Influence of Continuing Professional Development and Skills Acquisition on Librarians’ Performance in Two State Capitals in Northern Nigeria

The study sought to find out the methods by which librarians acquired skills and types of skills attained for personal development and career advancement. It also investigated the influence of the methods of skills acquisition and the type of skills acquired on librarians’ performance in Minna and Dutse metropolitan cities in Northern Nigeria. Four research questions guided the study. Four-point likert type of questionnaire was designed by the researchers and validated by experts in Library and Information Science profession. Copies of the modified version of the questionnaire were administered on the respondents. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20 was used to conduct the statistical analysis. Descriptive statistical tools (frequency counts and percentages as well as mean and standard deviation) were used to analyze the data. Results showed that males and holders of Bachelor degree in librarianship were the highest; while publication and mentoring were the popular methods by which librarians acquire skills, though conferences, on-going postgraduate programme, workshops and seminars were also considered as the appropriate methods used to acquire skills by the respondents. On-the-job training was not considered as an appropriate method in the acquisition of skills while respondents seem not to use participatory management in the acquisition of skills. The study further revealed that the continuing professional development and skills acquired has mostly enhanced effective communication and creating harmonious working relationship among co-workers, although respondents derived satisfaction as well as facing the challenges in performing complex jobs. There was no effective and efficient job performance on the part of the respondents. Inadequate personnel resource was the major constraint to skills acquisition in libraries under study. Recommendations were proffered amongst include provision for career advancement and personal development through various methods. Librarians should apply the skills acquired through professional development while discharging their professional duties