An analysis of job satisfaction among Croatian librarians as support to library human resource management

Abstract

In the ICT-dominated world, libraries are facing major challenges in an attempt to fulfil their functions. If libraries are to respond adequately to rapid and complex changes, they need highly skilled and motivated employees. As people are an organization’s greatest asset, human resource management in libraries should be given proper attention. Different questions related to job satisfaction are definitely crucial for efficient human resource management. This paper presents the results of research focused on the way in which librarians in Eastern Croatia perceive certain aspects of their work. The analysis shows that Eastern Croatian librarians have a relatively positive attitude to their work, but they are less satisfied with their social status, salary levels, working conditions, possibilities for further training, and interpersonal relations at work. To a large extent, the results of this study indicate that human resource management in Eastern Croatian libraries needs to be improved. Statistical methods were also used to examine the differences in librarians’ opinions with regard to gender, age, professional title and the type of libraries they work in.

Keywords

Eastern Croatian librarians job satisfaction library human resource management opinion analysis statistical methods

Introduction

Advances in information and communication technologies (ICT) have naturally been reflected in the functioning of libraries. Today, for library staff at all levels it is both challenging and inspirational to introduce new services and products, and to deal with the ever-expanding boundaries of information access (Fourie and Dowel, 2009). If libraries are to respond adequately to rapid and complex change, they need employees who can modernize library performance and thus transcend the conflict between the traditional organizational culture and the requirements of the modern technologically developed environment (Gazvoda, 1997). It is therefore necessary to draw in highly educated, competent and responsible employees, who wish to contribute to library development.

Library staff should be directed towards a common goal, at the same time accepting and respecting their personalities, needs and rights. In this context, managers need to consider how employees perceive different aspects of their work, and if necessary, promptly react and make necessary adjustments. This means that library administrators must constantly assess the human resources function in the library and pay attention to the morale of the employees (Defa, 2008).

Satisfied employees are generally more committed to their work and contribute more to their organizations. For this reason, job satisfaction is one of the most important issues in the area of human resource management. Due to intensive technological development, unstoppable globalization, increasing competition, and economic uncertainty, human resource management has been going through significant transformations in recent years. As this is a highly complex issue, human resource management can be approached from different angles. Regardless of the approach, the basic functions of human resources are strategic management, workforce planning and employment, human resources development, total rewards, employee and labour relations, and risk management (Stewart and Brown, 2011). Accordingly, human resource management is responsible for pulling in the right candidates, selection, training, development, motivation, assessment, rewarding and retention of employees.

Human resource management is therefore a must in modern libraries. Even in smaller establishments, where a library head mostly performs several organizational functions, it is necessary to persist in implementing the principles of human resource management. The problem is that in such libraries we often see people taking care of the employees in addition to regular library duties although they have little or no knowledge and experience in human resource management.

According to Geleijnse (1997), there are some crucial elements of human resource management theory and practice that should be applied in the library environment. Strategic planning and personnel management should be integrated, and new forms of operation and organization should yield more flexible working arrangements and change of management style. Decentralization and giving greater responsibilities to staff members are interconnected, requiring job development and staff training. Clearly, successful human resource management requires an adequate organizational framework. Within libraries, this function can be structured in diverse ways, depending on a range of factors. Library type and size, its position in the system and attitude towards human resource management, i.e. the significance attached to it, are only a few of these factors. Regardless of the way this function is organized, human resources departments and professionals are playing increasingly strategic roles within library organizations as they are responsible for redesigning jobs and work, developing performance management systems, managing change, and designing and restructuring organizations (Hawthorne, 2004).

Purpose and objectives of the study

Starting from the fact that librarians are a key success factor for libraries, this study aims to examine how Eastern Croatian librarians perceive some aspects of their work, i.e. how satisfied they are with their job. These are essential issues for efficient human resource management in libraries, yet so far they have been given very little attention in the librarianship theory and practice in Croatia. In particular, this paper attempts to answer the following research questions:

How satisfied are Eastern Croatian librarians with their work and social status?

How do Eastern Croatian librarians rate the working condition, such as workspace quality and comfort, ICT equipment, possibility of professional training, relationship with superiors in the system, and interpersonal relations at work?

