Durban — The Library and Information Association of SA (Liasa) and a Durban school celebrated South Africa’s literary and intellectual heritage as part of SA Library Week, from March 20 to 26.
Danville Park Girls’ High School’s marketing and public relations officer Cathy Gilmour expressed the importance of celebrating the week and how it has inspired pupils at the school.
“SA Library Week is an opportunity to highlight this and draw attention to how vitally important library spaces are. This year, Liasa publicised SA Library Week on their website with the theme, ‘Libraries: telling powerful stories’,” she said.
“To me, this theme means that stories can entertain, communicate, educate, comfort, and challenge. They can open up worlds we don’t know about, touch our hearts and minds, and show us different ways to think,” said senior librarian Fiona Coventry.
“SA Library Week is an opportunity to highlight this and draw attention to how vitally important library spaces are. This year, Liasa publicised SA Library Week on their website, which inspired us to ask our learners what the Danville library means to them, via an interactive display,” said Coventry.
Coventry added that some of the pupils’ answers were that the library provides a second home to them. Others said it is a place where they can escape and do their homework in peace. Other answers included: it’s a place to relax and read; freedom to express and share love for books; a safe haven from the outside world; a place where one can unwind and relax after a long day.
Coventry said the school library had about 300 pupils visiting daily.
“Our library is a very well-used space. We have a strong reading culture so learners are always taking out books, and we host weekly book club sessions. They also come for computer research and printing, to relax and read on beanbags, to study or do homework, and it is also a refuge from the busy school environment outside.
“We also have numerous events throughout the year to encourage those who are not regular library users to visit: bookmark design competitions, Harry Potter quizzes, lunchtime discussions, book bingo challenges and regularly changing displays,” said librarian Gail Wellbeloved.
Coventry said the Danville library has more than 8 400 fiction books and that most of the pupils favour fantasy and romance novels.
“The library staff constantly strive to build a collection that appeals to a wide variety of tastes and preferences for learners and staff,” said Coventry.
Liasa’s vision is for a dynamic association of excellence for the Library and Information Services sector.
Liasa national secretary Mokgadi Senyolo said the purpose of this week was for libraries to create an awareness about the facility and to market their services to potential patrons and users.
“This week was created purposely to align with Human Rights Day or fall within Human Rights Day to bridge the literacy gap within our communities. This can be done by advancing literacy, making the basic human right of freedom of access to information a reality, and to promote tolerance and respect among all South Africans,” said Senyolo.
“We invite communities, especially parents, to introduce their children to libraries. Across the country, libraries will be celebrating this week with different activities that cater not only to the traditional aspects of libraries as previously known, but also to the socio-economic issues of each community,” said Senyolo.
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