- The consensus of opinion arising from the study is that African librarians
need to rethink what a public library service is all about.
Public libraries in Africa need to be more aggressive and introduce
services that are attractive to their users.
- Librarians must get to know their potential users,
and not automatically assume that they are simply students and school
children who use a library only for study purposes.
- The introduction of alternative services, and a balance between the
services offered to urban and rural populations, are
areas requiring particular attention.
- The report suggests that long-term realistic strategic plans are required
for public library development. Such plans should be prepared on a country
basis and should be founded on professionally conducted user-needs and
user-satisfaction surveys.
Source: International Network for the Availability of Scientific
Publications, Newsletter, No. 14, May 2000. (HTM)
- In the resource-scarce environment of Africa, public libraries are
seen by many as the logical information hub. Their
role in improving literacy levels, increasing access by students and
the general public to books, journals, and eventually information technologies,
and providing a quiet haven for study could be significant.
- Public libraries have the mandate to serve as a democratic source
of information and knowledge, but the low priority given them by governments
and by public, private, and international funders has led to a severe
deterioration of stock and services. With the exception of
those in South Africa, most are in a parlous state.
- As Kay Raseroka, senior librarian at the University
of Botswana, has explained to us, "The stagnation of the African
economies and lack of basic necessities such as food and health care
have reduced the finances available for library services.
- The crucial question faced by all African public libraries is how
to justify themselves to government. Studies to find
what role public libraries play in supporting education have shown they
are in decline because of lack of government commitment towards their
funding."
Source: New Directions for Carnegie Corporation of New York.
A Report to the Board by Vartan Gregorian, President. February 2, 1999.
(HTM)
- Raseroka is now campaigning for a greater role for libraries in furthering
freedom of information. ...There is a need to reinterpret the idea of
"bridging the digital divide," ...
- it should mean the creation of an environment within libraries and
information centers that enables individuals from diverse communities
to enjoy easy access to information.
Source: The Online Pioneer and Ideals - World News
[California]. (HTM).
- At an international workshop of the fourth World Social Forum in Mumbai,
January 2004, Ms Kay Raseroka, the present chairperson of IFLA, made
an interesting proposal. Librarians should participate in the World
Social Forum, she said. Librarians should document the World
Social Forum and the information brought there by the thousands
of organisations and social movements.
Source: Mikael Böök. Librarians and the World Social
Forum, unite! Introduction: Kay Raseroka's Proposal.
HTM
- Library systems adopted in Africa have been based on the Anglo-American
model of librarianship with little or no adaptation to local
circumstances. Expatriates, schooled in the Anglo-American tradition
and trained to serve mainly a well-educated metropolitan clientele,
have been imported to run these libraries. ...
- This model relies heavily on a print-based service,
pre-supposing a reading public, with emphasis being on the home reading
of books borrowed from the library. Although educational by intent,
it caters mostly to leisure reading (Shillinglaw 1986).
- As Anyim (1972) and Olden (1999) point out, the African people, however,
favor oral communication over reading.
- In addition, an estimated sixty percent of Africa’s population
is illiterate, making a European print-based library model ineffective
for its potential library clients (Mabomba 1990). In Kenya, for example,
the rural population comprises ninety percent of the population, most
of whom are illiterate (Odini 1990).
- In spite of the introduction of universal primary education, education
is by no means widespread, especially in rural areas. If level of education
is a determinant in enabling an individual to use the proffered services,
the majority of the population in Africa are thereby excluded.
- Library services are, therefore, perceived as elitist institutions,
of service only to the educated few, most of whom are stationed in urban
areas (Abdulla 1998).
Source: B.J. Mostert (Senior Lecturer: University of Zululand). African
public library systems: a literature survey HTM
- Countries like South Africa, Egypt, and Chile are beginning to see
community information centers that provide Internet
access, but are not equipped with a mechanism to teach information literacy
to the people.
Source. Information literacy meeting of experts. Prague,
the Czech Republic
September 20-23, 2003. (DOC)
Reference
Issak, Aissa. Public Libraries in Africa: A Report and Annotated
Bibliography. Oxford: International Network for the Availability
of Scientific Publications (INASP), 2000. 199p. ISBN 1 902928 00 8. Price:
£15.00 + p&p. (See: HTM)
|