Sandy Zinn

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 Information Literacy Self-efficacy of Disadvantaged Teachers in South Africa

The aim of this study was to gauge teachers’ information literacy self-efficacy thereby eliciting clues to possible gaps in teachers’ knowledge and skills which could be addressed during an information literacy education course. Twenty nine teachers completed a pre-and post-course information literacy questionnaire. The teachers were part of a school librarianship programme offered at the University of the Western Cape. The results of the study indicate that the intervention of the course had a positive effect on teachers’ information literacy.

Assessing the appropriation of social media by academic librarians in South Africa and Zimbabwe

Research into the appropriation of social media by academic libraries in countries with growing economies is scarce. There remains an empirical and theoretical gap in the literature about how librarians, particularly those in Southern Africa, are deploying social media in their work routines and in their personal lives. Based on one of the researchers’ experiences at the National University of Science and Technology (NUST) Library and both researchers’ use of the University of the Western Cape (UWC) Library, the researchers aimed to examine the way librarians deploy and appropriate social media platforms as part of their service delivery. Using data derived from a questionnaire survey among librarians at UWC in South Africa and NUST in Zimbabwe, this study examined how librarians use social media for professional and personal purposes. The findings suggest that UWC librarians are more proficient social media users than NUST librarians. They further reveal that UWC librarians themselves are managing social media, while at NUST, the Information Technology department is directly responsible for managing the platforms. The study found that UWC Library utilises social media to promote its services more widely, whereas the NUST Library uses social media for reference services.

Readiness to adopt e-learning: pioneering a course in school librarianship education

E-learning has come of age in South African higher education but scepticism, caution and an inadequate reward system for innovative teaching methods have resulted in a slow uptake by academics. Within this milieu the author pioneered a course in the ACE School Librarianship programme. The study describes the e-learning experiences of the course participants gleaned from questionnaire responses to questions related to experiences of ICTs, the Internet and online learning, ability to navigate the e-learning environment, utilization of elements of the learning management system and implementation of course ideas in their respective schools and personal lives. The study also provides an opportunity for the author to reflect on her pioneering experiences with e-learning and how she would approach it differently next time. The main lessons learned were that 1) the e-learning environment is not necessarily intuitive and participants need opportunities to digest novel features such as the discussion forum; 2) several of the advantages and disadvantages of e-learning that appear in the research literature are identified in this study; and 3) setting up an e-learning course is best achieved incrementally.

Information Literacy Education in the South African Classroom: Reflections from Teachers’ Journals in the Western Cape Province

Abstract This qualitative study reports on teachers in the Western Cape as they attempt to embed information literacy in their classrooms. It explores how teachers come to understand information literacy and the extent to which they change their beliefs about guiding research projects in a more concerted way. The research questions were: (1) how do teachers understand information literacy education? (2) how do teachers make their information literacy explicit in the classroom? and (3) at what level are teachers’ web knowledge and skills? The teachers, who were part of an information literacy education course, formed a purposive sample. The data for this study emanated from solicited, reflective journals which participants kept over a period of eight to 10 weeks. Information seeking and use theory and an inquiry-based approach to learning frame this research. Motivation for the study is rooted in a curriculum which embodies information literacy characteristics. Traditionally, information literacy has been the domain of the school librarian. Only 16.82 % of South African schools have a stocked library. With so few school libraries and no official position in schools for a qualified school librarian, the onus for teaching information literacy thus rests on the teacher. This article provides the context for South African education and a review of the information literacy literature with an emphasis on South Africa and teachers’ information literacy. The results show that, despite many obstacles in these teachers’ paths, they express a fairly sound understanding of information literacy education by the end of the journaling exercise. However, fewer teachers can competently mediate information literacy in the classroom. One of the major barriers to information literacy is the teachers’ slow adoption of the World Wide Web. Recommendations for further study include examining teacher education programmes for their inclusion of information literacy education; for awareness of plagiarism and the ethics of information use in the school environment; and the effect of information and communication technology on learners’ information literacy.