An overview of the SA Library and Information Services (LIS) Transformation Charter with reference to School Libraries and Youth Services
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The document presents the Library & Information Services Transformation Charter which aims to improve school and youth library services in South Africa. It recommends establishing a national school library policy and unit based in the Department of Basic Education to develop infrastructure for school libraries. It also recommends providing dedicated funding for school libraries in education budgets, establishing librarian posts, and integrating information literacy education into teacher training curricula to support the charter's goals.
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An overview of the SA Library and Information Services (LIS) Transformation Charter with reference to School Libraries and Youth Services
- 1. The Library & Information Services (LIS) Transformation Charter: School and Youth Services Libraries National Council for presented by Library & Information Services Theresa de Young
- 2. I N E Q U A L I T Y BUILD AN INFORMED READING NATION PROMOTE SOCIAL COHESION ELIMINATE LITERACY
- 5. The Transformation Charter and School Libraries
- 6. Quality education means school libraries for ALL
- 10. Why?
- 11. 1 “Commit to increase access to high-quality learning materials” National Guidelines for Library and Information Services
- 12. 2
- 13. 3
- 14. 4
- 15. What will it take to make it work?
- 16. What does the Charter recommend?
- 17. INFRASTRUCTURE
- 18. National School Library Policy
- 19. National School LIS Unit based at DBE
- 20. Models based on situations
- 21. BUDGET
- 22. A school LIS funded from schools’ budget
- 23. A LIBRARIAN
- 24. Establish School Librarian posts
- 25. Mentoring programmes for school librarians
- 26. Modules of school librarianship in teacher education curricula
- 27. Information literacy education in teacher education curricula
- 28. TEAM APPROACH
- 29. Statutory Status
- 31. “Produce learners that are able to collect, analyse, organise and critically evaluate information” (CAPS) INFORMATION LITERACY
- 32. Literacy & Information Literacy campaigns and programmes
- 33. The Transformation Charter and TVET colleges
- 34. FET COLLEGES PRE – 1994
- 35. Re-naming
- 36. CHALLENGES
- 37. NO RECOGNITION & NO BUDGET
- 38. WIDE VARIATIONS OF LIS PROVISION
- 39. CRITICAL ENOUGH?? X FILLING LIBRARY POSTS ARE NOT AN URGENCY
- 42. What does the Charter recommend?
- 45. SHOW EVIDENCE OF IMPACT
- 46. INTRODUCE NORMS & STANDARDS
- 47. PRIORITISE ICT WITHIN THE TVET SECTOR
- 50. POLICY FOR UNIVERSITIES & TVET COLLEGES
- 51. COOPERATION
- 52. Thank you
- 53. Questions ?
Editor's Notes
- This presentation will give an overview of the LIS Transformation Charter and its recommendations for school libraries and TVET Colleges. In April 2008 the NCLIS invited seven individuals to form the Library and Information Services Transformation Charter Technical Team. They were invited, not as representatives of organisations and institutions, but in their individual and personal capacities.
- Their task was to define the challenges facing the entire LIS sector and to provide a framework for effecting the changes necessary for the sector to contribute to the elimination of illiteracy, the eradication of inequality in the sector, the promotion of social cohesion, and the building of an informed and reading nation. The first draft was presented in July 2008, the second in December 2008 (for public scrutiny) sixth 2009 in the form of arguments and recommendations. I will work through the arguments and recommendations (that identifies steps to widening access to LIS) during this presentation, particularly with regards to School Libraries and TVETS
- The task team envisioned the following for a transformed LIS in South Africa:
- Free LIS access that is within reach for all South Africans LIS are seen as places for everyone, catering for the marginalised such as people with disability, rural citizens Collaboration to achieve equity of provision for all citizens; LIS are guided by norms and standards, and institute regular monitoring and evaluation systems An integrated funding model for sustainable growth across all parts of the sector; LIS staff are committed professionals and are respected by their institutions, government bodies and user communities. Staff that are qualified and remunerated. Staff that are engaged in continuous professional education and development. Staff with codes of ethics and are held accountable.
- Lets look at the transformation Charter wrt school libraries.
- School libraries are seen as important for quality learning and teaching This means that ways must be found to provide for school library services for all.
- Because of the daunting backlogs in provisioning and equalising access to library services, the task teams recommendations would have to include amongst others…..
- innovative models of LIS service and delivery. We might not go to the extreme of using our livestock and recycling, but we would need to look at models such as community / school libraries, mobile libraries and other models within the developmental spectrum of libraries.
- It is agreed worldwide that schools need libraries AND South Africa is no different
- What is the rationale for school libraries in South Africa? Why do we need school libraries?
- This, together with the CAPS demand for access to diverse resources means that the curriculum cannot be delivered without access to well-managed collections of learning resources.