What are the differences in librarians’ opinions with regard to gender, age, professional title, and the type of libraries they work in?

Library staff responses to such questions are the foundation for future activities of human resource managers. In addition, these responses indicate the situation in human resource management in libraries. Thus, for example, work dissatisfaction, poor interpersonal relations, and lagging behind in acquiring the necessary competences are all straightforward indicators that human resource management is poor. Therefore, one of the research goals was to determine to what extent human resource management is being adopted and practised in Eastern Croatian libraries.

Based on the research questions and prior contacts with librarians, the following hypotheses were proposed:

Eastern Croatian librarians have a positive attitude to their work, but they are less satisfied with their social status.

Eastern Croatian librarians are not sufficiently satisfied with their working conditions.

There are statistically significant differences in librarians’ opinions with respect to the observed characteristics.

Previous research

Although there have been previous similar studies, different questions from the domain of librarian job satisfaction have come into focus in the past 15 years. In light of the changes caused by advances in technology, these issues are treated as an important element of human resource management. The results of the available studies, although occasionally conflicting, help to better understand the relationship between certain variables that determine the level of job satisfaction among librarians around the world. The most interesting results are presented chronologically below.

The study of Canadian librarians by Sierpe (1999) shows that they are generally satisfied with their employment; however, they are dissatisfied with communication and operating procedures. Thornton (2000) studied job satisfaction of American librarians of African descent, identifying some of the sources of dissatisfaction and areas of satisfaction. Respondents were most satisfied with job duties, variety of occupational tasks, interaction with patrons, autonomy, challenges of the job, working conditions, professional development, and job security. However, they were dissatisfied with the proportion of library staff of African descent, and to a significant degree, with their salaries.

Kem (2001) examined the relationship between work behaviours and elements of job satisfaction of a selected group of American academic librarians. On average the respondents rated most highly the opportunity to do something different from time to time, the ability to keep busy, steady employment, and the opportunity to do things for others, whereas items with the lowest ratings were their pay and the amount of work they did, as well as chances for advancement. The research by Togia et al. (2004) showed that Greek academic librarians were most satisfied with the job itself, supervision, and working conditions and less satisfied with pay and promotion. Goetting (2004) investigated the attitudes of American library workers toward their workplaces and co-workers, as well as their attitudes toward their careers in the library field. The author found that administrators, supervisors, Hispanic Americans, workers in school library/media centres, older employees, women and better paid workers had the greatest job satisfaction.

In her paper, Sivak (2006) reported that 85% of Canadian librarians in schools were satisfied with their salaries. The study also found a fairly high satisfaction level with respect to the extrinsic rewards. Badawi (2006) examined job satisfaction among Nigerian female librarians. The results of the study showed that respondents were very satisfied with achievement, interpersonal relationships, recognition, growth/advancement, work itself, salary, personal life and job security. However, they recorded the lowest job satisfaction with status, working conditions, policy and administration of libraries. The research into the opinions of librarians from Sri Lanka, conducted by Arachchi and De Silva (2007), aimed to determine the current state of human resource management. The study indicated that shared motivating vision, open communication, participative management, appropriate staffing and training were important strategies for working with library staff. The paper by Roknuzzaman (2007) explored the extent to which human resource management is practised in libraries in Bangladesh. Respondents were more or less satisfied with salary scale, present job position and working hours, while the human resources information system and technological facilities were rated as least satisfactory. Berry (2007) conducted a job satisfaction study of American library workers and found that 72% of respondents were satisfied or very satisfied with their current position. The research showed that older librarians were more satisfied than younger ones. The main reasons for dissatisfaction were salaries, funding, and management.

The results of the research conducted by Karim (2008) showed that affective commitment, job autonomy, job performance feedback, role conflict, role clarity, and organizational tenure were significantly correlated with job satisfaction among Malaysian academic librarians. Leysen and Boydston (2009) presented the results of a study of job satisfaction among American cataloguer librarians. Their research indicates that a great majority of respondents were satisfied with their current job. The benefits package, relationships with co-workers, and opportunities to learn new skills were rated as the most important positive aspects of this career. Within a human resources study conducted in Canadian libraries, Sivak and De Long (2009) examined job satisfaction, including benefits. Job satisfaction in the field was very high, especially among management. The majority of respondents were satisfied with their salary. This is because most libraries are able to offer a wide range of benefits to their employees.

