COMPARATIVE STUDY OF STAFF DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

Abstract. The aim of this study is to conduct a comparison between the staff training and development (T & D) of academic libraries in Mainland China and Hong Kong-- two systems developed under fastchanging cultural, political and socio-economic environments in the past century. This paper argues that socio-economic, cultural and technological changes are pushing the development of academic library systems in the two regions towards convergence. The comparison identifies differences and similarities in staff T & D policies and practices of academic libraries in the two regions, as well as the contributing factors. The analysis is supported by the results of a survey conducted by the author in 2005. It concluded that the two systems share similar concerns and problems in many aspects, and one of the major contributing factors may be the size of the library. Background of the Study As in many people-oriented industries, human resource management (HRM) has long been a major area of research among libraries. A large number of works can be found on HRM from overseas librarians. The number of related articles published by library professionals in Mainland China is also on the rise in recent years. Nevertheless, HRM has never been an area much written about among librarians in Hong Kong. With China and Hong Kong reunified for almost a decade, the World witnesse