NIWAN ready to welcome participants to the XXIV SCECSAL Conference

NIWAN delegation in 2018 at the XXIII SCECSAL Conference
in Uganda accepted to host the XXIV SCECSAL Conference

The National Information Workers Association of Namibia (NIWAN) is ready to welcome participants to the twenty-fourth Standing Conference of Eastern, Central and Southern African Library and Information Associations (SCECSAL) which kicks off on Monday, 8 February and runs to 11 February in Windhoek, Namibia. 

 Honourable Professor Peter Katjavivi, the Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Namibia, will officially open the conference, and the Minister of Education, Honourable Ms Ester Anna Nghipondoka, will deliver a statement during the opening session scheduled to take place at the Hotel Safari in Windhoek. 

The conference, on the theme - Inclusive Libraries and Information Services Towards Achieving Prosperity for Sustainable Development in Africa - will be the first SCECSAL biennial conference to combine virtual and onsite delivery of papers and will be graced by more than 50 paper presenters, including academicians, researchers and library and information practitioners, from Namibia, South Africa, the United States of America, Ghana, Nigeria, Zambia, Botswana, among others.

Among others, the conference sub-themes include Access to information: Issues, Challenges, and Solutions; Building Capacities of Library and Information Professionals to Contribute Toward Attaining the 2030 Agenda; Information Literacy and the Knowledge Economy; and Open Data and Research Data Management. 

The conference was initially scheduled for 20-24 April 2020 and was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Visit the SCECSAL website for the conference programme, biographical information of some speakers, and individual papers to be presented at the conference.

LIAZ mourns Fanwell Banda

The late Mr Banda

The Library and Information Association of Zambia (LIAZ) is mourning the passing on of its member, Mr Fanwell Banda.

Mr Banda, who was the Deputy Chief Librarian of the National Assembly of Zambia, passed away on Thursday, 28th January 2021. 

In a statement released by LIAZ, Mr Banda is said to have been instrumental in the development of LIAZ, once served as LIAZ Editor in the Executive, and represented the Association and Parliament at various platforms including IFLA, SCECSAL and APLESA. 

Mr Banda is survived by a wife and children.

ULIA mourns departure of two legendary librarians: Dr Frederick Mukungu and Mr. Sengero Lawrence

The Library and Information Science fraternity in Uganda is mourning the loss of two legendary librarians; Dr Frederick Nathaniel Mukungu and Mr. Sengero Lawrence. Dr. Mukungu, one of the longest-serving staff at Uganda Christian University (Mukono), succumbed to COVID-19 on the 1st /January 2021 at Uganda’s National Referral hospital, Mulago after a two week’s battle to the deadly virus. Dr, Mukungu, worked at UCU for about 23 years, as a University Librarian; before joining Muni University in Arua. He will be remembered as a very professional person who put the values of christianity in practice, said Dr. Sarah Kaddu, the ULIA President in a eulogising message read by ULIA Secretary General Mr. Charles Batambuze during the funeral services held at St. Philip’s and Andrew’s Cathedral, Mukono. The late Mukungu was a social, reliable, committed leader and hardworking person who served with diligence and integrity.

As a professional librarian, he served in various capacities. He started his career as a secondary school librarian of Mt St Mary's Namagunga, a college librarian of Uganda Christian University (UCU), university librarian to UCU up to 2015. Dr. Mukungu also vigorously supported a lot of initiatives such as the start of the Bachelor of Library & Information Science Programme of Uganda Christian university, a programme which has benefitted many students. He has supported the Library Association to host the Standing Conferences of East, Central, and Southern Africa Librarians twice. The most recent one being in 2018. Mr Charles Batanmuze noted that “a man's reputation goes ahead of him. His reputation of reliability, integrity and hard work earned him respect”.  This was true of Dr. Mukungu, Batambuze told mourners. Dr Mukunku had just served a contract with Muni University where he has been the founding University Librarian retiring in November 2020.

