ACADEMIC-LIBRARY COMMITTEES - THEIR ROLE IN PARTICIPATIVE MANAGEMENT

The growing number of committees in academic libraries has been equate d with the rise of participative management as a way of organizing lib rary operations. But there is little empirical evidence to support thi s assumption. This study examines this issue through survey data from a random sample of librarians in U.S. academic libraries. The study sh ows that not all libraries use committees in significant roles, and th at the presence of committees does not guarantee that librarians will have a significant voice in their organization. Librarians who serve o n committees with policy-related functions were positive about their c ommittee service and about the ability of committees to benefit the or ganization. Librarians serving on fact-finding and information-gatheri ng committees tended to be negative about their committee service and conservative in their belief about the ability of committees to influe nce the management of their organization. Smaller libraries were much more likely than larger libraries to involve committees in significant decision-making roles.