Hart (2010) investigated job satisfaction among South African university librarians. The study was based on the standard human resource management job satisfaction theory. Overall job satisfaction was reported by 61% of the respondents. Only 51% felt proud to work at their library. According to Hart, dissatisfaction was most strongly associated with stagnation, frustration with inadequate resources, and anger at poor remuneration. On the basis of a study conducted at a university library in Jordan, Tayeh (2010) concluded that career planning, personnel recruiting, training, and compensation had a strong positive correlation with personnel’s performance. A survey of Nigerian librarians by Adio and Popoola (2010) revealed that job satisfaction had significant influence on career commitment. The study found a positive correlation between career commitment, age and work experience of respondents. The research by Peng et al. (2010) showed that the relationship between job satisfaction and organizational citizenship behaviour was stronger when job autonomy was high. Their study was conducted among Taiwanese university librarians.

Laskowska (2011) conducted a study with Polish librarians in order to analyse the strong and weak points of human resources. The strongest motivating factor for keeping the present job was found to be job security, whereas salary was the best motivator for employees to work harder. Ritchie (2011) investigated how UK school librarians perceived their status within the school. Most respondents reported a high self-perceived status, and they were satisfied with their jobs. Of all the factors observed in the study, salary had the lowest satisfaction rating. Many respondents also reported inadequacies in their training. Alansari (2011) surveyed Kuwaiti librarians. The results show that extrinsic measures, such as recognition of accomplishment, fair performance evaluation, and job security were the most important aspects of job satisfaction, whereas low pay in comparison to other professionals, inadequate financial rewards for outstanding performance, low prestige and social status of librarians, no promotion possibilities, and slow adoption of technological innovations were notable reasons for dissatisfaction.

As mentioned above, the job satisfaction of Croatian librarians has not been adequately and systematically examined. There are only a few papers that deal with this topic. Petr Balog (2009) presented the results of individual interviews with 10 Croatian library directors. Some of the interviewees stated that they were not satisfied with workspace and the services provided by their libraries. All interviewees expressed satisfaction with their job, in contrast to some degree of dissatisfaction with salary and social status. The later study of Petr Balog et al. (2010), based on individual interviews with 20 Croatian library directors and chief directors, largely confirmed the previous results. Badurina et al. (2010) found that Croatian librarians were not satisfied enough with the service they provided. They were also generally dissatisfied with the library’s space and ICT equipment. The respondents rated more positively the opportunity of professional training.

Methodology and sample

To conduct this study, we created a research instrument consisting of two parts. The first part of the questionnaire included demographic variables and questions relating to the characteristics of libraries in which respondents were employed. The second part dealt with different aspects of job satisfaction.

A written questionnaire was used to gather data. We decided to use a written questionnaire due to negative previous experiences with online surveys; namely, our previous research into librarians’ attitudes, based on an online questionnaire, had an extremely low response rate. Therefore, in preparation for this study we assumed that direct contact with potential respondents, which is followed by sending a written questionnaire in paper form or via email, would increase the response rate. We focused on Eastern Croatia due to relations established over the years with librarians from that part of the country.

The survey was conducted during September and October 2012. We contacted more than 400 librarians and sent the questionnaire to those who accepted the invitation to participate in the study. Three weeks later, a reminder was sent out by email, inviting librarians to respond if they had not already done so. Finally, 106 of the librarians filled in the questionnaire and sent it back. A total of 80 questionnaires were fully completed. These responses were used in the analysis. Table 1 shows the distribution of respondents according to gender, age group, professional title, and type of library where they work.

Table 1.

Distribution of respondents according to the chosen characteristics.

Characteristic	Number of respondents	Percentage
Gender
Female	68	85.0
Male	12	15.0
Age group
23–35	23	28.8
36–47	36	45.0
48–60	21	26.3
Professional title
Yes	55	68.8
No	25	31.3
Type of library
Public	37	46.3
Academic	18	22.5
School	25	31.3

The data were analysed using the methods of descriptive and inferential statistics. To test the significance of differences between particular groups we used the non-parametric Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests. The data were analysed by means of the statistical package SPSS, and the significance was set at p<0.05.

