Is there space for a Sub-Saharan Africa association for individual LIS professionals?

In 1976, C. C. Aguolu in his article “Library Associations in West Africa and the Concept of a Profession” in the Int. Lib. Rev., 8, 23-31, wrote that: “One of the main characteristics of any profession is the existence of an active professional association to protect the interests of its members, to determine the standards of education and performance expected of them and to ensure that its members truly live up to their expectations”.

Isaac Kikongo-Bukenya also indicated that the "cardinal responsibilities of library associations should be education and training to create educated and trained corps, among other responsibilities".

Do existing library and information services (LIS) associations/organizations in Sub-Saharan Africa protect the interests of LIS professionals? Do they have a say on the standards of LIS education and the performance expected of LIS professionals on the continent?

Sub-Saharan Africa has several national and regional LIS associations of which very few could be said to carry out the functions highlighted by Aguolu and Kikongo-Bukenya.

Most countries have national LIS associations and examples include the Library and Information Association of South Africa (LIASA), Nigerian Library Association (NLA), Ghana Library Association (GLA), Association des Bibliothécaires, Archivistes, Documentalistes et Muséographes du Cameroun (ABADCAM), Uganda Library and Information Association (ULIA), Kenya Library Association (KLA), Library and Information Association of Zambia (LIAZ), Association Sénégalaise des Bibliothécaires, Archivistes et Documentalistes, and many others.

Although most national LIS associations on the continent pursue several objectives, many largely carry out only one activity: organize national LIS annual general meetings, and in some cases, annual conferences.

At the sub-regional level, the Standing Conference of Eastern, Central and Southern Africa (SCECSAL), established in 1974, and the Standing of Conference of University and National Librarians of Eastern, Central and Southern Africa (SCANUL/ECS) are the two main active LIS organizations.

At the continental level, the main associations are the Association for Health Information and Libraries in Africa (AHILA) founded in Nairobi, in August 1984; the International Association of Agricultural Information Specialists - Africa Chapter (IAALD Africa), also established in Nairobi in May 2006; and the African Library and Information Associations and Institutions (AFLIA), formally launched in Pretoria, in 5 July 2013.

Membership to AfLIA, SCECSAL and SCACUL-ECS is open only to LIS institutions and organizations while membership to IAALD Africa and AHILA is largely for individual professionals.

AFLIA was established to provide a platform to discuss issues and further the cause of the library and information sector in Africa and in additions to its annual conferences, it also carries out advocacy related activities and capacity development initiatives that have recently largely focused on supporting public libraries, a matter that has received criticisms in some quarters.

While both IAALD Africa and AHILA admit individuals (personal membership) in addition to institutions/organizations, they were established more as platforms for promoting the exchange of ideas and access to information in their respective fields rather than as bodies to represent the professional interests of their members; their activities largely tend to focus on organizing annual/biennial conferences, and carrying out continuing professional development initiatives targeting their members.

SCECSAL and SCEANUL-ECS, as their full names indicate, are forums (or conferences) for enhancing cooperation among their members (institutions/organizations) and the exchange of experiences and knowledge in the library and information field.
Existing LIS professional associations and organizations rarely focus their efforts on protecting the interests of the library and information professionals, establishing or monitoring standards for LIS education and performance of the LIS professionals.

Therefore, is there space for a Sub-Saharan Africa-wide membership subscription association for individual library and information professionals? Or should the focus be on building the capacities of exiting national and regional associations to enable them to carry out the functions highlighted by Aguolu and Kikongo-Bukenya?

Library Associations should embrace IFLA/AfLIA programmes

By Kenneth Mangemba

Library associations should embrace and adopt International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) and African Library and Information Association and Institution (AfLIA) initiated programmes to enable them to increase visibility, stakeholder engagement, and to lobby and advocate for the recognition of libraries in advancing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This was said by Library and Information Association of South Africa (LIASA) president and AfLIA vice president, Mr. Mandla Ntombela at the just ended Zimbabwe Library Association (ZimLA) conference held in Gweru.

LIASA president and AfLIA vice president, Mr. Mandla Ntombela at the just ended ZimLA conference held in Gweru

Addressing delegates at the conference, Mr. Ntombela spoke extensively of the IFLA Global Vision as a credible and rare opportunity that facilitates capacity building for the development and sustainability of the library communities.

The role of library associations is vital towards achieving the IFLA Global Vision and concerted efforts by associations’ leadership should prioritize embracing and implementing the initiatives that has long lasting benefit.  The LIASA president said that such initiatives are essential to advance advocacy and lobbying efforts for the library communities for recognition and improving influence in solving community challenges.