Mr. Batambuze noted that many young librarians have been nurtured by Dr Mukungu. He has been such a great pillar of professionalism in Uganda and beyond. We will surely miss him. The Uganda Library & Information Association (ULIA) has benefited from the leadership of Dr Mukungu when he served the General Secretary from 1998 to 2001. Dr Mukungu was also a founding member and the inaugural Chairperson of Consortium of Uganda University Libraries (CUUL) from 2001 to 2003. He will be remembered for his commitment and dedication towards the inauguration of one of the most powerful academic library consortia on the African Continent. He was so instrumental in the design of the CUUL structures. He was also one time, a treasurer - Standing Conference of National and University Libraries in East, Central and South - SCANUL ECS from 2002 to 2004. The LIS fraternity will forever be inspired by the leadership qualities that Dr Mukungu possessed.

Hardly after a day, another LIS legend in Uganda Mr Sengero Lawrence passed on. The late Sengero was one of the great lights of librarianship at the Institute of Teacher Education (ITEK) now Kyambogo University. He passed away peacefully in his sleep on the 2nd of January 2021. He will be remembered for working with others to start a Diploma in Library and Information Science program at Kyambogo University which continues to train key Library & Information Science Professionals in the East African region. Like Dr Mukungu, Mr Sengero also served as Secretary of ULIA in the 1990s when Uganda hosted SCECSAL. 

Mr. Sengero was laid to rest on the 3rd of January 2021 at his ancestral ground in Lugazi while Dr Mukungu will be laid to rest today Monday 4th January 2021 in Luzinga, Jinja district. 

May the souls of our fallen friends rest in peace. 

The late Dr. Mukungu

The late Sengero Lawrence

New dates for SCECSAL 2020 announced

Delegates from Malawi at SCECSSAL 2018 in Uganda

The SCECSAL 2020 Conference and Exhibition will be held on 8-12 February 2021 at the Safari Hotel and Conference Centre in Windhoek, Namibia, according to communication from the Namibia Information Workers Association and the SCECSAL Secretariat.

The SCANUL-ECS meeting will be on 7 February 2020.

The SCECSAL General Council, made up of Presidents/Chairpersons of SCECSAL Member Library and Information Associations from Botswana, Eswatini, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe, approved the new dates on 24 March.

The conference was initially scheduled for 20-24 April 2020 but was postponed due to the global coronavirus pandemic.

Current registrations will remain valid for the conference on the new dates in 2021. Individuals wanting to cancel their registrations can do so, in writing, and will be charged 25% of the registration fees to cover administrative costs incurred thus far. Requests for refunds should be sent to Ms Ritva Niskala at rniskala@unam.na and copied to Mr. Wilheim Uutoni at wuutoni@unam.na and Dr. Chiku  M. Mchombu at cmchombu@unam.na.

NIWA will revise the conference budget and registration fees for 2021 to take into account the anticipated increase in costs due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.  The revised registration fees will be announced in August 2020.
More information will be made available on through the following digital platforms:

Conference website: http://scecsal2020.org/
SCECSAL Forum Blog: http://scecsal.blogspot.com/
Follow us: @SCECSAL

SCECSAL 2020 conference postponed

Some NIWA members at the official launch of the
SCECSAL 2020 conference  in Windhoek, Namibia on
4 February 2020

The XXIVth Standing Conference of Eastern, Central and Southern African Library and Information Association (dubbed SCECSAL 2020) scheduled for 20-24 April 2020 in Windhoek, Namibia has been postponed until further notice.

The Namibian Information Workers Associations (NIWA), the SCECSAL member Association that was to host the conference, took the decision to postpone the conference on 12 March.

The postponement of the conference comes after a meeting of the SCECSAL General Council on 11 March at which an unanimous decision was taken to postpone the meeting, following the review of on ongoing developments in the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) across the globe and the concerns expressed by the SCECSAL member Associations.

In related developments,  on 11 March the Namibia Minister of Health, Dr Kalumbi Shangula, advised Namibians to avoid face-to-face meetings with international participants to minimize chances of contracting covid-19, and later in the evening on the same day, the World Health Organization (WHO) Director General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, declared the covid-19 a pandemic, both events gave strong justification to the SCECSAL General Council’s proposal to postpone the conference.

NIWA and the SCECSAL Secretariat will monitor the developments and, in due course, propose the new dates for the conference.