Results and discussion

To find out the ways in which librarians perceive certain aspects of work, the questionnaire contained 14 items. The responses of the surveyed librarians were measured on a five-point Likert scale (1 = Poor, 2 = Fair, 3 = Good, 4 = Very good, 5 = Excellent). Table 2 shows the basic descriptive statistics calculated from the responses obtained in the survey.

Table 2.

Basic descriptive statistics relating to questions about particular job aspects.

Variable (rating)	Mean	Median	Mode	Standard deviation	Coefficient of variation
Work of a librarian	3.98	4.00	4.00	0.80	20.00
Job security	3.70	4.00	3.00	0.99	26.65
Social status	3.48	4.00	4.00	0.95	27.37
One’s efforts at work	4.15	4.00	4.00	0.76	18.43
Salary level	3.54	4.00	4.00	0.99	28.07
Workspace quality and comfort	3.21	3.00	4.00	1.05	32.74
ICT equipment at work	3.51	4.00	3.00	0.95	27.18
Possibility of professional training	3.45	4.00	4.00	1.10	31.92
Interpersonal relations at work	3.46	4.00	4.00	1.09	31.48
Relationship with superiors in the system	3.72	4.00	4.00	1.01	27.17
Cooperation with other libraries	3.90	4.00	4.00	1.01	26.00
Relationship with users	3.82	4.00	4.00	1.05	27.40
User interest for the library	3.96	4.00	4.00	0.83	21.04
Free time	3.65	4.00	4.00	1.06	28.95

Although there are differing opinions on the use of mean and mean-based statistics with a Likert scale, we nevertheless used them in our analysis in order to facilitate making conclusions. As expected, respondents gave the highest average rating to their own efforts at work. This is the only variable with a mean higher than 4. The average rating slightly lower than 4 was given to satisfaction with librarian’s work, which is similar to the results obtained in the above-mentioned Croatian studies. In spite of all the difficulties encountered at work, which have been even more prominent due to the economic crisis, librarians are still quite positive about their job. However, the results of the survey indicate that they are much less satisfied with their social status, which also coincides with the results obtained in previously cited studies. This attitude reflects the frustration that reigns among librarians as a consequence of their vaguely defined roles and responsibilities. These findings confirm the hypothesis that Eastern Croatian librarians tend to positively evaluate their job, but not their social status.

Overall, job security was rated with 3.7 by the surveyed librarians. In a situation where almost one-fifth of the working age population in Croatia is unemployed, a job in a state-funded public, academic, or school library seems stable. The human resources function in Croatian libraries can have little impact on job security since employees can be dismissed only in cases of serious and wilful misconduct. Although there is continuous concern that some librarians might be made redundant if funding is discontinued, so far this has rarely happened. As a rule, cost-cutting measures have been aimed at temporary posts, i.e. fixed-term contracts do not get renewed. A bigger problem is the contingent of young graduates in Library Science who enter the labour market with low chances of employment. When the funding authorities approve a post, which is an increasingly rare occasion, human resources managers in libraries have the opportunity to pick the best among the applicants. This, however, is not always the case as on such occasions managers are under pressure from different sides, making it difficult for them to stay unbiased and completely independent.

As for salary levels, the average rating was 3.54. This finding is similar to the results obtained by Petr Balog (2009), and Petr Balog et al. (2010). If we look at the nature of financing, it becomes obvious that the human resource function can have very little impact on this variable. The salaries of librarians employed in public, academic, and school libraries are paid by the state, and they are defined by a collective agreement. The salary level for a graduate in library science depends on several factors such as their position, professional title, and years of service. With the exception of years of service awards, there is virtually no possibility to additionally reward employees for their engagement and performance. Obviously, the less-than-satisfactory attitude towards salaries is primarily directed towards the state as the employer.

The respondents were partly satisfied with the ICT equipment available, which is in accordance with the result of Badurina et al. (2010). In terms of ICT equipment at work, human resources managers and library heads can and must do more. Although the economic crisis has slashed the budgeting for new ICT equipment, some libraries pursued this goal vigorously through cooperation with the authorities at all levels, as well as through donations, thus becoming equipped to provide a hi-tech service. This is where the ability of library management to improve the profession as a whole comes to the forefront, through contacts with the local community, and particularly with businesses. Croatian libraries could also obtain ICT equipment through EU-funded projects, but so far only a few libraries have taken advantage of this opportunity.

