LIASA Digimag - March 2021

Message from the LIASA President NIKKI CROWSTER LIASA PRESIDENT 2018-2021 The slogan “Libraries Matter!” provides the conversation starter for 2021 South African Library Week (SALW) celebrations. This annual event – a LIASA flagship project - highlights the value and impact of the services provided within the library and information services (LIS) sector and their practitioners to advance sustainable development agendas.

The 2021 theme is a rallying cry defiant in a global pandemic where the norm has been ravished by economic downturns, a dominant virus that has exacerbated loss of human lives and a requisite defensive response to lock ourselves away until it is safer.

The 2021 theme is a clarion call, an exhortation and reminder rolled into one that “Libraries Matter!”. It is a prompt to the national funders that notwithstanding its influence on the nation and the development agenda, libraries remain vulnerable to the vagaries of budget allocations and the immediate consequence is a loss of information services and of opportunity. Traditionally, libraries provide for that child who has nowhere else to study or the student who obtains project resources or those seeking leisure and social interaction. At this time, physical distancing is necessarily enforced so services have transformed accordingly to mitigate against this by mediating loans services with “drop off and collect” options; substituting physical browsing which is a potential vector for virus transmission and face-to-face advising with telephone or online consultations or online discoverability services. Online storytelling has become ubiquitous; but the creativity applied retains the sense of wonder and delight as we are plied with stories of all types. It is another form of learning supported by libraries during the current lockdown and curtailed services.

Libraries, information centres and suchlike, and library and information practitioners colloquially lumped into the name “librarians” are playing a core role in supporting the provision of information services designed to contribute to the uplifting of the human condition. The core role of the LIS sector and their practitioners and their contributions to achieving goals of societal advancement, of restoring the dignity of each person and providing opportunities to elevate each person in our society academically, economically and socially are clearly enunciated in past SALW themes as well: • Free your Mind - Read!

• Your Right to Read • Develop @ your library • Libraries: your key to the future • Libraries in a Decade of Democracy • Access for all @ your library • #libraries4lifelonglearning • Libraries: Heart of the Community

A Rallying Cry: “Why Libraries Matter!”

Partners in learning, nation building and development

The 2021 SALW rationale lists further why “Libraries Matter!” and reinforces the worth and influence of library and information services. It explains in part the ultimate truth why libraries and various forms of information services have been an intrinsic part of society since time immemorial. We have been adjusting to the changing needs of society along the ages to remain relevant. The staying power is in part due to the resilience of the practitioners – librarians etc – who continue to align services with the changing needs of society.

Striving to unite, develop and empower all institutions and people in the library and information field About LIASA THE impetus towards the formation of a unified professional association for the LIS sector began in 1993 with the Transforming Library and Information Services (TRANSLIS) project. This was carried forward in 1995 by the conference on Libraries and Information Services in Developing South Africa (LISDESA), continued through the Unification of Library and Information Stakeholders Conference (ULIS 1) and finally culminated at the ULIS 2 Conference, held in Pretoria in July 1997. At this ULIS 2 Conference, the Library and Information Association of South Africa (LIASA) was established and then officially launched on July 10, 1997. In 2015, this day has been declared South African Librarians’ Days, which has become one of LIASA’s flagship programmes.

The newly established association was aptly named LIASA, pronounced liyasa, meaning “the rising sun” in the Ngun languages, promising a new era for the Library and Information Services (LIS) sector in South Africa.

In 2014, LIASA was recognised as the Professional Body for the Library and Information services sector of South Africa, a status that was renewed in 2019.

This recognition is awarded by the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) according to the NQF Amendment Act 12 of 2019. As the Professional Body, LIASA strives to unite, develop and empower all institutions and people in the library and information field to provide dynamic leadership in transforming, developing and sustaining library and information services (LIS) for all people in South Africa.

Core Values • Providing leadership excellence to the profession, nationally and internationally.

• Ensuring professional conduct.

• Engaging in the highest ethical practice.

• Acknowledging and respect the diversity and individuality of all people.

• Leading the development and growth of the LIS profession through Vision excellence.

Dynamic association of excellence • Promote freedom of access to for the Library and Information information as enshrined in the Services sector.

Constitution of SA. • Championing the culture of reading Mission and life-long learning to build an The association that connects the informed nation.