SCECSAL member Associations that took part in the General Council meeting were:

• Eswatini Library Association (ESWALA)
• Library and Information Association of South Africa (LIASA)
• Library and Information Association of Zambia (LIAZ)
• Lesotho Library Association (LLA)
• Malawi Library Association (MALA)
• Namibia Library and Information Workers Association (NIWA)
• Tanzania Library Association (TLA)

For further information and clarifications, please contact the SCECSAL Secretariat at scecsal.secretariat@gmail.com.

SCECSAL 2020 officially launched!

By Sylvia Umana

The Twenty-Fourth Standing Conference of Eastern, Central and Southern

African Library and Information Associations (SCECSAL XXIV), also dubbed SCECSAL 2020, was officially launched on 4 February at the National Library of Namibia in Windhoek.

Ms. Edda Bohn Deputy Executive Director of Formal Education
 from the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture

The Deputy Executive Director of Formal Education, Ms. Edda Bohn, representing the Minister of Education, Arts and Culture as the Guest of Honour, officiated at the launch which was witnessed by over 40 participants from various institutions such as government ministries, universities, parastatals organizations as well as the media houses.

In her keynote speech, Ms. Bohn recapped the audience on Namibia’s Vision 2030 which is aimed at enabling the country to set up a vibrant knowledge economy by the end of this decade, a vision which requires access to information to all young and old alike. It also requires free access to ICTs and ICT Literacy as we journey towards this goal. Hence the relevance of this conference forthcoming at the time when all these important policy decisions are being implemented. She therefore concluded that, the success of SCECSAL 2020 is the success of Namibia and Africa in entirety.

The launch of SCECSAL 2020 primarily aimed to inform the participants on the progress, challenges and opportunities pertaining to the preparations of the upcoming conference to take place on 20-24 April 2020 in Windhoek, Namibia.

The SCECSAL 2020 National Organizing Committee Chairperson, Dr. Chiku

Members of the National Organising Committee

Mnubi-Mchombu, highlighted the progress made thus towards arrangements to hots the conference in Namibia. This includes establishment of Sub-Committees which are tirelessly working towards the preparations of the conference, the registrations of over 100 participants who showed interest in attending the conference, the review of all the papers to be presented at the conference, as well as securing support from a few sponsors/partners.

The chairperson also acknowledged the support received various partners who

have sponsored some aspects of the conference arrangements. These include the Namibia Library and Information Council (NLIC), the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST), Emerald Publishing, International University of Management (IUM), the Goethe-Institut, Elsevier Publishing and the Namibia College of Open Learning (NAMCOL).

Organizations interested in sponsoring any aspects of the conference with any form of sponsorship are welcome and should contact the Chairperson of the National Organizing Committee at the following address:

Dr Chiku Mnubi-Mchombu
Chairperson
National Organizing Committee
SCECSAL XXIV Conference
Windhoek, Namibia
Email: cmchombu@unam.na
Tel: +264 (0)61-2063664

Professor Katjavivi to officiate as guest of honour at SCECSAL 2020 conference

Hon. Prof. Peter Katjavivi (middle) with some
members of the National Organazing Committe
for SCECSAL 2020 conference

Honourable Professor Peter Hitjitevi Katjavivi, the Speaker of the National

Assembly of the Republic of Namibia, will be the guest of honour at the opening ceremony of the twenty-fourth Standing Conference of Eastern, Central and Southern African Library and Information Associations (SCESSAL) to be held in Windhoek, Namibia, from 20 to 24 April.

Hon. Katjavivi has an illustrious career in academia and politics and has contributed immensely to nation building in Namibia.

From 1992 to 2003 he served as the founding Vice-Chancellor of the University of Namibia and transformed a previously segregated academic institution into a national university with relevant programmes that are increasingly accessible to all Namibians. Currently he also the founding Chancellor of the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST).

He also served as Namibia’s ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium, The Netherlands, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the European Union (2003-2006), and ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany (2006–2008).

Hon. Katjavivi was also a Member of the Constitutional Committee (1989-1990) that drafted the Republic of Namibia’s Constitution, and a signatory to the Constitution.

