Though it was a bit of peer pressure that got Nondumiso Ntuli to read The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, it was ultimately her love of books that led to her becoming a librarian at one of our city’s libraries.
Much like the character in that book, Ntuli, who can be found at Melville Library, is also following a path that is in direct response to her pursuit of following her dreams. A librarian for the past 10 years, her love for books developed over the years as she knew she could help children enjoy a good story. Through the library, she now gets to assist in programmes such as story times, holiday programmes and competitions that involve primary school learners going head-to-head for a grand prize.
“Libraries are actually exciting. They are not just about sitting and reading books all day. We get involved, which gets really exciting,” she said. Her all-time favourite book to read has to be Ways of Dying by Zakes Mda. Ntuli’s intrigue behind this book was based on her interest in the title. Were there really ways of dying? “The book followed a man who went to different funerals as he was hired as a professional mourner who cried on behalf of people who couldn’t and I found this very fascinating,” said Ntuli.
Even though the library is located in a shopping complex, it caters to students and business people who use it more as a reference library to study. Along with that, it is peaceful and lends itself to offering a safe and quiet workplace for individuals. Some challenges they face include the fact that they do not currently have computers and Wifi connectivity can be difficult during times of load-shedding. In some cases, resource materials can be out of date and can limit her capability to provide sufficient information to users.
“It is also a place where parents can leave their children to study. As we also help school-going children with homework,” she said.
Ntuli sees her career as one that she will grow and thrive. With the advent of new technologies that will further enrich communities. One such example is Mobi-Readathon. One of its competitions saw books upload on e-readers and invited schools to participate by reading books and answering questions on what they had read. “You see, it’s not just about bringing people to the library but also taking the library to the people.”
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