LIS sector and promotes the • Committing to the development and development of South Africa through growth of South Africa through access to information. excellence in librarianship.

LIASA also represents the interests of and promotes the development and image of the library and information profession in South Africa, at local, provincial and national level to learners, the general public, government, and other agencies. Furthermore, LIASA represents the South African LIS sector at national and international level.

Background on South African Library Week LIASA,through its diverse membership, is driving the process to make SALibrary Week acelebration of our country’s intellectual and literacy heritage. Libraries across the country use this annual event as an opportunity in which to market their servicesto users, the broader community, civil society and also decision makers.

SA Library Week was initiated in 2001 by LIASA to be a commemorative period during which all types of libraries across the country use it as an opportunity to market their services and create awarenessof 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 in society.

The choice of the date commemorates the establishment by government proclamation of the first public library, the South African Public Library, now the National Library of South Africa (Cape Town Campus), on March 20, 1818.

The South African Library, in fact, started off as a true public library and has established itself as a pioneering institution in South African library history.

Furthermore, on March 21, we celebrate Human Rights Day and our Bill of Rights recognises the freedom of access to information as a basic human right.

An important historical event is thus linked with a crucial date in our democracy.

SALW was officially celebrated for the first time in 2002.

The week constitutes a flagship LIASA project and is celebrated by all types of libraries across the country through programmes and activities.

ABOUT SOUTH AFRICAN LIBRARY WEEK 2021 THE Library and Information Association of SouthAfrica (LIASA) is inviting you to join us from 15 – 21 March 2021 in celebrating South AfricanLibrary Week (SALW) with the theme“Libraries Matter!”

The past year has seen the whole world disrupted in ways that were unimaginable in March 2020 when LIASA presented the annual SALW celebration of all typesof libraries and the services they offer to all communities across South Africa.The global pandemic has upended life as we know it and libraries are no exception.

Despite this upheaval, many libraries have managed to operate in novel ways in orderto remain present and relevant in the lives of their user communities.

From online storytelling to remote access to databases, from kerbside pickups to online programming, libraries have managed to continue providing a service to their communities.

However, we cannot ignore the fact that to a large extent access to information and resources has been severely curtailed in all types of libraries, whether school,

Goals and the UN 2030 Agenda through, among others the inclusion of access to information, universal literacy, public access to Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and cultural heritage.

• Libraries assist in preserving and promoting our literary and cultural heritage.

• Libraries foster a literate society, from early literacy through storytelling and making materials available to children for reading and play, to providing access to a variety of reading and audio-visual materials for all ages, in all languages and reading formats.

• Libraries support academic success by providing access to valuable reference sources and They matter because: • Libraries value the right to freedom databases; they encourage further research and thus contribute to the of access to information and freedom of expression as enshrined growth of the knowledge base of the country. in our Bill of Rights and are a cornerstone of a democratic society. • Libraries provide access to the internet (wi-fi as well as public • Libraries provide communal computer access). spaces for social, cultural, political and economic interaction especially • Libraries support life-long learning in communities where such spaces by providing access to learning do not exist. programmes from the cradle to the • Libraries advance the United Nation’s Sustainable Development, grave. academic, public or special libraries.

Restriction on the number of onsite users and rising data costs have impacted severely on our most disadvantaged members of society, rendering libraries almost invisible and vulnerable to further costcutting measures.

South Africa has the largest and most well-developed LIS sector in Africa and we need to remind our entire society that Libraries Matter!

Now more than ever we should advocate for libraries and the role that they play in society. Now more than ever we should show that LIBRARIES MATTER!

Message from a longstanding member Free State KEITUMETSE BETSY EISTER LIASA PROFESSIONAL LIBRARIAN, MEMBERSHIP NO 29 THE 2021 Library Week theme “Libraries Matter!” is loaded, it is rich, it makes one think deeply and in earnest about the contributions the sector makes in developing South Africa as a reading nation that can make well-informed decisions in all areas of their lives.

The unfortunate instability in politics has derailed South Africa, which used to be a developing country on the right path.