The Namibian Information Workers Association (NIWA) will be hosting the SCECSAL conference for the second time, in the history of both NIWA and SCECSAL, having hosted the fifteenth SCECSAL conference in 2000 on the theme – “Information 2000: a Vision for the SCECSAL region”.

Paper presenters at this year’s SCECSAL conference will come from the SCECSAL region and beyond and more than 350 library and information professionals are expected to attend the conference at the Safari Park Hotel, which was also the venue for the 2000 conference.

Visit the SCECSAL 2020 website for  online registration, Call for International Exhibitors, and Call for Posters (deadline is 28 February 2020).

African Ministerial Conference on Information Access held in Accra

The 3rd Ministerial Roundtable meeting for African Ministers with oversight responsibilities for Libraries was held from 28-30 October 2019, at Labadi Beach Hotel, Accra, Ghana under the auspices of the Ministry of Education. The two-day conference was under the theme, “Libraries on the African Development Agenda: Progress made” purposefully fell within the framework of the AU 2063 Agenda, the Charter for  African Renaissance and the related outcomes of the AU Commission meeting held in Algeria in October 2018. The conference was aimed at providing leadership and guidance on how African governments can integrate libraries in their national development plans and ensure allocation of resources towards the achievement of the development goals. 

Ghana’s Minister of Education Hon. Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh
announcing the Accra Declaration

In his address to the delegates, the Host Minister, Ghana’s Minister of Education Hon. Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh echoed the core of libraries and information access. The Hon Minister acknowledged that information has become very crucial to every enterprise in life, hence its acquisition, storage, dissemination, evaluation and use needs to be properly positioned. 

Libraries play a role in the organization of the deluge of information available today as a consequence of technological advancement,” he said. The Minister further detailed that the government of Ghana under the leadership of His Excellency President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo recognizes the importance of libraries in development and has rolled out interventions that have seen a rejuvenated public library service in the country. He concluded by disclosing that reforms have been taking place at public libraries in Ghana including increase in staff strength at Ghana Library Authority, opening up of new libraries, renovating existing libraries, increasing the number of books and adoption of technology in various forms of operations and service delivery.

In his address, AfLIA President Mr Mandla Ntombela highlighted the intention of the continental library body as to equip public libraries, even in remote rural areas of the continent, with 21st Century skills in LIS Sector that includes support of internet-connected libraries. This would have a far-reaching impact in promoting access to online information in a safe environment, with qualified library staff to guide patrons in the best use of the internet as an educational resource. On the future of community libraries, Mr Mandla noted that AfLIA visualizes an expanded community library network playing a vital role in nurturing cohesion because the libraries can provide a safe environment for social interaction, the exchange of information and ideas and development of skills. 

As AfLIA, we exist to empower the library and information community, so that they can positively contribute towards the achievement of the African Development Agenda (AU Agenda 2063) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), through dynamic services that transform the livelihoods of Africans. AfLIA family of information leaders, fully embrace the strategic value of Access to Information  as a fundamental Human Right- Mandla emphasized.

Mr. Mandla Ntombela AfLIA President addressing participants 

The AfLIA supremo also noted that African libraries and information services face huge challenges in the documentation and communication of indigenous knowledge. These include the lack of financial resources, human capacity, technology shortages and the lack of legal frameworks at national and international level to support the library efforts to document and communicate indigenous knowledge. The fast-developing information and communication technologies continue to pose challenges on how best libraries can document and disseminate this oral and community-based knowledge to a globally accepted knowledge base.

Thirty-two (32) African countries were represented at the conference consisting of ministers, Directors of libraries and high-level emerging library leaders on the continent. At the end of the conference, African governments were expected to make commitments to strategies mapped out towards the development of libraries on the African continent. 

                                                 Courtesy of Dr. Sarah Kaddu. 

EASLIS, CoCIS host Workshop on Digitalising LIS Curriculum.