Human resources managers in libraries have a special responsibility when it comes to interpersonal relations. The survey has shown that they are not dealing with this task adequately. In most cases, Croatian libraries have a small number of staff, which makes interpersonal relations critically important. Interestingly, respondents gave higher average ratings to the relationship with superiors in the system (e.g. with the library head, school principal, or dean of the faculty) than to their relations with peers. The attitudes regarding cooperation with other libraries are truly encouraging, as this aspect was among the top-rated items in the survey.

Although intensive ICT development has created keen competition for libraries in the domain of information services, our respondents felt that users still showed strong interest in their work. The obtained results indicate that users still visit libraries and use their resources. Librarians have a positive opinion of their relationship with users. Nevertheless, if they wish to keep those users in the future, libraries need to be attentive to their needs and wants, and make necessary adjustments in library operations.

The possibility of professional training was rated with the mean score of 3.45, which differs from the result obtained by Badurina et al. (2010). According to our survey, human resource management should be more active in terms of professional development. In some Eastern Croatian libraries, huge efforts are made to enhance the knowledge and skills of employees and to provide them with competencies required for work in the digital environment, which is characterized by constant change and advancement. Nevertheless, there are numerous libraries that lack a systematic approach to staff training, which leads to gradual stagnation and deterioration of human resources.

To find out how librarians assess the impact of work on their private life, we asked them to give a rating to the free time outside their working hours. The mean, which is in this case 3.65, is in the middle of all average ratings. This value shows that librarians believe that their current job has a certain impact on their leisure time, but not an excessive one.

The lowest average rating was given by respondents to the quality and comfort of their work space. This finding strongly supports the results obtained in all three above-mentioned studies from Croatia. The main reason for this attitude is long-time neglect of investment into many library facilities. This is another area where cooperation between libraries, institutions, and businesses is necessary so as to find models of assisting libraries, in spite of economic crisis.

The findings related to respondents’ attitudes towards workspace quality and comfort, ICT equipment, possibility of professional training, and interpersonal relations at work confirm the hypothesis that Eastern Croatian librarians are not sufficiently satisfied with working conditions. This hypothesis is not well supported by the assessment of the relationship with superiors in the system, which received better ratings.

There was only one variable with the median whose value was not 4. For the attitude of librarians on workspace quality and comfort the median was 3. Two questions were given the rating 3 by the greatest number of librarians: the rating of job security and the rating of ICT equipment at work. In the remaining cases the mode had the value 4. Standard deviation and coefficients of variation indicate that the response variability among surveyed librarians was more than noticeable.

To examine the significance of differences in attitudes between female and male librarians regarding particular job aspects we applied the Mann-Whitney test (Table 3).

Table 3.

Results of testing the significance of differences between male and female librarians (Mann-Whitney test).

Variable (rating)	Mean rank (gender)		Z	p
	Female	Male
Work of a librarian	42.32	30.17	−1.805	0.071
Job security	41.01	37.58	−0.494	0.621
Social status	39.01	48.96	−1.437	0.151
One’s efforts at work	43.66	22.58	−3.148	0.002
Salary level	41.41	35.33	−0.876	0.381
Workspace quality and comfort	39.35	47.00	−1.093	0.274
ICT equipment at work	38.43	52.21	−1.995	0.046
Possibility of professional training	42.88	27.00	−2.260	0.024
Interpersonal relations at work	39.31	47.25	−1.147	0.252
Relationship with superiors in the system	38.43	52.25	−1.986	0.047
Cooperation with other libraries	40.40	41.08	−0.100	0.920
Relationship with users	40.21	42.13	−0.274	0.784
User interest for the library	42.18	31.00	−1.627	0.104
Free time	43.18	25.33	−2.549	0.011

