Librarians celebrated for 30 years of service

Custodians of books were recognised for their contributions at the NLSA’s Pretoria Campus in the CBD on July 10.

The National Library of South Africa (NLSA) and the Library and Information Association of South Africa (LIASA) hosted the event commemorating National Librarians Day.

Key role players from NLSA and LIASA among other organisations reflected on the role that libraries have played 30 years into democracy.

The day’s events included a panel discussion on the successes and areas of improvement that the sector needs.

During her keynote address, Ellen Tise, the first-ever LIASA president and former president of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) highlighted the 30-year journey South African libraries have undergone.

Some of the key highlights the library sector has seen in the past 30 years include:

– July 10 1997: the launch of LIASA.

– 1999: inauguration of the NLSA

– 2000: LIASA awarded with infrastructure grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York

– 2001: the South African National Library Week was recognised by the government as a national week

– 2001-2004: the South African Library Leadership Project funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation

– 2002: the Department of Arts of Culture announces plans to erect a new building for NLSA worth over R128-million

– 2004: the launch of the National Council for Library Information Services

– 2005: a grant worth $2-million was awarded to the NLSA for infrastructure and new buildings, and a community library conditional grant of R1-billion was announced by the government (and a further R1.8-billion in 2012)

– 2007: IFLA World Library and Information Congress (WLIC) held in South Africa hosted by LIASA and the Department of Arts and Culture

– 2008: the new NLSA building officially opened

– 2014: adoption of the Library and Information Services (LIS) Transformation Charter

– 2015: WLIC held in Cape Town

– 2016: LIASA and partners’ submission on statutory reform to the South African Law Reform Commission

“Of course, the challenges are still there, inequality persists and many communities still lack adequate library services. One particular reason that the education sector is struggling is that too many kids, even at high school still struggle to read,” Tise said.

“The LIS sector faces issues of fragmented governance, insufficient funding and the need for a cohesive legislative framework. We must address these challenges to ensure that libraries fulfil their mission of supporting socio-economic, educational and cultural development for all,” Tise said.

Tise said librarians need to ask themselves what impact their work has on their communities to ensure that its beneficiaries have a better quality of life through obtaining knowledge.

Speaking on behalf of the metro was Ishmael Mbhokodo, the director of library services in Tshwane. He asserted that post-1994 and post-2011, there was an integration of the status quo and geographical landscape change regarding libraries that the city went through.

“We’ve highlighted state-of-the-art services since integrating other districts post-2011 such as the Cullinan Library Park and the new libraries we’ve opened in Akasia, Atteridgeville and Olieven [Olievenhoutbosch]. We have also made interventions in areas where we could not build libraries in partnership with the education department. We’ve implemented measures that mitigate school library intervention and access to library services,” Mbhokodo said.

Mbhokodo said the metro remains committed to providing state-of-the-art library services to all communities respective of economic background or status quo. He added that the metro’s libraries are becoming centres of information that are relevant to communities based on their needs, contributing to their protection during social unrest.

“We have managed to strike a balance through partnerships. Yes, we have limited funding, it’s a known fact but through partnerships, we’ve allowed our integrated operations to come to fruition.

The new Olieven library, we are partnering with an educational organisation called NextUp, which adds to the number of people using the facility and protection of the facility during service delivery protests,” Mbhokodo said.

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