Department of Library and Information Science
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Browsing by Subject "Cape Town"
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Item City of Cape Town libraries' segregated history: 1952-1972(University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2015) Laishley, Kathleen; Zinn, SandyThis article investigates the history and development of the Cape Town City Libraries (CTCL) from 1952-1972 and examines the effect of apartheid legislation on establishing a public library system. Legislation introduced by the National Party enforced segregation which brought CTCL into conflict with library philosophy. This legislation determined who the CTCL could serve and where they could serve them. The findings show that CTCL extended the library service to more people and increased the number of facilities, membership and circulation but in a segregated manner. CTCL was not able to meet the library philosophy of free access to all.Item Places for all? Cape Town's public library services to gays and lesbians(Library and Information Association of South Africa, 2010) Hart, Genevieve; Mfazo, NcumisaThe article reports on an investigation of the provision of gay and lesbian literature and of information services to gays and lesbians in Cape Town�s public libraries. Although by definition public libraries serve all members of a community, the international literature suggests that they neglect the reading and information needs and interests of gays and lesbians. The progressive South African Constitution views the rights of gays and lesbians as human rights; yet homophobia is prevalent. Using a questionnaire, the study explored attitudes and practices of 69 senior librarians, responsible for collection development, across all six of Cape Town�s library districts. The situation was found to be �spotty� with only 26 respondents believing that their library service is meeting the needs of gays and lesbians. The survey found contradictions between stated beliefs and behaviours. Thus, although most agree that LGBT rights to information and equal services are human rights, only 55% consider LGBT people in their selection procedures and very little material is acquired. Information services are thin with, for example, only 10% of the libraries in the survey providing LGBT related information in their community information files.Item Public Libraries Stepping into the Gap?: A Study of School Learners' Use of Libraries in a Disadvantaged Community in Cape Town(University of Alberta Libraries, 2021) Hart, GenevievAccording to public library staff none of the Vista schools has a functioning library or a librarian on its staff. In itslack of school libraries Vista is no different from other parts of South Africa. Less than a third of South African schoolshave any sort of library (Department of Education, 1999). Yet South Africa's new curriculum's shift from rote-learningand examinations towards constructivist resource-based approaches expects schools to engage in independent projectand portfolio work.Given the demands of the new curriculum and given the shortage of school libraries, in the past few years therehave been suggestions that South Africa's fairly well-developed public library system might step into the gap and play amore explicitly educational role. At the same time, in public library circles throughout Africa, there have beensuggestions that we need a different model of public librarianship from that in the developed world (Sturges & Neill,1998; Issak, 2000). In the developing world, where school library services are inadequate and where the targetpopulation of libraries is largely youth, the argument is that providing for formal education might well be a primaryfunction of public library services. And indeed there is evidence that South African libraries are moving in thiseducational direction. The annual reports of the large provincial public library governance structures show that they arespending a bigger slice of their budget on educational materials. And at most gatherings of public librarians in SouthAfrica there are calls for increased funds to cope with the pressures of increased school use (Hendrikz, 1998; Leach,1998).Item Searching for new library models: Two South African case studies of services to youth(2012) Hart, GenevieveSouth Africa is a youthful society with 54% younger than 24 years. South African young people face disproportionately high rates of unemployment, HIV-AIDS infection, and violent crime. Even in post-apartheid South Africa, the disparities between the historically white and black sectors of schooling are still evident. The implications of the �youth bulge� for South African librarianship are clear. However, public and school libraries face daunting challenges. Fewer than 10% of schools have functioning school libraries and millions of South Africans do not have access to public libraries. Clearly innovative models of service must be found to reach more than the current tiny minority of library users. The paper reports on two case studies of community library services: one a group of dual-use libraries set up in six remote schools as public library �outreach�, and the second a so-called �satellite� library in a township on the outskirts of Cape Town. Their environments and operations are very different; but what they have in common is a willingness to break down conventional barriers and to move into fresh ground. The paper argues that they point to new models of service which, by moving beyond the concept of �outreach�, offer solutions to developing new kinds of library services in South Africa and perhaps in other countries with similar challenges. The sites might well fall short of rigorous international standards but both are imaginative attempts to meet the needs of young South Africans.Item Use of social media as a marketing and information provision tool by the City of Cape Town Libraries(AOSIS, 2022) Masizana, Fikiswa; Salubi, Oghenere G.Social media use by libraries has facilitated communication and marketing of services to user communities. The City of Cape Town Libraries adopted social media usage in the 2015�2016 financial year. This study is set out to assess librarians� perception and response to the implementation and adoption of social media for library services. The research sought to appraise the City of Cape Town public librarians� experiences of social media use in the provision of information services, evaluate librarians� perceptions of social media use for information provision services and recommend ways in which social media information services provision can be improved upon.