The East African School of Library and Information Sciences (EASLIS), College of Computing & Information Sciences (CoCIS), Makerere University in partnership with King’s College London (KCL) recently hosted a workshop on digitalizing the curriculum from 7th to 9th:, October 2019. The workshop theme was: “Towards an Education Programme for Digital Information Science in East Africa”, attracted a total of 37 participants from Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda and Nigeria, many of whom were academics and practitioners. In her introductory remarks, the workshop coordinator, Dr. Sarah Kaddu highlighted the aims of the workshop as to:  ensure that participants gain a plan of digitalised curriculum in 20th century, identify the key components of the digital curriculum, come up with the requirements of the digitalised curriculum, and, also draft an outlie curriculum an information science programme as they saw it fit.

In his welcome remarks, the Dean of EASLIS Professor Constant Okello -Obura noted that there was need for information professionals to reflect on the current trends, discover what is new in the world, and understand the skills and competencies required for the changing times. He also emphasized the need for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4th IR) skills and competencies which appreciates the new technologies used currently. Professor Obura also highlighted the need to develop smart ways, and to discover methods to make information responsive to the demand for the situation out there in the world.

In attendance, was the Principal College of Computing and Information Sciences (COCIS) Prof. Tonny Oyana who also represented the Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academics. In his remarks, Professor Oyana noted that digitalising the curriculum is at the forefront of the College of Computing and Information Sciences. He specified that a lot needs to be done in terms of considering the structured, semi structured and unstructured data.  In terms of disseminating information, Prof. Oyana pointed out that there are different types of consumers for example, children, gender component, old age, and the need to cater for all this audience.

Participants of the Workshop

On issues concerning the level of detail that is required (content), Oyana noted that there are behavioral components determined by the different audiences, such as issues of costs and as well as standards. He advised all the information professionals to be aware of all the laws, polices and standards within the country and beyond. He gave an example of the recent Uganda Data Protection Act that was passed earlier this year. He reminded all the stakeholders that digitalizing the curriculum requires hardware, software and human resources. 

Some of the topics covered during the three day workshop included: The Job Market for Digital Information Experts, the (Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums- GLAM),  Resources and Strategies for successful implementation of digital information science education curriculum, practice and research in East Africa, research data management, Computational Archival Science – Computational Methods and Digital Archives and Information Ethics in Digital Archiving among other. Among the facilitators were Mark Hedges and David Jordan from King’s College London. 

The workshop was a huge success and of immense benefit to all the participants. Participants noted that the job market for digital archivists exists; but currently, they are out sourced. It was also noted that in most cases, the records managers are not part of the team that designs the systems and yet they are expected to run these systems. It was agreed that there is a crucial need for LIS professionals to work together with IT professionals. It was evident that there is a huge importance to look at IT as a tool and not as replacing Librarians and or Information Professionals since the role of the librarians/Information professionals is to connect users to the information they need. 

Workshop participants in a group discussion

It was also noted that presently, there is no curriculum that prepares learners to be digital experts; it only stops at the elementary. Therefore Library and Information Science schools should introduce options in the curriculum so that students can have more time and have hands-on with the digital aspects. On the role of the students, much emphasis was put on changing the mindset of students in order to explore the opportunities for becoming digital experts. Furthermore, some participants felt the need to conduct tracer studies for the digital aspects and the employers’ needs. 

In his closing remarks, Prof Constant Okello Obura noted that LIS schools needed the advice of employers, urging the employers who were present to keep in touch with LIS schools so that they can get the right graduates. He also advised the Uganda Library and Information Association to take up the initiative and support the implementation of this digitalized curriculum.

Courses at SCECSAL 2020 in Namibia

Make your choice.

Are you a library and information services (LIS) professional residing in any of the SCECSAL region countries? Are you planning to attend the SCECSAL conference in 2020?

The SCECSAL Secretariat in collaboration with the Namibia Information Workers Association will organize courses for LIS professionals attending the XXIVth SCECSAL conference in Windhoek, Namibia, 20-24 April 2020.

The following six courses have been proposed. Which one would you participate in?

