INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION AND ORGANISATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS IN ACADEMIC LIBRARIES IN NIGER STATE

Abstract

The study was on the inter-personal communication and organisational effectiveness of academic libraries in Niger State. The study was guided by three objectives and three corresponding research questions. Among the objectives of the study were to: ascertain the extent of interpersonal communication practice in academic libraries in Niger State, factors affecting the interpersonal communication and organisational effectiveness in the selected academic libraries in Niger State. Survey research design method was adopted for the study while the total population was two hundred and twenty-five (225) which consisted of one hundred and five (105) professional librarians and one hundred and twenty (120) para-professional library staff in ten (10) tertiary institutions in Niger State. The researchers adopted the entire population of both professional and para-professional library staff because the population size was manageable. Questionnaire was the only instrument used for data collection. Out of two hundred and twenty-five (225) copies of questionnaire administered, two hundred and six (206) copies were filled, returned and used for the analysis. Descriptive statistical tool consisting of frequency counts, percentages, mean and standard deviation were used to analyse the data. The findings of the study revealed that there was a high extent of interpersonal communication practice on organisational effectiveness in the selected libraries. The study revealed further that the inability of users to form queries correctly, inadequate listening skills, frustration due to poor working condition, physical distraction in the library environment, cultural differences between staff and users are some of the factors that affects the interpersonal…