|
|
View the opening address by Robert Moropa, President of LIASA
South African Library Week 2004 will be celebrated during 15-20 March 2004.
The theme for the year is 1994-2004: Libraries in a Decade of Democracy.
A national event that will launch the Library Week celebrations will be held on Saturday,
13 March 2004 at the Central Library in Cape Town. This will be the first of many events
that will take place at LIASA branches and member institutions countrywide.
Library Week has been celebrated in South Africa since 1988, but mainly in the public library sector assisted by the then provincial library services. LIASA, through its diverse membership, is driving the process to make South African Library Week a celebration of the country's intellectual and literary heritage. Thus highly publicised events will be taking place at all types of libraries such as the National Library of South Africa, university libraries, public libraries and school libraries across the country. A wide range of activities and events to celebrate and promote library and information services will be presented.
As in previous years, LIASA will produce a poster illustrating this theme for distribution to all its branches and member institutions in February 2004.
Launch event
South African Library Week will be launched in Cape Town at an event to be hosted by the Western Cape Branch of LIASA.The LIASA National Public Relations Officer, Ms Nohra Moerat, will coordinate the Launch and the Branch committee will be responsible for the local arrangements. The Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology has pledged its support and funding for the occasion. The provincial departments responsible for libraries and education have also expressed their support for the event.
The launch will be held at the Central Library in the City Hall, Cape Town. Thematically and historically this is an appropriate venue, as it is from the City Hall Balcony that Nelson Mandela made his first public appearance after being released from prison in 1990. Using the Central Library will also focus attention on the services and potential services that a library in a world-class city should be able to offer on its own and in conjunction with other stakeholders.
In this way, the event will serve to focus attention on:
- the role that libraries have played in the Decade of Democracy
- its future role in advancing literacy
- making the right to freedom of access to information a reality
- actively contributing to the development of an informed nation
- inculcating tolerance and respect among all South Africans.
In celebration of the theme, library workers across South Africa have been asked to identify the
top ten South African books published during this decade that focus on issues of democracy or contribute to the consolidation of our new democracy; that examine who we are and where we are going, and which should be available to all South Africans through their Libraries. This “competition” was launched at the 6th Annual LIASA Conference that was held in September 2003 in Rustenburg. As part of the programme, the winning titles of the “Top Ten Titles” competition will be announced and the authors will be invited to read from their works.
A Book Fair will be organized to accompany the readings. Local libraries will be invited to market their services to the broader community. The event will serve to focus attention on the role and contribution of library services to the development of a culture of reading even in well-resourced urban areas. The Book Fair will also include story telling and puppet shows for children and other reading and books related activities.
A book exhibition will accompany the festival and local libraries will be requested to market their services to the broad community. A workshop for teachers on reading interventions in the classroom and a talk for parents on the importance of reading to their children will form part of the programme.
This will be a wonderful opportunity to showcase the literary talent and cultural heritage of the Western Cape. The event will also serve to focus attention on library services in the hope that it would contribute to an understanding of the role that libraries play in a democratic society, advancing literacy, making the basic human right of freedom of access to information a reality, and inculcating tolerance and respect among all South Africans.
For more information, please contact Ms Nohra Moerat (nohram@etv.co.za)
|
|