• Course 1: LibraryThing and the application of mobile technology in library services
• Course 2: Marketing Libraries
• Course 3: Facilitating Multi-stakeholder Processes (i.e. Group Meetings and Events)
• Course 4: Mobile Apps for Librarians
• Course 5: Social media: managing your library’s account in the 21st century
• Course 6: Social Media for the Libraries: Twitter, Blogs and Instagram

Make it known at: SCECSAL 2020 Training Courses

NIWA issues a call for abstracts for XXIV SCECSAL conference in 2020

The Namibia Information Workers Association (NIWA) has issued a call for abstracts for paper and poster presentations to be delivered at the XXIV SCECSAL conference to held in Windhoek, Namibia from 20-24 April 2020.

The them for the XXIV SCECSAL conference will be “Inclusive Libraries and Information Services Toward Achieving Prosperity for Sustainable Development in Africa”.

Abstracts, due by 30 April 2019, may cover any of the 21 sub-themes proposed for the conference, among them the following:

• Access to information: issues, challenges and solutions (e.g. Marrakesh Treaty; Cape Town Declaration)
• African libraries as drivers of the National Development Agenda Building capacities of library and information professionals to contribute toward attaining the 2030 Agenda
• Digital preservation and access 
• Open Data, Open Access and Open Science in development 
• Specialised information services in support of development (e.g. in agriculture, climate change, health, environment, science and technology, industrialisation agenda, etc.) 

Further information is available at the following sites:

Call for abstracts – XXIV SCECSAL Conference (PDF)
NIWA – XXIV SCECSAL Conference website

Training workshops at SCECSAL 2020: call for proposals

The SCECSAL Secretariat today issued a call for proposals for training workshops to be organized during the XXIVth SCECSAL conference in 2020 to be hosted by the Namibia Information Workers Association (NIWA) in Windhoek.

In April 2018, in Entebbe, Uganda, the SCECSAL Council recommended that Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programmes targeting library and information professionals in the SCECSAL regional should be a regular feature of all future SCECSAL conferences.

The Windhoek conference will, in addition to optional tours on 22 April 2020 also include optional training courses for conference participants.

Individuals and organizations interested in offering courses during the conference should submit their proposals t by 15 February 2019 to:

Mr. John Anbu Paul

SCECSAL Secretariat

Email: john.paul.anbuATgmail.com

Download call for proposals.

Zambia participates in 3rd African Public Library Summit in Durban, South Africa

The Library and Information Association of Zambia (LIAZ) took part in the 3rd Public Library Summit organized by the Library and Information Associations and Institutions (AfLIA) in Durban, South Africa, from 3rd to 4th July, 2018 at the prestigious Durban International Convention Centre, on the theme “Driving Development: African Public Libraries Delivering on the Development Agenda”.

LIAZ was represented at the Summit by a six-member team comprising Velenasi Mwale Munsanje, Aggie Kaite Mwanza Mumbi, Raymond Sikanyika, Famous Simpelwe, Debra Mwango Banda and Constantine Mupinde.

The Minister of Arts and Culture in South Africa, Honorable Nathi Mthethwa, officially opened the Summit which was hosted by National Department of Arts and Culture through the National Library of South Africa (NLSA) and Library and Information Association of South Africa (LIASA). Honorable Mthethwa explained that the theme for the Summit was a call to action and a commitment to improve the socio-economic development of African countries and the continent, and emphasized that more coordinated support to libraries would ensure better investment in public library infrastructures.

The two-day Summit saw about ten papers and seven ignite talks being conducted. Zambia made two

Allan Hagwelele sharing his ignite talk as the sign language interpreter follows

presentations; by Ms. Munsanje who presented a paper entitled “Public Library Services in Zambia and the Development Agenda ; and by Mr. Allan Hagwelele  who did an ignite talk entitled “Going beyond the books” in which he shared with the delegates how his experience through the Young African Library Innovators (IYALI) programme had positively impacted on his work at Choma Provincial Library in the Southern Province of Zambia.

Mr. Hagwelele was a beneficiary of the IFLA partnership with the Electronic Information for Libraries Public Library Innovation Programme (EIFL-PLIP) and AfLIA to support 15 participants in the second Young African Library Innovators initiative (IYALI) programme. IYALI is a peer learning and international networking experience for African public librarians.