AfLIA partnered with the Global Libraries (GL) Programme of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to roll out the International Network of Emerging Library Innovators (INELI) programme established to support the transformation of public libraries into engines of development and does this by supporting upcoming public librarians to develop innovative services for the benefit of their communities. Participants in the INELI initiative are expected to share the learning experience with other local librarians with the view of promoting learning and equip others with life changing skills to transform the public library network to step-up to the changing operating environment. Mrs. A. Madziwa from the Bulawayo Municipality Library system is a participant to the INELI initiative from Zimbabwe.

Participants who attended the 51th ZimLA Conference in Gweru.

The Library and Information Association of Zambia president, Mrs. Velenasi Mwale Munsanje also spoke greatly of the INELI programme as an enabler that facilitate growth for the public library system through strengthening skills of local public librarians to better serve their communities under strenuous conditions characterized by limited funding and sound infrastructure.

Mr. Ntombela said that partnership with IFLA and AfLIA reposition the library association to achieve the “Africa we want”. The major thrust emphasized by Mr. Ntombela is that IFLA’s professional programmes provide sustainable platforms for initating advocacy for libraries in society, improve services for library users, provide equitable access to information and develop the library and information profession.

In light of attaining SDGs, Mr. Ntombela said that libraries are vital institutions that should actively promote the National development plans through dynamic services that transform livelihood. He therefore gave an interesting story of Jaka Joe Informal Settlement in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa that is involved in the recycling project and challenged other library communities to formulate strategies with SDGs attainment in mind.

“Library associations have a significant role to play in strengthening partnerships with IFLA and AfLIA through developing an effective action plan for strategic positioning on government agenda”, said the AfLIA vice president. He encouraged the library associations to increase lobbying and advocacy initiatives for the development of library and information services infrastructure to achieve a positive influence from government policy regarding LIS. “Library associations should represent libraries and librarianship to the larger society and continual stakeholder engagement should be a top priority that leads to the identifying of sources of local funding for projects”, he said.

The LIASA president implored with library association leaders to be proactive in increasing influence. He said, “Library associations and institutions should enlarge their territory or mission by protecting the future of LIS workers and library users of Africa and throughout the world by developing strategies that will make the sector looks smart and cool.”

The conference keynote address by AfLIA vice president and LIASA president clearly pronounced the role of library associations in developing strong and strategic partnerships that promote influence of the library communities. Several library associations were represented at the conference with representation from Botswana, South Africa and Zambia.

The conference ended on a high note with a report from ZimLA president, Mr. Lantern Fusire highlighting on key achievements accomplished and laying out the various initiatives that the association has planned for the coming year before an elective conference in 2018.

First CARLIGH international conference

The Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries, Ghana (CARLIGH) is pleased to announce that the 1st International Conference of the Consortium will be held in Accra, Ghana from 14-18  July 2014  as part of its 10th Anniversary celebrations. 

Theme and Sub-Themes

The theme for the Conference is: “Innovation for access to information”.

The sub-themes for the Conference are:

1. Library integration and resource sharing
2. Technology driven information services – E-resources, Institutional Repository, Open Access
3. The 21st Century Librarian – satisfying the needs of varied users
4. Social media in libraries and information service delivery
5. Impact of social media on socio-economic development
6. Innovative library marketing and collaboration

Registration

The Governing Board of CARLIGH wishes to invite both local and foreign participants to register for the conference. Please send the following personal information: Name, Institution of Work, Designation, Country of Origin,  Contact  Address, Telephone and Email to: maadwoa2000@yahoo.com and  egy28@yahoo.co.uk

 

Registration fees

Local participants  GH¢300

Foreign participants $250

The registration fee covers, snacks, lunches, a dinner and conference materials. The deadline for registration is  15th February, 2014. Registration is open to both those who want to present papers and other participants. Further information would be provided on how to pay the registration fees.

Accommodation

Information about accommodation would be provided in due course. The planning committee is still negotiating for conference rates.

Submission of Abstracts

The Consortium invites the submission of abstracts to be considered for papers to be presented at CARLIGH 2014. Abstract must be presented in bold; Arial 12, and a maximum of 150 words. Download the guidelines for authors.

 

All abstracts and papers should be sent to the following addresses:

   Dr. Mrs. Helena Asamoah-Hassan, University Librarian,
   KNUST, Kumasi. Email: maadwoa2000@yahoo.com

   Alhaji Ibrahim Kwabena Antwi, University Librarian

   UDS, Tamale. Email: ikantwi1993@yahoo.com

Deadline for Abstracts: 31st January 2014
Authors whose abstracts will be accepted will be notified by 15th February 2014

Submission of Full Papers

The final document is to be submitted by 31st March 2014 in MS Word format.  Submissions received after 31st March 2014 will automatically be dropped from the programme.

Authors are responsible for the quality of their paper and are kindly requested to observe the following guidelines for the preparation and delivery of manuscripts. Use of English (UK) spell checker is recommended.

The 1st International Conference of CARLIGH promises to be a melting point of great minds in the global knowledge economy.  It is expected that a cross section of the society interested in information as the driver of emerging economies will attend.