides insights into the more general concerns of both staff and managers working in public libraries today.