Staff Retooling for Service Delivery at University of Nairobi Main Campus Library, Kenya
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Abstract
Over the last decade, service delivery in public academic libraries has been influenced by ever-changing client needs. These needs have been largely driven by challenges being experienced by these libraries in relation to funding and staff retooling. The needs of library users require a level of anticipation that can deliver results if academic libraries are to sustain delivery of services. To meet this growing demand, academic librarians must continuously acquire more skills and competencies to deliver services that meet the needs of the patrons. Staff retooling is an area that, if seriously invested in by an organisation, can lead to a better work environment, high staff retention and better delivery of services. The objective of this study was to establish the effectiveness of staff retooling strategies and programmes on service delivery at the University of Nairobi library. The study was based on the resource based view theory. It used a descriptive survey research design and a census sampling method to select 62 respondents. Data was collected using standardised self-administered questionnaires then analysed using a statistical software (SPSS v21). Data was thematically analysed and results presented in tables as frequencies and percentages. The results showed that service delivery was majorly affected by staff orientation, conferences/workshops, regular ICT training and mentoring. It further established that mentoring, orientation, regular ICT training, conferences/workshops and job rotation were effective in delivering services. Case studies were however not found to be effective. The study concluded that various staff retooling strategies and programmes affected service delivery. The study recommended that a structured, systematic and regular mechanism of training and developing library staff should be developed, supported and implemented within the library; the dynamic needs of users need to be identified and library staff promptly identified for retooling in order to address these emerging needs.
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