The results of the Mann-Whitey test show that the following differences between female and male librarians are statistically significant: rating of one’s efforts at work, rating of ICT equipment at work, rating of possibility of professional training, rating of relationship with superiors in the system, and rating of free time. On the basis of mean rank it can be concluded that women believe they put in more effort at work, that they have better possibilities of professional training, and they rate their free time better than their male peers. In contrast, men are better satisfied with ICT equipment at work and relationship with superiors in the system. Respondents’ responses are based on their subjective assessment. Still, it is highly probable that these differences in attitudes are also the result of other sociodemographic characteristics of respondents. For example, in the female part of the sample there were slightly more middle-aged women, who were librarians by profession, and who were employed in public libraries. Among men, there was a slight prevalence of younger people, an equal number of those with and without the professional title in library science, also largely working in public libraries. The sample contained a relatively low portion of male respondents, which is definitely a reflection of the real situation in this population. Taking all this into account, women, with a higher percentage of those holding a professional title in library science, and thus having higher ICT competencies in the area of librarianship, rated the possibility of professional training higher than their male counterparts, as expected, whereas they were less satisfied with the ICT equipment at work.

To determine which differences are significant in terms of the age of librarians we applied the Kruskal-Wallis test (Table 4).

Table 4.

Results of testing the significance of differences with reference to the age of librarians (Kruskal-Wallis test).

Variable (rating)	Mean rank (age groups)			H	p
	23–35	36–47	48–60
Work of a librarian	36.70	39.72	46.00	2.140	0.343
Job security	36.52	39.47	46.62	2.419	0.298
Social status	37.78	34.81	53.24	9.704	0.008
One’s efforts at work	42.85	39.86	39.02	0.410	0.815
Salary level	40.65	35.88	48.26	4.149	0.126
Workspace quality and comfort	42.17	33.53	50.62	7.941	0.019
ICT equipment at work	39.37	36.47	48.64	4.125	0.127
Possibility of professional training	36.43	38.75	47.95	3.288	0.193
Interpersonal relations at work	34.78	39.78	48.00	3.990	0.136
Relationship with superiors in the system	42.63	37.72	42.93	1.024	0.599
Cooperation with other libraries	37.96	39.22	45.48	1.522	0.467
Relationship with users	41.11	35.78	47.93	3.964	0.138
User interest for the library	34.13	35.86	55.43	13.274	0.001
Free time	33.93	41.33	46.26	3.428	0.180

According to the Kruskal-Wallis test, there were only three variables that showed statistically significant differences between at least two age groups of librarians: satisfaction with the social status, rating of workspace quality and comfort, and rating of user interest for the library. In all three cases the highest ratings came from librarians in the older age group. The results of the Mann-Whitney test, which will not be discussed due to limited space, show that all the differences in attitudes between the older age group and remaining two age groups are significant. Among older librarians there are quite a few who hold the post of library head. For this reason, and probably because they still view the profession as in times past, when librarians were appreciated and well-paid in Croatia, older respondents perceive their status more positively than others. Given that many librarians from the older age group are in managerial positions, it is highly probable that they have their own office which is more comfortable than the workspace of other library staff. Furthermore, their highest rating for user interest – in comparison to the other two age groups – can be interpreted as part of the inherited value system from the times when the library was seen as a key institution in society, whose role was unquestionable. Quite in line with such convictions, older librarians believe that user interest for the library and its resources is not abating.

Table 5 lists the results of the Mann-Whitney test, which was used to examine the significance of differences with regard to the professional title held by library staff.

Table 5.

Results of testing the significance of differences with reference to the professional title of library staff (Mann-Whitney test).

Variable (rating)	Mean rank (professional title)		Z	p
	Yes	No
Work of a librarian	43.71	33.44	−1.980	0.048
Job security	42.99	35.02	−1.491	0.136
Social status	38.47	44.96	−1.216	0.224
One’s efforts at work	39.79	42.06	−0.440	0.660
Salary level	43.13	34.72	−1.573	0.116
Workspace quality and comfort	43.68	33.50	−1.889	0.059
ICT equipment at work	42.28	36.58	−1.072	0.284
Possibility of professional training	44.55	31.58	−2.396	0.017
Interpersonal relations at work	44.15	32.46	−2.192	0.028
Relationship with superiors in the system	41.55	38.20	−0.624	0.533
Cooperation with other libraries	43.44	34.04	−1.782	0.075
Relationship with users	44.46	31.78	−2.359	0.018
User interest for the library	45.11	30.36	−2.787	0.005
Free time	40.40	40.72	−0.059	0.953

