TRAINING FOR AUTOMATED CIRCULATION SYSTEMS: THE NEW ZEALAND EXPERIENCE

With the aim of discovering the important factors in training staff to use newly installed automated circulation systems, the appropriate libraries in New Zealand were sent a questionnaire in 1988. This asked how libraries had trained their staff, and the outcome of the training in terms of satisfaction with their decisions, sparseness of mistakes after implementation and time taken for staff to attain efficiency after implementation. The most important factors in training were that the vendor should be heavily involved in organizing and carrying out training; training should be given before the system went live; staff should be given detailed training in the whole system; and a number of different training methods should be used. These factors were especially important for libraries installing their first automated system, those installing integrated systems, those with few staff, and those installing their systems in the earlier years of automation; that is, those libraries whose staff have the least background in the system being installed, have the greatest need for excellent training.

STAFF DEVELOPMENT FOR COMPUTERISATION: AN ACCOUNT OF ABUBAKAR TAFAWA BALEWA UNIVERSITY LIBRARY, BAUCHI

Staff development efforts by Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Library, Bauchi are discussed, with particular reference to the area of computer literacy courses. The purchase of a microcomputer (Turbowriter) and steps being taken to acquire CD‐ROM are reviewed as practical efforts towards computerisation in the University Library and suggestions are made for its success. Staff development and retention are advocated for effective computerisation of any library system.

STAFF DEVELOPMENT OF LIBRARIANS: THE CASE OF THE ABUBAKAR TAFAWA BALEWA UNIVERSITY LIBRARY, NIGERIA

A brief historical background of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU) and its library is given. This article then provides a brief overview of the concept of staff development and discusses in detail the various staff development efforts of librarians by ATBU Library, Bauchi. These include staff orientation, staff meetings, in‐service training, academic library staff seminars and representation on Schools Boards of Studies. Other relevant activities include professional activities, library use instructions, sabbatical leave, personnel training and outreach as well as library research. Finally, the article advocates that staff development should also aim at staff retention through the provision of incentives for staff.

STAGNANT BUDGETS: Their Effects on Academic Libraries

For many years, academic librarians worked in a fiscal environment of rapidly increasing budgets. Management of growth was the major problem. Today, though, most academic librarians face “steady‐state”—or stagnant—budgets. This situation, more pronounced in recent years, has been with us for more than a decade, a fact most librarians and university administrators have been slow to recognize. These budgets require new fiscal management techniques whose key words are cost containment, substitution, choice, and priorities.