Perceptions on empowerment and productivity in academic and public libraries in Botswana

The purpose of this paper is to report on a study which was carried out in order to explore and identify perceived barriers to productivity in six academic and six public libraries in Botswana, through an examination of the perceptions of library personnel. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected by means of a questionnaire. The questionnaire used a 5‐point Likert scale to collect data on the measures of higher and lower productivity. The questionnaires were personally distributed to 111 respondents (63.7 per cent) out of a population of 174. The most pressing barriers to productivity were identified as: job dissatisfaction, a lack of facilities, a lack of training, poor management, a lack of commitment, poor relationships among staff and a lack of WITs/work teams. In spite of the lack of basic facilities and training, librarians could still improve their performance and maximise their output with the resources available. A change in their work attitudes and commitment to work could also make a great difference. The study recommends a three‐way communication process, work teams, active participation of librarians in the productivity movement, regular training in information technology and good work ethics, all of which should help improve productivity in both academic and public libraries in Botswana.