In most cases higher mean ranks were calculated for respondents who have a professional title in librarianship (graduate librarians, senior librarians, and librarian advisors), which indicates that they perceive different job aspects more positively. The results of the Mann-Whitney test show as statistically significant the following differences in the opinions of library staff with and without the professional title in library science: rating of satisfaction with librarian’s job, rating of possibility of professional training, rating of interpersonal relations at work, rating of relationship with users, and rating of user interest for the library. All these aspects were assessed more positively by respondents who hold a professional title in librarianship. Some of the differences were to be expected. Although the respondents’ ratings are necessarily subjective, one can reasonably expect that graduate librarians, senior librarians, and librarian advisors are more content with their profession and development possibilities. It is also not surprising that librarians with professional qualifications would have a more positive perception of the relationship with users, since their successful communication with library patrons is at least partly a result of the skills they acquired during education for library work. Interestingly, respondents who are not trained as librarians and are usually posted as librarian assistants give lower ratings to interpersonal relations at work and are more pessimistic when it comes to user interest for the library.

The next table (Table 6) contains the results of the Kruskal-Wallis test, which was used to examine the significance of differences with reference to the type of library in which our respondents are employed.

Table 6.

Results of testing the significance of differences with reference to the type of library (Kruskal-Wallis test).

Variable (rating)	Mean rank (type of library)			H	p
	Public	Academic	School
Work of a librarian	31.84	56.78	41.60	16.379	0.000
Job security	33.43	51.11	43.32	8.294	0.016
Social status	40.03	35.42	44.86	1.940	0.379
One’s efforts at work	36.15	50.00	40.10	5.094	0.078
Salary level	37.93	45.53	40.68	1.426	0.490
Workspace quality and comfort	30.28	46.92	51.00	14.740	0.001
ICT equipment at work	40.89	49.42	33.50	5.474	0.065
Possibility of professional training	34.77	42.64	47.44	4.964	0.084
Interpersonal relations at work	35.50	44.69	44.88	3.518	0.172
Relationship with superiors in the system	39.59	38.64	43.18	0.551	0.759
Cooperation with other libraries	34.15	54.08	40.12	10.076	0.006
Relationship with users	31.31	55.58	43.24	14.902	0.001
User interest for the library	25.00	56.31	52.06	34.758	0.000
Free time	39.70	44.64	38.70	0.826	0.662

According to the Kruskal-Wallis test, for the following variables we established statistically significant differences between at least two groups of librarians divided by the type of library they work in: rating of satisfaction with librarian’s job, rating of job security, rating of workspace quality and comfort, rating of cooperation with other libraries, rating of relationship with users, and rating of user interest for the library. For all these job aspects, the lowest mean ranks were calculated for librarians employed in public libraries. Except for rating of workspace quality and comfort, the highest mean ranks were determined for librarians employed in academic libraries. Judging by these results it can be concluded that the situation in academic libraries is better than in public libraries. Indeed, over the past few years, as a result of comprehensive higher education reform, significant efforts have been made to improve the working conditions in academic libraries. In contrast, public libraries seem to have received less attention in the same period. This situation will obviously be reflected in the attitudes of library staff working in different types of libraries. The results of the Mann-Whitney test show that all the differences in opinions between librarians employed in public and academic libraries are significant. Furthermore, test results indicate that there are statistically significant differences between academic librarians and school librarians in the rating of satisfaction with librarian’s job, rating of cooperation with other libraries, and rating of relationship with users, whereas respondents employed in public libraries show statistically significant differences from school librarians in the rating of job security, rating of workspace quality and comfort, rating of relationship with users, and rating of user interest for the library.

The results of the analysis partially support the hypothesis that there are statistically significant differences in librarians’ opinions with regard to gender, age, professional title, and the type of libraries they work in. These differences are less pronounced between age groups.

Conclusions

Libraries are going through a period of great change. The shifts in the functioning of libraries, resulting from intensive technological development, have a direct influence on librarians, and thus also on human resource management. The digital revolution has brought changes not only with regard to librarians’ tasks, competencies, and relationship with users, but also with regard to work organization and management style. Human resource management has a particularly responsible role in modern libraries, although the problems encountered by librarians are still frequently overlooked and underestimated. Over the last few years the situation has become even more complex due to the impact of the economic crisis.

