Libraries have a powerful story to tell

South African Library Week is a weeklong celebration when all types of libraries across the country use it as an opportunity to market their services in an effort to contribute to the understanding of the important role that libraries play in a democratic society, advancing literacy, making the basic human right of freedom of access to information a reality, and to promote tolerance and respect among all South Africans.

This year LIASA in partnership with the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture and Sabinet is celebrating South African Library Week from March 20 to 26 with the theme “Libraries: telling powerful stories”. Furthermore, we celebrate human Rights Day on March 21 and our Bill of Rights recognises the freedom of access to information as a basic human right. We are therefore able to link an important historical event with a crucial date in our democracy; a date synonymous with powerful stories. humans have told stories for as long as we can remember. these stories are used to share news, amplify the accomplishments of heroes, and pass on cultural traditions, and transfer knowledge and history. Libraries have been central in collecting, preserving and sharing these stories. Stories make difficult information easier to understand. Stories can change the future for the better. this year, for South African Library Week, let us focus on telling those stories, but also focus on the achievements of libraries in South Africa over the years, as libraries transform to fit into the New World.

Libraries are currently facing many challenges including funding constraints, the provisioning of adequate and relevant materials, infrastructure problems, insufficient internet access and connectivity, inadequate disaster management and vandalism.

These challenges are not new and speak to the resilience of libraries. It is human nature to highlight challenges more than achievements. But this year for South African Library Week, LIASA, in partnership with the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture and Sabinet, will focus on what libraries are doing right, what libraries have achieved, telling the positive stories. technology has transformed how we find and use books, how we gather information, and how we learn. the fourth industrial revolution has shifted the landscape and how we tell these stories which have contributed to global knowledge, memory and communication. these stories will help in highlighting the importance and the value of libraries to all. Let’s take ownership and use storytelling to communicate more effectively with our communities. Libraries have a powerful story to tell. You, me, each and every one of us have a powerful story to tell.

Libraries are the heart of a community; they provide not only access to books in all formats, but also a space for knowledge, access to information for all, and occasionally offer an escape from the harsh realities. We know that libraries are in the midst of a dramatic change.

Libraries in South Africa are transforming the stories that they share and how they share them. this includes the platforms that are used to tell these stories, whether they are recreational, educational,or historical. Despite the challenges that libraries are facing, libraries have persevered and continue to add to the good stories that they tell.

Librarians understand the power of storytelling more than most. A good story draws you in, shows you different ways to think, and touches your mind and heart and life. Yet, even when in the business of sharing stories, as libraries it is easy to forget the power of our own story—why we love working for the library and our communities, what our libraries have achieved, and what we have learned along the way.