Genevieve Hart

The "tricky business" of dual use school community libraries: a case study in rural South Africa

Abstract The article describes an interpretive case study of a group of six dual-use school community libraries in one remote region of South Africa. Its focus is rather more on the libraries as school libraries than public libraries. The recent government sponsored LIS Transformation Charter has placed a spotlight on the backlogs in school and public library provision. The case study, conducted in April 2009, investigates if dual or joint use libraries might help fill gaps and, if so, under what conditions. The article describes the background, research questions, methodology, site and some of the findings. The study highlights the relationships among role-players, the realities of dualuse functioning and the complex issue of librarian identity. The study concludes that, although many of the international criteria for dual-use libraries are not met, the six libraries do provide a crucial service for their schools and other schools in the surrounding areas. And they offer a tantalising picture of the possibilities of dual-use for rural information services. The article suggests that, with more dynamic leadership, these possibilities could be fulfilled.

From borders and landscape to ecosystem: reconfiguring library services to meet the needs of South African youth

In this article we consider the configuration of the South African library and information services (LIS) sector, and analyse the extent to which its structuring facilitates or hinders optimum service to the children and youth of South Africa. The background to our investigation is the crisis in public schooling and the plight of South African youth who suffer disproportionate rates of poverty and unemployment. In our investigation we examine the planning and practice in two new libraries – one a community library, and one a joint-use library for learners and local residents – in an effort to establish the extent to which libraries may partner with schools to take advantage of new thinking that recommends a whole system approach, encapsulated in the metaphor of LIS as an ecosystem. We conclude that this new approach might generate models of service delivery that transcend boundaries that traditionally delineate and confine sub-sectors in the LIS sector.

Ready for the information society? A study of Cape Town's children's librarians

Sixty‐seven childrens librarians were interviewed with a view to assessing their readiness to take on an enhanced educational role as information literacy educators. If South Africa is to compete in the global economy of the 21st century, we need information literate school leavers equipped for lifelong learning, yet less than a third of our schools has any sort of library. The study finds virtual unanimity that the introduction of the new South African curriculum has brought increased pressure ‐ with virtually all respondents commenting that they are doing the work of teachers. But it reveals that the librarians lack capacity in terms of their skills and their facilities. There is consensus among them that their needs are not being met and that their services to school children are inadequate.

The Drive for School Libraries in South Africa: Intersections and Connections

This paper traces the important developments in school librarianship in South Africa since 2007, during which time the drive to address huge backlogs in school library provision has gained momentum—largely, it argues, from the intersections of two phenomena: the Library and Information Services (LIS) Transformation Charter; and Equal Education, a civic-action NGO campaigning on behalf of school libraries. South African youth face daunting challenges, and their schooling is perhaps where the heritage of apartheid is most visible. The lack of libraries, it is argued, has undermined the attempts at curricular reform since the late 1990s. The daunting backlogs in school library provision mean that innovative models of service will be needed that cut across existing divisions. Given the impact of the lack of school libraries on all sectors of LIS, the paper examines the recommendations in the LIS Transformation Charter that South African LIS should turn to the concept of ecosystem to provide the framework for concerted action.

The use of multipurpose community telecentres and their services in Malawi: the case of Lupaso Community Telecentre

Telecentres aim to bridge digital divides between rural and urban communities. In many developing countries, like Malawi, the assumption is that once telecentres are established, people will adopt them. The purpose of the study was to examine the factors influencing the use of telecentres in rural areas of developing countries by means of a case study of Lupaso Community Telecentre, in a remote region of Malawi. Following the example of a study of public computing facilities in Cape Town (Chigona & Licker 2008), the study employed Rogers’ Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) theory as a theoretical frame. Data were gathered through a mix of methodologies: questionnaires, interviews, observation, and records analysis. The study reveals that a large majority of users view the telecentre as an empowering project and are satisfied with its services. They perceive it to be improving human skills, helping the economy and strengthening the social capital of the surrounding community. However, it seems that the telecentre benefits only a small percentage of the community. Access is uneven. One surprising finding is that the centre’s Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are not the chief attraction. The factors that negatively impact on the use of the ICTs are lack of internet searching skills, frequent electricity blackouts, lack of local content, and fees charged. To fulfil their mission, it is recommended that telecentres in developing communities enhance their services with information literacy and literacy education programmes.