Amid this reality, libraries still matter. One can say they even matter now more than ever before, as a means to providing access to well-researched and thus reliable information for citizens to indulge in, in building and improving their lives. I believe that a well-functioning country is as good as the strengths of its libraries and thus the strength of its reading citizens, therefore libraries do matter. The Free State has, over the years, seen growth in the development of infrastructure, the delivery of library and information services, the collaboration of library sectors through LIASA projects, and the growth in obtaining formal education and reskilling of library staff in new trends in the profession.

The academic sector has, for example, seen a sizeable number of library staff obtaining their qualifications, with many others advancing to Honours and Masters degrees, with at least four in the Free State alone currently busy with their doctoral studies.

The public library sector has, through the conditional grant, taken considerable strides towards ensuring that each town in the province has access to services, with technological developments that have become handy during this new normal. Flagship projects such as in the UFS and CUT LIS turned store rooms full of books in schools into functioning libraries as part of their annual Mandela Day contribution, the book launches that the UFS LIS has staged during the past 10 years, the establishment of the joint Free State Branch community reading lubs, are efforts from all angles, meant to establish the Free State as a reading province.

Other flagship projects, such as the annual UFS LIS Research Week and the now jointly staged UFS/CUT LIS Open Access Week, have contributed immensely towards this theme, supporting universities’ research goals. It was pleasing to have had one of the UFS NRF-rated researchers naming the library as the most functioning department in the university.

This is proof of the relevancy of this theme even in academia, with the strength of the library contributing towards the status of the university. The development is welcomed, even though libraries still have to prove themselves first, before they can be recognised.

It would be a worthwhile development if South Africa could recognise this value-adding service outright.

These, among others, are key developments in asserting the position of libraries, as a means towards raising awareness on the importance of information in developing citizens. The continuation and improvement of our invaluable services will steadily be seen as how libraries matter in developing South Africa as an informed nation.

THE 2021 Library Week theme “Libraries Matter!” is loaded, it is rich, it makes one think deeply

What is librarianship?

A LIBRARIAN is no longer the stereotypical lady with a grey bun shushing library users to keep quiet!

A librarian organises, researches and also presents information to his/her library’s users. Librarians work in a rapidly changing working environment and also need to embrace new and emerging information and communication technologies.

What does a library and information professional do?

Depending on where a librarian works, she/he may be involved in: • Selecting and purchasing of information resources; • Organising and managing information resources and facilities; • Managing electronic resources which includes licensing agreements and facilitating access to electronic databases, journals and books; • Creating and managing digital collections in institutional repositories; • Assisting library users in finding the materials or information they need and also training them in finding the resources on their own; • Organising library programmes, events and community outreach projects, such as holiday activities, and community learning programmes; • Marketing the library and its services; • Managing technologies and automated systems; • Creating and managing MakerSpaces (multidisciplinary collaborative and creative spaces where clients can engage, and share resources such as 3-D Printers, 3-D scanners and other electronic equipment).

Where do the opportunities lie?

• In public libraries; • In school libraries and media centres; • In university, university of technology, and technical vocational education and training college libraries; • In special libraries (for example, law libraries), resource centres, and information services; • In national libraries, which are responsible for material published in and relating to a specific country; • In allied fields where library training and skills are relevant, such as freelancing and lecturing.

A librarian needs the following skills: • Creative and innovative thinking; • Strong communication and people skills; • The ability to collaborate with others; • Organisational skills and the ability to give attention to detail; • Critical, flexible and problem-solving thinking skills; • Marketing and advocacy skills; and • Technological expertise.

• Post School Education • There are 10 Library and/or Information Schools in several provinces in South Africa.

Qualifications can be obtained through full-time, part-time or distance education

Professional Training Professional training required: • A qualification in Library and/or Information Science (B Bibl or B.Inf) on NQF Level 7; or • A Bachelor’s degree in a different field of study followed by a Postgraduate Diploma in Library and Information Science.

• The undergraduate university degrees allow for further study towards honours, masters and doctorate degrees in Library and/or Information Science. Entrance requirements to university studies are determined by the university concerned.

For more information on the various Library Schools, click here. https://www.liasa.org.za/page/formal_studies

Support staff or library assistants without formal post-school qualifications fill non-professional or para-professional positions. They perform important routine and support tasks in library and information services. The educational requirement is generally a senior certificate.

