From borders and landscape to ecosystem: reconfiguring library services to meet the needs of South African youth
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Date
2013
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
LIASA, Stellenbosch University
Abstract
In this article we consider the configuration of the South African library and information services (LIS) sector, and analyse the extent to which its structuring facilitates or hinders optimum service to the children and youth of South Africa. The background to our investigation is the crisis in public schooling and the plight of South African youth who suffer disproportionate rates of poverty and unemployment. In our investigation we examine the planning and practice in two new libraries - one a community library, and one a joint-use library for learners and local residents - in an effort to establish the extent to which libraries may partner with schools to take advantage of new thinking that recommends a whole system approach, encapsulated in the metaphor of LIS as an ecosystem. We conclude that this new approach might generate models of service delivery that transcend boundaries that traditionally delineate and confine sub-sectors in the LIS sector.
Description
Keywords
Public libraries, School libraries, Library as ecosystem, South Africa, Collaboration
Citation
Hart, G. and Nassimbeni, M. (2013). From borders and landscape to ecosystem: reconfiguring library services to meet the needs of South African youth. South African Journal of Libraries and Information Science, 79 (1): 13-21