Moving Beyond "Outreach": Reflections on Two Case Studies of Community Library Services in South Africa

The paper examines the contribution, real and potential, of public libraries in South Africa to social inclusion by means of so-called outreach programmes. The discussion is grounded in two case studies of two community libraries - one rural, one urban. The argument is that what are often viewed as “outreach” programmes point the way to new models of library and information services (LIS), which will be meaningful to far more than the present tiny minority of South African library users and which thus might fulfil the vision of the LIS Transformation Charter of the National Council of Library and Information Services (NCLIS) (2009). The paper explores the meaning of library outreach in the international literature and then uses the insights gained from the outreach literature to examine the two cases.

Different Angles of Vision: teaching tales from the University of the Western Cape

Abstract Teaching at an historically black South African university, the University of the Western Cape, is shaped by an apartheid legacy including its initial function and impact on academic staff and students alike as a reproducer of knowledge, large, multilingual and under‐resourced classes, and students with poor schooling. This framing context, however, often obscures some of the detail, the individual and unique of experiences of teaching, as well as the common stories told by the university teachers. This paper explores four such ‘tales’ of teaching Library and Information Science, Chemistry and Computing, using description and interpretation to portray events in a way which enables a reader to participate empathetically. In all this there is no prescription offered for the ‘right’ way to teach, but rather a series of contextualised struggles to work with students in ways which enable their learning and which deepen the teachers’ own capacity to make worthwhile judgements about their own practice. ...

Libraries and a “Better Life for All”: The politics, processes, and promises of the South African LIS Transformation Charter

Abstract:The rhetoric of public librarianship includes many ringing claims for the role of libraries in democracy; and, on the twenty-first anniversary of democracy in South Africa, it is an opportune moment to examine the rather confusing fortunes of libraries since 1994. The library and information services (LIS) profession portrays libraries as agents of development and social transformation; yet, since 2009, more than twenty South African libraries have been destroyed in social protests. This paper reports on the work of the authors of the LIS Transformation Charter, which after a start-stop-start process of two phases over six years was delivered to the government in 2014. The paper analyzes the political and professional forces that influenced the charter-writing processes. The two fundamental arguments of the charter are that access to information, and thus to libraries, is a fundamental justiciable human right, both as a so-called freedom right and as an instrument of other economic, social, and cultural rights; and that transformation will depend on “ecosystems” thinking whereby the various subsectors collaborate to ensure seamless services and the equity of provision. The paper argues that the final LIS Transformation Charter maps a path for a transformed and integrated library system that has meaning for all sectors of South African society.

The African Renaissance and children's literature : is South African librarianship abdicating its role?

Traditionally, the library profession has taken a leadership role in the domain of childrens literature - as part of its social mission. In apartheid South Africa, librarians were responsible for research units, for prestigious awards andfor the professional competencies of childrens librarians. In championing childrens literature, librarians might contribute to the African Renaissance - the nation-building ideology being promoted in post-apartheid South Africa. The project that prompted this paper investigated the position of childrens literature in the education of librarians within 15 universities and technikons. It found childrens literature education to be in a precarious position with most of the historically advantaged institutions having dropped it. Those that retain childrens literature modules have inadequate resources. The apparent low priority given to childrens literature within the profession might be due to an unfortunate combination of pressures - within library employing organisations, the professional association and tertiary education.

The value of information in South Africa’s new democracy

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to trace and analyse the relationship between information and democracy in the old and in the new South Africa. The authors interrogate the applicability to the situation of the famous quotation attributed to Thomas Jefferson, “Information is the currency of Democracy”. Design/methodology/approach The authors frame the argument by analysing the differences in philosophy underpinning the state’s attitude to the free flow of information between the pre-democratic regime (often referred to as the Apartheid regime which came into power in 1948) and the current democratic state established in 1994. Findings While the philosophical approach between the two regimes is demonstrably different – the findings show the discontinuities – the authors also find evidence of continuities. The authors examine traces of recurrent patterns and propose reasons for their persistence. Originality/value Because South Africa is a very young democracy it presents unique opportunities for social scientists to analyse the unfolding of challenges and opportunities not readily apparent in mature democracies. The theme of the issue allowed us to study and observe the evolution and growth of policy related to the free flow of information, and also to examine the current drift between policy and practice.