Libraries in crisis

Martha Legong* argues that the crisis of literacy is linked to other community struggles, and that together, community users and librarians need to organise and lead the movement for literacy.

Reading opens minds, increases knowledge and provides access to writing. For reading to take place there should be, amongst other things, resources and an atmosphere that encourages, supports and facilitates the reading process. Facilities that offer these are libraries, and resource and information centres. Libraries play an important role not only in reading, writing and educating the masses, but also in organising people for different struggles.

The current struggles in the publishing industry, coupled with the crisis of resistance in working class communities raises the question about the role of libraries in and their impact on the communities’ struggles. This article explores specifically the role and experiences of community or public libraries in the time of crisis.

The crisis in libraries

Libraries in South Africa have been characterized by a number of struggles and challenges ranging from a lack of resources to deficiencies in the way in which they are structured. We look at some of these challenges and possible remedies.

The structure of libraries in South Africa

The library and information service sector in South Africa includes the following:

The National Library Service (NLSA);

Libraries which serve Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) including colleges, universities, public and community libraries that fall under the Department of Arts and Culture;

School libraries;

Special libraries including those in private organisations and government departments; and

Professional publishing and information associations like the Library and Information Association of South Africa (LIASA).

This sector is governed by a number of Laws and Acts that regulate and legislate the provision of library services in the respective libraries. However there are grey areas with regards to responsibility for the provision of certain library services. For instance, who should be responsible for the library service in schools?

The impact of the global economic crisis

Libraries, especially in disadvantaged communities, have always been scarce, unavailable and/or under- resourced. This has been a phenomenon since the apartheid years but still prevails today. Libraries are characterised by a lack of funding caused by the decline in government spending. The casualties are mostly community and public libraries. The global economic crisis accelerated the budget cuts in libraries internationally. This caused libraries to cut subscriptions and the purchase of materials that affected the publishing industry negatively. The publishing industry was faced with challenges of fewer book orders and had to renegotiate and reduce their prices.

Public libraries

Public libraries have had to find alternative sources of funding and each have their own challenges such as control of the library and other issues. In community libraries, librarians often do not have decision-making powers when it comes to the library’s book collection.

The purchasing and subscriptions of books is done at regional offices run by municipalities. This often limits the librarians and the library user’s choice of materials in their particular library. This is often caused by the bureaucracy in the public library system which limits the services offered.

The challenge of school libraries

Even though it is proven that access to a library can improve a learner’s performance, in South Africa less than 7% of schools have a functional and well equipped school library – and these are largely in white, middle class areas. The few libraries that exist in black township and rural schools are run by teachers and not librarians. The libraries are therefore are not fully operational during school hours as teachers also have classes to attend to.

This creates a situation where the public libraries have to supplement and provide the service that school libraries do not provide and results in more pressure on an already struggling public library service.

Initiatives and current campaigns

There are initiatives to improve literacy in the country, although the methods are different.

One school one librarian campaign.

On Human Rights day in 2010, 1 000 school children marched in the streets to demand functional school libraries. The campaign was coordinated by Equal Education, a movement that advocates for access to well equipped functional libraries in all South African schools.

Keleketla Library is based in the inner city of Johannesburg and was originally developed out of the idea of a library that would serve as a home for a variety of creative activities. The project has now grown to include daily creative workshops for children and young people living in the city, monthly Art Days, weekly open-air film screenings, and monthly workshops and seminars aimed at young people.

Chimurenga Library project is an online archiving project that profiles independent Pan-African journals and periodicals. It focuses on cultural and literary magazines in and about Africa. Visitors to the online library can join the conversation by adding comments and updating information.

Organising against the crisis

The library sector together with communities need to understand that the crisis of literacy is not a separate issue from other community struggles, brought about by the inequalities and disparities of the past.

An analysis of the relationship between literacy and the political and the economic crisis is needed to inform solutions. This calls for an awareness of the history of working class communities and the struggle for literacy in the country. Activism, advocacy and organising in libraries together with library staff needs to reflect this understanding. In South Africa there is not yet a strong and large literacy and library movement that is equipped to organise and fight from a political point of view.

Library users in communities need to inform and lead the fight for access to resources. One way of doing this is through the formation of organised groups of readers that mobilises for change around issues of literacy. Librarians should encourage and support the formation of these groups, and assist in the managing / administration of them.

Annual Jozi Book Fair

The Jozi Book Fair initiative prioritises and addresses the challenges of reading and writing in working class communities. As a Fair for readers, writers and small publishers, the Jozi Book Fair works with libraries and communities in a variety of activities leading up to, during and after the Fair.

These activities include visiting libraries, forming networks with them, getting involved in literacy projects, organising events such as book launches and meet the author sessions at libraries, inviting librarians and library users to the Jozi Book Fair event and assisting in the formation and support of organised group of readers in libraries. The engagement with libraries is a step towards addressing some of the challenges that public libraries are going through.