Previous Library Development Programmes

ICTs and the library; experiences, opportunities and challenges for Libraries in Africa

A three day workshop (21-23 July 2004 in Johannesburg, South Africa) jointly organised by the INASP and Sabinet Online, with sponsorship from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

The theme of the workshop was sustainable use of ICTs in African libraries with the following objectives:

  • To share experiences of the use of ICTs in selected African libraries.
  • To provide an overview of the issues involved in the adoption, implementation and sustainable use of ICTs within libraries.
  • To expose participants to new ICT developments in libraries.
  • To identify best practice for key challenges still to be faced in the effective use and implementation of ICTs in libraries in Africa.
  • To identify which areas of ICT use in libraries are priorities for further support.

AAU Ad Hoc Committee on University Libraries

We assisted the establishment of this Committee, through support for its meetings, publications and a conference, from 1998 onwards. In July 2002, the Executive Board of the AAU (African Association of Universities) decuded that the Library Committee should be like any other AAU Committee, subject to the same rules and conditions. For further information, contact inasp@inasp.info

Clearing House

The establishment of a Clearing House was recommended by librarians attending the 1996 meeting of the Standing Conference of African National and University Libraries in East, Central and Southern Africa (SCANUL-ECS). From 1998 to the end of 2001 it was managed by the Department of Library and Information Science at Harare Polytechnic, Zimbabwe. their remit was to collect, repackage and disseminate information related to the management of academic libraries in Africa. From January 2002, the host has been the Department of Information Science at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. For further information, contact inasp@inasp.info

Revitalisation of Information and Library Services to the Public in Africa

From 2000 to 2003, we worked with national and public libraries in Africa to support them in their role of providing access to information and knowledge. The objectives of this programme were: 

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

We were guided by the Carnegie Corporation of New York's International Development  programme. Activities included a number of training initiatives and support for the newsletters and workshops of national library associations.

A number of books and resources were produced as part of this programme:

  • Public Libraries in Africa: a report and annotated bibliography (2000)
  • Information and Communication Technologies in Africa: a selective review of studies and projects (2001)
  • The Book Chain in Africa: a survey and directory (2002) (available online)
  • Income Generation: experiences from public library systems in Eastern, Central and Southern Africa (2003)
  • Reader Development and Reading Promotion: recent experiences from seven countries in Africa (2003)
  • Workshop materials on Advocacy and Lobbying; Monitoring and Evaluation; Proactive Librarianship: marketing and public relations; Using the Internet (2003) (Available online)
  • The Use of ICTs in African Public Library Services (2004)

Further details about all these books can be found in the INASP publication list, and for further information about this programme, contact us, inasp@inasp.info

University Library Statistics

A Workshop on the Collection and Use of Library Statistics took place in Zimbabwe in 1997. An Annual Statistical Return was drafted and three libraries took part in a pilot collection project. Statistical data from these libraries has now been published in a volume entitled Annual Library Statistics 1997/98, available from INASP. The African Association of Universities (AAU) is planning to continue the collection of library statistics. For more information, contact inasp@inasp.info

For more information about our support for librarians, see our Librarian page, or contact Sara Gwynn, sgwynn@inasp.info

Publications

The Book Chain In Anglophone Africa: A survey and directory Compiled and edited by Roger Stringer. Country-by-country analysis of the Anglophone African countries, plus directory of major players within those countries. (2002)

News

Meet INASP at the American Library Association Annual Conference