Managing staff concerns and expectations during a library merger

The purpose of this paper is to present and discuss results of a survey to measure concerns and expectations of library staff before and after a merger. The survey was done four months before a merger took place between three separate Technikons in South Africa, and it was repeated two months after the merger. The questionnaire that was used to gather information from all full-time library staff members of the three technikons included questions on how important it is for library staff, within the context of the merger, that certain work-related conditions stay the same, e.g. to have the same job, to have the same policies, procedures, standards and values. The questionnaire also asked respondents to select from a list of possible merger concerns, which concerns applied to them. A third section gathered information on how far library staff have progressed on the path of change. Although the findings of the study are of particular use to the managers of the new merged library, the importance of the findings lies mainly therein that it draws attention to the fact that in a library environment merger-related concerns and expectations are real and alive. It also shows that expectations and concerns that people have before a merger do not necessarily go away after the merger has taken place. If left alone, expectations and concerns may change over time or may even increase.