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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.
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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.
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.
