ACADEMIC LIBRARIANS' PERCEPTIONS OF TEAMWORK AND ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE IN A TIME OF RAPID TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of academic librarians on two topics: the delivery of services to students and faculty in a time of rapid technological changes and an organizational structure appropriate for delivering services to students in a time of rapid technological changes. Several researchers agree that to successfully provide services to users, librarians must understand that leadership is not just a matter of position or authority, it should occur at all levels of the organization (DeLong, 2009; Dewey, 2005; Hernon, 2007; Johnson, 1990; Kouzes & Posner, 1987; Lee, 1993). Further the literature also indicates that a library organizational pattern that encourages teamwork is more conducive for meeting the service needs of students and faculty in a time of rapid technological changes (Drake, 2000; Jones, 1999; Katzenbach & Smith, 1999; Poole & Denny, 2001; Riggs, 1997). The participants in this study consisted of academic librarians working in community colleges, universities, and colleges in North Carolina. A total of 374 participants responded to the questionnaires, for a 36% response rate. The academic librarians were surveyed using two different instruments, the Leadership Practices Inventory Self (LPI-S) (Kouzes & Posner, 2003) and the Team Questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were performed on the data from the Team Questionnaire and the LPI-S (Kouzes & Posner, 2003). Pearson Product-Moment correlations were produced to analyze the relationships between the academic librarians' perceptions of leadership behaviors, their preference for working in teams, and their preference for organizational structure. The analysis returned significant evidence to conclude that the participants in the study preferred working in teams. There was a statistically significant relationship between each of the academic librarians' perceived practice on the LPI-S (Kouzes & Posner, 2003) and the preference for working in teams. The preference for working in a flat organizational structure was not as strong as the preference for working in teams.