Bridging the information divide: libraries unite to meet information needs in Africa's poorest communities
Six Directors of African national library services gathered in London last week and came up with new thinking to help them address the book and information needs of Africa's most disadvantaged communities. Key Book Aid International staff co-facilitated the workshop, which was funded by the Department for International Development. Five days of workshops and meetings allowed them to frame solutions to the leadership challenges they face, such as funding shortages, lack of policy recognition and the immense diversity of needs in the communities that they serve.
While the West manufactures and ingests a glut of information every day the vast majority of Africans subsist on very little. Media is underdeveloped, internet access is limited to a privileged few and the most basic tools of literacy and learning, in the form of school textbooks, must often be shared between six or more pupils. A tiny local publishing sector produces books that only a middle class minority can afford, whilst library services lack the budget to stock their shelves or indeed to replace books that have become tattered from overuse. Change is needed to ensure people of all ages gain literacy skills, quality education, and the opportunity to underpin poverty reduction.
All workshop participants reaffirmed their commitment to tackling poverty and supporting development through enhancing public access to books and information services. Deborah Nyabundi of Kenya National Library Service spoke of how “the librarian is stepping out of the box and is going out into the community to bring changes through information”.
Libraries have a key role to play in the delivery of education goals and in maintaining people's literacy skills for life. Sara Harrity, Book Aid International's Director spoke to guests at a reception held in Pearson's building at 80 The Strand on 16th November:
“I've been lucky to travel to many countries in sub Saharan Africa for this job, and I never cease to be amazed at the extraordinary commitment there is to education and how much is being achieved with so little - the school children you see from the poorest families beautifully turned out in their school uniforms - and people queuing up to get into libraries.
“Now more than ever we need to work together and co-ordinate efforts across the whole sector - by which I mean the thorough integration of libraries into education, and education goals. Book Aid International will continue to provide support to Africa's libraries through book donations and training to help strengthen human capacity. The work we are all doing is at the very heart of human development, and we need to push it up the political agenda so it gets the recognition it deserves.”
Book Aid International is now looking into ways to respond to the challenges identified during this workshop and direct its programmes to have the greatest impact on education and poverty reduction in African communities. There still remains a huge need for books so that people throughout Africa, in every village and every town, can access books that will enable them to read, and through reading to acquire skills that will enhance their lives and livelihoods.