International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications
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Library Support Programmes
Goals
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2002/2003
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Revitalisation of information and library services to the public in Africa

Goals

The objectives of INASP's programme in support of Public Library Revitalisation in Africa are to:

  • To promote in-country capacity building in information access and dissemination
  • To encourage, strengthen and support fledgling and new initiatives that will assist library and information professionals to meet the challenges of their services
  • To provide technical assistance

INASP is guided by the Carnegie Corporation of New York’s International Development programme.  

Activities

The above goals are met through a programme of support with four components:

Technical Assistance and Sector Building
Technical assistance and sector building, including briefings and information to the Carnegie Corporation

Three areas of activity are:

  • To provide regular briefing and information to the Carnegie Corporation 
  • To provide appraisal and evaluation of proposals as requested
  • To monitor the progress of the programme

As a network, INASP strives to maximise the synergy between partners. Through the sharing of experience and facilitation or promotion of initiatives it works to increase the value-added element of collaborative efforts. INASP provides support and technical assistance in response to requests put forward, and will continue to do so as the individual programmes move into implementation.

Research and development activities
Capacity building, research and training

Current research and development projects which support the interest areas of the public library services and the Carnegie Corporation are:

Use of electronic information and communication technology (ICT) 
'Using the Internet' workshops are facilitated by INASP and a wide range of resources are available on the website. Both Botswana and Kenya had requested INASP to facilitate `Using the Internet' workshops for their national library systems during 2002. These were held during June 2003 , facilitated by presenters from the local universities with materials and input from INASP, and the participants have all responded very positively.  As is usual with INASP workshops, a “significant mass” of staff from each system were trained, and are now in a position to pass their knowledge to others in the workplace. Already, a workshop is planned in Francistown, Botswana, as a follow on from the first one.  Participants were particularly impressed by the identification of the wealth of materials available on the Internet to Public Librarians.

The Book Chain in Africa
Throughout 2001, grantees commented that they found it incredibly difficult to obtain information about publishers, booksellers and various other players in the book community. This gap in information coincided with recommendations from a workshop for African public librarians hosted by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kenya. INASP was invited to compile a directory and database to cover `book chain' in Anglophone Africa. This unique piece of work, undertaken by a large team of African researchers, is now available in printed CD ROM and online versions. This includes country profiles complemented by extensive directory sections for 18 countries in Anglophone Africa.

Income Generation
Following the request from KNLS for INASP to prepare a compilation of experience, all public library systems in Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe were invited to contribute case studies on income generation in their public libraries. While all were invited, some felt they did not have any income generating activities about which to report. The research has now been published and library systems having contacted INASP to comment on the usefulness of this small volume. It is expected that these case studies can form the basis for discussion at library system level, and also at national and regional library association events.

• Book Aid International facilitated workshops on Monitoring and Evaluation and on Advocacy and Lobbying with the Botswana National Library Service in May and June 2002 on INASP's behalf. Similar workshops were held for the Kenya National Library Service (KNLS), in February 2003. The materials produced during the Botswana workshop have been complied by Book Aid International and are available on the INASP web site at http://www.inasp.info/lsp/libraries/programmes.html under Botswana.

 

Development assistance to library associations

INASP continues to work with regional professional associations in Africa. This has included assistance to a number of public librarians from the English speaking countries of West Africa to attend the meetings of WALA in Accra, Ghana in September 2001 and November 2003 and of Eastern and Central Africa to SCECSAL in Johannesburg, South Africa in April 2002. INASP also organised afternoon workshops on Reader Development and Reading Promotion in Public Libraries at SCECSAL in April 2002 and WALA in 2003. 

 

Dissemination of information

Information is disseminated through the INASP web page, and articles and news items have been submitted to various professional journals. Information Development will be running a regular column of INASP News. Information about the programme is also communicated through participation at meetings, workshops and conferences. As information becomes available and there is a recognised need to impart it, pamphlet type publications on reader development, reading promotion and project implementation could be considered.

The INASP Newsletter provides regular reports on the progress of the programme.

The programme presently gives particular focus to working with the national and public libraries in Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Tanzania, South Africa, Uganda and Zambia. These countries are all involved in the Carnegie Public Library Revitalisation Program. Progress in this Program to date includes the awarding of grants by the Carnegie Corporation of New York for the development of the national library services in Botswana and Kenya, and support to LIASA the Library and Information Association of South Africa as well as grants to a three metropolitan library services and three provincial library services in South Africa. Links will be provided from the INASP websites to the web sites for each of the Program activities as soon as these are available.

Meetings and workshops

Participation at IFLA
INASP is working jointly with the IFLA Africa Regional Section in arranging for librarians from Africa to attend World Library and Information Congress: 69th IFLA General Conference and Council. Materials about and produced by the Grantees of the Carnegie Corporation of New York Public Library Revitalisation programme will be displayed in several Regional Section meetings during the Conference.

 

Representatives of each project will meet on 5th August 2003 in Berlin, while they were attending the conference. The aim of this meeting is to update others on previous work on the projects, to share experiences, and to plan future activities. The reports given by each Grantee at the previous meeting in 2002 are included under individual programmes.

 

From Proposal to Action: strategies for implementation
Held in the afternoon of 14 April 2002, the target group was librarians who had received or were about to receive grants from the Carnegie Corporation. Its aim was to assist these librarians in implementing what they had proposed. Organized by INASP, the 3-hour workshop was facilitated by Amanda Maree of Limani Consulting, South Africa.

The workshop covered three project phases: set up, implementation and closure. Most of the time was spent on implementation: devising an action plans, decision making, identification of risks, opportunities and issues, monitoring (including revising and changing the plan) and final evaluation. Participants took part in group work, applying the principles learnt to their own project.

Although time was short, participants felt that the workshop had been very useful and had come at an opportune time. A booklet, covering the topics discussed and containing invaluable charts and checklists, was given to each participant. 

Areas highlighted for consideration during 2002/2003:

Through meetings or communication with PLR grantees, the following areas have already been noted as possibilities for inclusion in the work plan for 2002/2003:

  • Manuals and/or guidelines in `Monitoring and Evaluation' and `Advocacy and Lobbying' to be amended and updated following workshops with the Kenya National Library Service and available for publication and mounted on web sites during 2003.
  • Publication of case studies on income generation in public libraries in Africa, which can then form the basis of discussion and workshops.
  • Library systems able to utilise ICT in new and creative ways with increased numbers of trainers and number of librarians trained in Internet use, possibly through the `Using the Internet' workshops; librarians able to create web pages for their library services.
  • Further enhanced and strengthened regional associations reaching a point of self-sustainability.
  • National library association workshops held in Kenya and at least three other countries.
  • National library associations capable of sustaining newsletter production.
  • Publication of a collection of case studies on reader development.
  • Development of performance indicators for library systems, to be used as the basis of a comparative study on performance measurement.
  • Continuing and increasing individual cooperation with Carnegie's Public Revitalisation projects in Botswana and Kenya as they move into implementation

INASP invites national and public librarians in Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia to comment on the existing projects and to propose additional areas where they feel that partnership and collaboration would be useful.

Contact: Anne Powell [email protected]  

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