Cash-strapped libraries throughout South Africa face fresh financial hardships that could cause many to collapse. Librarians fear that budget cuts and new funding mechanisms will bring many more cash-strapped public libraries to their knees.
Before 1996 both provincial and local governments were responsible for public libraries. The provincial government would provide books and other materials and distribute them to the libraries; the municipalities would provide and maintain the buildings and be responsible for staff. Now only the provinces budget for public libraries.
”The municipalities have already indicated that they are not going to budget for libraries this year. Meanwhile provincial governments say they are not ready to take over all of the responsibilities,” said Robert Moropa, chairperson of the Library and Information Association of South Africa (Liasa). Liasa represents librarians across South Africa.
”Discussions haven’t been held to say what is going to happen with library budgets for the year,” said Moropa. ”To most officials, libraries are not a priority because their benefits are not direct. Officials would rather take the money and improve the supply of electricity, for instance, because people pay for it and hence they make money, whereas with libraries, you can’t see the benefits immediately.”
He said undersupplying libraries would have disastrous effects, from high illiteracy rates to dependency and a shortage of skills. And the people who need libraries the most will suffer the most.
”Library and information services in South Africa have not changed much since 1994. Instead there is great uncertainty about the service. Very few new libraries have been built since 1994,” said Tshidi Makhafola, of Liasa’s Limpopo branch. ”In Limpopo, for example, 11 new libraries have been built since 1994. Of these, only two were built with government funds. The other nine were [built with] donations from various sources.”
Makhafola said few companies and other donors fund libraries.
The outcomes-based education syllabus adopted by the Department of Education has added to libraries’ burden. ”Librarians are bombarded with educational queries every day. Most schools do not have libraries, and one wonders what is happening with the children who stay in locations and rural areas where there are no libraries,” said Makhafola.
Busi Dlamini, the Gauteng Department of Education’s head of the education resources unit for school libraries, said the situation was not altogether bad. ”Resources have been provided to disadvantaged schools, and special attention has been given to rural schools. A mobile library service is provided to 21 rural schools and schools in informal settlements.”
She said the biggest stumbling block was that schools were not allocated librarians. ”Educators have to manage the library in addition to their normal teaching load.”
Joan Rapp, library director at the University of Cape Town, said the high cost of material had hammered libraries, as the value of the rand has dropped in recent years. ”Library materials cost so much because they are bought overseas. Public libraries have been starved of resources. Some have even stopped buying books.”
She said most university libraries were better off than public libraries, but many of their students had never had access to libraries and had to be taught how to use them and the Internet.
A paper presented to the American Library Association Conference in Atlanta last year reported that South Africa had about 11 400 libraries: 77 at institutions of higher learning, 9 416 school libraries, 79 government department libraries, one national library with branches in Cape Town and Pretoria, and 1 800 provincial and metro libraries. Only 10% of the high schools have libraries.
Peter Coates, secretary of Friends of the National Library, a support group that promotes public interest in the work of the library and in the preservation of South Africa’s literary heritage, said that public libraries were in a desperate state because of lack of funds.
He said the National Library was collapsing. ”The National Library is grossly under funded. The cost of books is enormous. Staff costs are enormous, though a librarian’s salary isn’t at all attractive. So you find that libraries have to cut back on professional staff because there isn’t any money.”
Coates said a library he worked for in 1999 went bankrupt and had to lay off 40% of its staff. ”Some libraries have to go to flea markets and book sales to get their stock.”
”Libraries provide access to information, ideas and works of imagination,” said Liasa. ”They serve as gateways to knowledge, thought and culture. They offer stimulating activities, media and reading matter that help to keep young people off the streets. They offer cultural and recreational programmes that make communities better places to live in. They offer community members opportunities to improve their skills and their employability, thus expanding the alternatives to crime.”
Liasa says the government should support discounts on telecommunications services for libraries and schools, and create and disseminate easy-to-use information. The group wants value-added tax to be abolished on books, magazines and other information media of educational value. At a time of low exchange rates and budget cuts, the move would make it easier for libraries to restock.