The major purpose of this study was to identify the management development needs of lower and middle managers in university libraries in Nigeria. A review of pertinent literature has shown that recent developments in the Nigerian library scene have created opportunities for high labor mobility among librarians without necessarily having the management experience.
Based on the hypotheses tested in the study the analysis showed that: (1) there is no agreement between the top management on the one hand, and between the middle and lower managers on the other on what constitutes the training needs of the middle and lower managers, (2) on the overall the lower managers showed less need for training than the middle managers, (3) the degree of perception of top management about the training needs of their staff is related to the size of the library in terms of its staff and collections, (4) perception of training need and age, sex, education and experience are not related in this study. However, some relationship was shown between the administrative position one holds in the library and perception of training needs, (5) the study revealed that the higher one goes on the administrative hierarchy the higher his level of perception of development needs.
The conclusion drawn from the analysis is that top management considered the proficiency levels of the middle and lower managers to be sufficiently high enough in areas of administration and personnel management to warrant any further training. The middle managers view their proficiency level high enough for effective job performance in all but one of the areas - administration while the lower managers' level of proficiency is moderate in all areas.
The study also suggests implications for further research into existing management development programs; identification of organizational development needs and further identification of the characteristics of the Nigerian university library managers.
