ABSTRACT
Staff appraisal illustrates very well the nature of management and the reasons why it is a complex activity with a variety of consequences. Both practitioners and management theorists are sharply divided about the merits of staff appraisal. Like most management techniques, formal appraisal is a systematization of an activity that already exists less formally. At work, such appraisals are most likely to concentrate on personal strengths and weaknesses, and upon job performance. The Appraisal Record Form will be the only record of the discussion. Managers must make sure they have a lockable storage place for appraisal records. Where appraisal systems are seen to be imposed, there is the danger that staff will 'go through the motions' and that the exercise will be a waste of time. The starting point for an appraisal system should be the desire to improve the performance of the library, which in turn requires improvement of the performance of individual members of staff.