Other key persons that attended the summit included Glòria Pérez-Salmerón , President the International Federation of Library Association and Institutions (IFLA) as well as the IFLA Secretary General, Gerald Leitner. AfLIA’s President John Tsebe as well as the Vice President Mandla Ntombela who is also LIASA President were also in attendance.

The Zambian delegation team also attended the Gala dinner that was hosted to celebrate 200 years of National Library of South Africa and which was also graced by Honorable Minister Mthethwa.

LIAZ Secretary General Aggie Kaite Mumbi represented Zambia during the IFLA Global Vision Meeting for the African region which took place at Onomo Hotel in Durban from 7 – 8th July.

New NEC for ZimLA

By Kenneth Mangemba

The 52nd Zimbabwe Library Association (ZimLA) Annual conference ended on a high note last week with an election that dissolved the National Executive Council (NEC) led by Mr. Lantern Fusire. A new NEC was elected with Shadreck Ndinde elected President of ZimLA.

The new ZimLA National Executive Council for ZimLA.

Shadreck Ndinde was the Vice president in the previous Council and has a vast of experience having been involved at branch level as ZimLA Masvingo branch Chairperson for several terms. The incumbent president encouraged ZimLA members and the information professionals at large to support the growth of the library association through utilization of talent and skills to foster cooperation in various ZimLA programmes.

    

The Annual General Meeting adopted a new clause in the Constitution, to have the position of President-elect, abolishing the position of vice president, of which Jerry Mathema won the vote from Matebeleland branch. The president-elect will take over as President of ZimLA when the term of incumbent president expires. The new clause gives room for a succession plan to enable smooth transfer of projects and activities. Under the old constitution, a new president would come in and take a completely new direction making it difficult to continue with projects and other ideas for ZimLA.

Charles Poterai and Praymore Tendai retained their positions as Treasurer and Advocacy Officer respectively. Another new comer is non-other than the ZimLA Mashonaland Branch Secretary, Alice Parakokwa. The position of Editor was also won by Bruce Nyabadza from Mashonaland branch. The new executive will be in place until 2020.

Incoming NEC members are expected to relinquish branch positions as they assume the new roles. Branches are therefore expected to ensure they have new members coming in to fill the vacant positions through a vote or appointing members.

A full meeting is expected to be held for a handover and takeover briefing soon. About 34 members attended the AGM despite a high attendance for the conferencing days. This indicates need for membership mobilization to ensure that more registered members attend the AGM as directed by the constitution. The next ZimLA election will be held in 2020.

Need for alternative funding for libraries: Prof Mavodza

Professor Judith Mavodza.

By Kenneth Mangemba

The 52^nd Zimbabwe Library Association (ZimLA) conference underway in Mutare got a boost from Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education and Manicaland Provincial Affairs representatives. Running under the theme “Libraries in Transition: Emerging Trends and Technologies”, the conference has created a platform to iron out issues affecting growth of library and information institution in Zimbabwe.

 

The keynote address by Professor Judith Mavodza from United Arab Emirates accentuate on the need for library and information professionals to look for alternative funding sources for a sustainable service provision. She noted that information professional should re-assess services they are providing in the wake of emerging trends and technologies to ensure they are within the expectations of our users.

Delegates at the ZimLA conference in Mutare.

Prof Mavodza noted the impact of library spaces which are technologically-enhanced. She said that, “These spaces are becoming more active virtually, and creating more individual user experiences.” Indeed the emerging trends and technologies have transformed the entire library and information fraternity increasingly forcing librarians to ask for more funding. Prof Mavodza said Librarians should build advocacy skills that will enable them to seek alternative funding sources. She said there are private international funders such as the Elsevier Foundation’s Innovative Libraries in Developing Countries program that awards grants to libraries for improving access to and use of scientific, technological and medical information, and the Melinda and Bill Gates Foundation Global Libraries program to expand technology access in public libraries. 

 The desire to fulfill the transition in libraries hinges around sustainable funding for libraries in Zimbabwe. Prof Mavonda said the current climate of extreme budget cuts can be circumvented through shifting away from local ILS models to a cloud-based service and many other strategies that strengthen consortia involvement in library work.

The conference has shown the significance of the library association with a record attendance of a hundred plus delegates from local and regional library and information professionals.