Message from a longstanding member Gauteng JOHN VAN NIEKERK LIASA MEMBERSHIP NO 75 LIBRARIES matter very simply because people need them. Some lucky individuals have the resources and skills to take care of their reading needs themselves, but many don’t and for these people libraries are indispensable.

Libraries are generally community organisations, whether the community is a neighbourhood, a town, an educational institution, a research body, a business or even an entire country where people pool resources to give access to reading and information for the benefit of the community: A young child starting to explore the world, learning to read, entranced by wonders all around and needing answers to what, why and how.

An older child searching for new and different reading experiences and sometimes reading in a more consciously practical way for learning.

A student needing specialised information to develop specific skills for a career.

An adult constantly using information at work and home or unwinding at the end of the day with a good read.

An elder in the twilight of life enjoying the reading they struggled to find time for before.

And countless others. Technology through the ages has helped to bring information closer to us and to more people.

From early writing on clay tablets and other surfaces, the use of papyrus paper, introduction of the printing press, computers, the internet, smart phones, social media and others, there has been relentless and ever quickening progress in bringing the written and spoken word to us for acquiring and transferring knowledge and also for fun.

However, people and institutions are needed to organise and make all this accessible. The library is not the only role player in this space, but it focuses its activities on the needs of a specific community and so it matters very much to that community. Librarians have been trained to evaluate the mass of reading and information available, as well as the needs of their communities, and so can match up the two.

In difficult times like now, the challenge is even greater for libraries to respond to their communities with commitment and innovation. Libraries matter but how much depends on their response. On a more personal note, I remember as a young child being first enticed to a small public library by a shelf with a collection of tattered comics that I devoured before moving on to other fare and a lifetime attachment to libraries. Now, as a pensioner, I sometimes re-discover authors I first encountered ages ago and it is like connecting again with an old friend. Thanks to the library for bringing us together.

LIBRARIES matter very simply because people need them

Message from a longstanding member Northern Cape MRS MANDA HOUGH LIASA MEMBERSHIP NO 2333 I GREW up in a house full of books and stories. My mom read us a story every night before we went to sleep. When we were old enough to become library members she introduced us to the Kimberley Public Library. I could not wait to go every week to take out my own books. I still have fond memories of the old building and the staircase we used to get to the children’s library on the second floor. Today this building houses the Africana Research Library and I still think with fondness of my first encounter with the library as a toddler each time I visit the Africana Library.

When the library moved to a new building, I was allowed to visit the library with my bicycle and now I could go as many times a week as I wanted. I always wanted to take out more books than the three I was allowed on my membership card. I came up with a good plan – or so I thought. I hid the extra books in the adult section on a shelf behind the adult books. I could never understand why the books were gone when I came back in a few days – not knowing that the library staff did shelf reading every day!

My grandmother was a librarian in Jeffreys Bay. Each December holiday when we would visit them I would go to the library with her and helped her “work”.

Libraries introduced me to people and places I would never have known if I did not have access to a library. In the school library we learned how to handle a book and what not to do while reading like eating, drinking or making donkey ears. Libraries helped me through school and university.

When the adults did not know, the library always had an answer.

Needless to say, I became a librarian and today I am working in the same libraries that I visited as a child!

Today Libraries Matter even more than they did 30 years ago. Libraries fill the gap brought about by the digital divide in today’s society. Besides serving as a treasure cove of information for research and leisure purposes, the library provide access to Information and Communication Technologies to those who does not have the means. It aids in helping people find employment, and students advancing their academic goals by using the ICT and study facilities available.

The library is an important corner stone in the community, especially in the Northern Cape with our huge social inequalities.

Libraries help build healthy societies and serve as much-needed religious and cultural hubs as well as safe havens for children and adults alike where they can escape their daily difficulties, meet interesting people, grow friendships, tell their stories to the librarians, while at the same time keeping abreast with current affairs.

Libraries and librarians are unsung heroes: we play an important role in making our communities a better place. Be proud of your library - #librariesmatter!

Libraries fill the gap brought about by the digital divide in today’s society.

Message from a longstanding member North West NELISIWE B KAUNDA LIASA MEMBERSHIP NO 4069 LIBRARIES are a beacon of hope and a cornerstone of knowledge that encourage critical thinking because of a multi-functional utility that extends beyond a solace where a print collection is stored. Provision of digital resources such as electronic books and online platforms ensures that learning continues beyond the classroom and physical access to the library.