One of the basic tasks of human resource management in libraries is to observe how librarians perceive certain work aspects. Timely insights into employee satisfaction with their jobs, relationships in the work place, and working conditions can help to prevent bigger problems in a library’s operation. With this paper we intended to bring these issues to the forefront and emphasize the importance of such research to provide support to human resource management in libraries.

The focus of our study was the job satisfaction of Eastern Croatian librarians. The results we obtained indicate that they have a relatively positive attitude to their work, although they are significantly less satisfied with their social status. Also around the level of status were the average satisfaction ratings for salary level, ICT equipment at work, interpersonal relations at work, and possibilities of professional training. The lowest rating was given to the workspace quality and comfort. Significantly better ratings were given to user interest for the library, cooperation with other libraries, relationship with users, relationship with superiors in the system, and job security. Particular ratings of Eastern Croatian librarians, such as those referring to their work, salary level, ICT equipment at work, and workspace quality and comfort are consistent with some earlier studies. In contrast, the attitude toward the possibility of professional training differs from the result obtained in one previous research. There were no similar studies with which to compare our other findings.

In our analysis we further examined the differences in attitudes of librarians with regard to gender, age, professional title in librarianship, and type of library where they work. The research showed that there are certain statistically significant differences in perceptions of female and male librarians, but these can also be related to other sociodemographic characteristics. Only in three cases were significant differences observed with regard to age of librarians, so this variable cannot be viewed as particularly discriminatory. Most of the items received a more positive rating by respondents who hold a professional title, and statistically significant differences were found in five cases. Another conclusion that can be drawn from the results is that librarians employed in public libraries are less satisfied with their work in comparison to academic and school librarians.

The results generally confirm the first and the second hypothesis, whereas the third hypothesis could be accepted to some extent. If we look at the work aspects that were analysed, there are some that human resource management cannot influence. Still, several research variables are to a greater or smaller degree within the responsibilities of human resources managers. This refers primarily to the possibility of professional training for Croatian librarians, interpersonal relations at work, but also to workspace quality and comfort, and ICT equipment at work. The findings indicate that human resource management is not effectively integrated and practised in Eastern Croatian libraries. If we take this into account, the relatively positive perception of work among Eastern Croatian librarians is predominantly a reflection of their enthusiasm, and less of targeted human resource management.

Since Croatia is a small country we believe that the results of our study can be replicated statewide; that is, the total population of Croatian librarians is faced with similar problems. Our research has shown that human resource management needs to take a more active role in Croatian libraries. But this will not be an easy task. First, the vast majority of Croatian libraries do not have a human resource department. In such circumstances, the responsibility of a library head is to manage human resource activities in addition to other tasks. This situation is further complicated by their lack of knowledge and skills in human resource management, whereby librarians do not have the opportunity for additional education or training. Moreover, during their studies Croatian students of librarianship learn very little about human resource management strategies and practices. The problem is also an absence of professional literature. All of this suggests that it is urgently necessary to change the perception of library human resource management in Croatia and take appropriate steps to improve it. This paper is a contribution to these efforts.

Footnotes

Funding

This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Author biographies

Gordana Dukić is an Associate Professor in the Department of Information Sciences (Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences) at the Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, Croatia. She received her MSc and PhD from the same university. Her research interests include management and organization, library management, knowledge management, statistics, decision support systems, and quantitative methods. On these topics, she has published more than 50 peer-reviewed articles in international journals, conference proceedings, and book chapters. She has worked on several scientific projects, whose results were presented at various national and international conferences.

Darko Dukić is an Associate Professor in the field of Information and Communication Sciences in the Department of Physics at the Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, Croatia. He received his MSc and PhD from the same university. He is author or co-author of more than 50 scientific papers published in international journals and presented at international conferences. In addition, he has reviewed many articles for scientific journals and conferences, and chaired thematic sessions at various meetings. Over the past few years, he has worked on several scientific research projects. His research interests include information technology implementation and adoption, online databases and e-resources, management information systems, e-learning, simulation models, and data mining.

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