“I’m all for libraries”! A study of job satisfaction in Cape Town’s public libraries

Abstract

The paper reports on a survey in 2012 of 141 staff members in the city of Cape Town’s public libraries to assess their levels of job satisfaction and organizational commitment. After some years of neglect, South African public libraries have recently received generous government grants to expand and “transform”. Cape Town’s library service is the result of the merging of three separate services. Overall, the study finds high levels of satisfaction – with a sense of meaningfulness and a belief in the developmental value of libraries important factors. However, significant links were found between dissatisfaction and weaker organisational commitment.  The findings provide some pointers on how the city might serve its staff better. Branch managers for example express frustration at the increase in bureaucracy, as in the cry “I’m a glorified clerk”!