Abstract:
To survive and be successful in the current rapidly changing library environment, staff
learning must be an ongoing process. University Library staff can be divided as
Professional, Para-Professionals and Non-Professionals. Library Assistants are the largest
category of library staff. Not giving more attention on education and training for them
creates various problems for the efficient functioning of the library. Therefore it is vital to
conduct surveys to find out the existing situation of the library education and training
opportunities for the Library Assistants.
The main objective of this Study is set out to gain a clear understanding of educational
and training opportunities available for the Library Assistants in Sri Lankan University
Libraries. It further aims to investigate the educational and training opportunities
currently available for University Library Assistants, actual training needs of the Library
Assistants, to identify the critical issues, drawbacks, experienced by the Library
Assistants and suggestions to overcome those issues and explore the Librarians' views of
the training needs of the Library Assistants.
In order to carry out these objectives of the Study an empirical survey was conducted on
education and training within the University Libraries. Twelve University Libraries were
selected for this survey. A questionnaire was administered on the Library Assistants who
had completed 5 to 15 years service experience. A response rate of 79.50% was achieved.
A separate questionnaire was distributed among 12 University Librarians and the
response rate was 100%.
