Academic library committees: Their role in participative management

Abstract

The growing number of committees in academic libraries has been equated with the rise of participative management as a way of organizing library operations. But there is little empirical evidence to support this assumption. This study examines this issue through survey data from a random sample of librarians in U.S. academic libraries. The study shows that not all libraries use committees in significant roles, and that the presence of committees does not guarantee that librarians will have a significant voice in their organization. Librarians who serve on committees with policy-related functions were positive about their committee service and about the ability of committees to benefit the organization. Librarians serving on fact-finding and information-gathering committees tended to be negative about their committee service and conservative in their belief about the ability of committees to influence the management of their organization. Smaller libraries were much more likely than larger libraries to involve committees in significant decision-making roles.