Availability of databases enables virtual access and streamlines the process of finding authentic information from peerreviewed journals. This assists in better understanding of varying topics and world-wide views and promotes a research culture.

Libraries have a plethora of information materials which supports and enhances their mission of teaching and learning, research and scholarship.

Although services provided are primarily for the academic community, some services can be extended to a larger society through collaborative projects. Providing timely and relevant information in an academic setting is imperative for students’ successes. Integrated technology solutions enable mainstreaming information products and services to myriad networked devices.

Libraries serve as conducive study spaces where students can use dedicated quiet areas to focus and study effectively on their coursework. This is especially important for students who cannot access such study spaces elsewhere at their homes or in their communities. This applies from primary school through to tertiary students. Libraries are a safe space in communities. Despite the growing trend of noisy places in libraries, the demand for silent spaces by students and researchers is high. Therefore most libraries make an effort to provide spaces which meet different learning styles.

Libraries promote and reflect important democratic values, such as bridging the economic and technology divide by providing internet stations, wi-fi and establishing forums which debate sensitive and other relevant issues in society. Information hubs are established for convenient resource sharing, while hosting book clubs promotes information literacy and lifelong learning in support of personal growth and academic excellence. Libraries advocate the preservation of historical records and artefacts to enhance cultural values. Public libraries provide services and programmes that are community focused and geared to promoting social cohesion. Sustainable economic development is achieved.

Libraries serve as conducive study spaces where students can use dedicated quiet areas to focus and study effectively on their coursework.

Message from a longstanding member Western Cape NATALIE LEWIS LIASA MEMBERSHIP NO 53 GROWING up, surrounded by books and visiting the library from an early age, one tends to take for granted that books and reading is a part of every child’s life.

That is what I thought in any case. Many years later, when my own kids were babies, our bedtime ritual became part of our daily routine; like brushing your teeth and saying your prayers. They would not go to sleep unless I lay down between them and read a story and sang all the nursery rhymes from their favourite book.

Fast forward to the present day and almost 40 years experience working in community libraries, I can attest to what an impact libraries and librarians have on people’s lives. Why do libraries matter?

Libraries matter because due to the lack of a “coloured” library in Paarl, my farther took us to Wellington Readers Library, and later campaigned for a new library in our own area.

Without Drakenstein Library, I would not have been able to take my own kids to the winter and summer holiday programmes at the library. Together with hundreds of other children from the area, they took part in activities, arts and crafts, stories and puppet shows - nurturing the love of reading and books and exposing them to wonders beyond their imaginations.

Groenheuwel Library was established out of desperation in the one-roomed office of a pauper graveyard for the poor community of Fairyland by an assistant librarian who saw the need for a library in her community. It now boasts a state- of-the-art “House of Learning Library” with public use computers and free internet access, meeting areas and a quiet place in which to study, as well as a beautifully decorated children’s area with colourful murals.

“Libraries Matter” because students and learners flock to Paarl Library after school to do research, finish their homework, study, or read the latest magazines or just “chill” on the stoep while waiting for their parents to collect them.

“Libraries Matter” because young adults looking for employment will turn to the library where they will get the help they need to write a CV and apply for vacancies on online portals.

“Libraries Matter” because an unschooled parent enrolling a child for Grade R or Grade 1 for the first time will stop at their local library where they are sure to get the expert help and assistance in uploading all the required documents and they’re even assisted in opening an email account for the first time. They will visit the library often to check for incoming correspondence on their newly created email accounts.

“Libraries Matter” when the official checking documents at the tax office door tells an older person to go to the library up the road, to ask them to send an email to their medical aid scheme for their tax certificate, it will be emailed to the library’s email address and printed for them, all at the local library!

So YES, libraries do matter! More so, in this time of the pandemic, because I have seen the impact and change libraries and librarians have made in the lives of individuals and communities. I have personal experience of how the love of reading positively contributed to my children’s education and success in their careers.

Libraries matter when you see the sigh of relief on a visitor’s face when you tell them they can make a copy of an original and have it certified at the library. Moreover, when the community starts complaining because the library closed for half a day because the librarian is attending a training course or meeting, then everybody should know that #LibrariesMatter because librarians care.

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