Participative Decision Making As Symbolic Action: Perceptions of Automation Committee Members in Selecting the Major Library Automation Vendor

Abstract

Twenty-one academic and public libraries in the United States participated in this survey study. The study focuses on the perceptions of automation committee members in the decision-making process of selecting a major automation vendor. The data suggest that the more participation perceived in the selection process, the stronger the committee members perceived themselves, as a group, to be the decision-makers; and the stronger the perception the decision was group-made, the more positive the attitude toward the appropriateness of the decision. Those respondents who perceived that committee members as a whole made the final decision also perceived that more communication smith supervisors occurred, the library director displayed greater trust in them, and information about all available vendors was gathered before the final decision mm as made. No direct evidence was found that library management used participative decision making as a ”play thing.” Usually either the library director or the systems librarian chaired the committee. Library directors appointed most committee members. Chairpersons are significantly more positive. The ratio of professionals to non-professionals serving in the committee exceeded three to one. A few variables were statistically found to be good predictors of who was perceived to be the decision-maker. (Article content in Chinese with English abstract)

Keywords

• participative decision-making
• library administration
• library automation
• librarian attitude
• survey
• committee