- South Africa aspires to compete in the global knowledge economy. This depends on producing information-literate school leavers. Information literacy education is accepted internationally as a specific mission of school libraries
- School libraries develop reading literacy Reading literacy is crucial for academic achievement It is also needed to ensure participation in a democracy. Teachers might teach children how to read but everyday access to attractive books in their home languages leads children to enjoy reading. The more they enjoy reading, the more they will read – and the better they will read. Internationally, reading ability has been shown to be a critical factor in academic performance and in keeping learners at school. (One of the three main objectives of the WCED’s mission is to reduce the number of dropouts)
- The library builds social cohesion – a principle enshrined in the constitution. A library that is open all day, after school hours, benefits the whole school community. It provides a safe space for serious leisure - for personal, social and cultural development. It is a place for exploring oneself and the wider world.
- Planning and implementing South African school LIS must take into account
- We will need adequate infrastructure. From shelving to stock provisioning to appropriate space and including ICTs with Internet connectivity. Schools lack reading and learning resources. Hardly any schools conform to the IFLA/UNESCO standard of 10 library items per learner (2002) The DBE’s Regulations Relating to Norms and Standards for Public School Infrastructure (Department of Basic Education, 2013b) includes a library as a core education area, but it doesn’t specify how the area should be stocked or managed and staffed The problem is that schools lack the space for LIS. Many schools have converted their libraries into classroom teaching space or storeroom. Today’s I CTs in modern multimedia and virtual LIS must be exploited. Dependable and generous access to the Internet will redress gaps in collections, connect the classroom and library, and connect the school to the broader information
- A national school libraries policy that provides norms and standards for the establishing, provisioning and staffing of libraries To be developed by the DBE in consultation with sector. Approved by Minister of Basic Education. This will be a responsibility of the DBE with provincial education departments. This should be completed within a short timeframe. The Policy will act as an impetus for provincial education departments to recognise the need for libraries and will provide authority for the work of the school library support services. It will also persuade schools’ governing bodies to develop their own library and information policies
- Reinstate disestablished National School LIS Unit in DBE Provision of resources. It is the DBE’s responsibility to establish the Unit. It should be set up within a short timeframe. The national school LIS unit will drive the policy processes and guide the implementation nationwide. The unit needs to be highly placed in the departmental hierarchies and staffed by qualified school librarians and education specialists It will formulate an action plan I consultation with the provinces.
- Different conditions call for different models of service. Examples that might offer at least temporary solutions to the prevailing problems of lack of space include: o Classroom collections in primary schools, replenished frequently from the stocks of education centres or public libraries; o Clustering schools around one facility in order to share resources and space; o container or modular LIS. These models should not be regarded as ideal or permanent solutions and schools should be encouraged to progress to different models as their circumstances change; In some communities, education and public library authorities might get together establish dual use school community libraries, available to the school in the school day and open to the community after school hours and in school holidays. Memoranda of understanding and policy are crucial to clarify the roles and responsibilities of the governance structures and to ensure that the partnerships are fair; Every school learner must have access to a living up-to-date collection of reading, learning and information resources which caters for all ages, abilities and backgrounds. Whatever the delivery model, a minimum of five items per learner will be required
- In order for LIS to work in SA we need a proportion of the school budget must be allocated to managing and maintaining the LIS collection If one considers that the curriculum demands resources and the ‘pro-poor’ school funding policies evident in the National Norms and Standards for School Funding, why does so few schools have LIS? Only 7% of schools have a school library! Norms and standards for school LIS do not exist There has been no pressure on school systems to develop them. The Department of Basic Education’s National Guidelines for School Libraries, published in 2012 mere guidelines, they have had little impact on funding allocations and setting up of school libraries The resources of the existing provincial education department school LIS support services are overstretched. Their budgets cannot meet the needs of all schools in their provinces. Their LIS advisors are often responsible for more than 300 schools; BUT there has been recent flashes of hope: The DBE’s briefing to Parliament on school LIS on 20 August 2013 began with an admission that it had neglected LIS (Department of Basic Education, 2013a). It then went on to outline its plans to remedy the situation beginning with a plan for centralised and classroom libraries over the next three years for secondary and primary schools respectively. It as asked Treasury for R700 million to fund the first phase and will bid for further funding for the following 10years. The plan, however, includes only the seven weakest provinces; In announcing an additional R1.1billion for libraries in his budget speech of 16 May 2013, the Minister of Arts and Culture highlighted the need to strengthen his department’s partnerships with the Department of Basic Education and the Department of Higher Education and Institutions of higher learning‘ to ensure that we do become a reading nation and subsequently improve our literacy levels’ (Department of Arts and Culture, 2013a). It appears that a proportion of the extra funds is to be assigned expressly to the work of public libraries with schools;
- There is a lack of dedicated funding for school libraries. There should be a dedicated school libraries funding by National Treasury. Discussions and lobbying of the DBE should take place. This is the responsibility of the DBE, NCLIS and Provinces It should happen within a medium timeframe The TC sees the initial establishing and provisioning of the LIS as the responsibility of the provincial school library support services or an agreed upon alternative agent, in consultation with school management. This means that school LIS programmes should be sustained by annual allocations from schools’ budgets. It is recommended that 10 per cent of schools’ learning and teaching support materials (LTSM) budgets should be assigned to the LIS programme;
- A librarian / library worker is need to manage the LIS collection and to ensure that the LIS is a learning resource that is integrated with the delivery of the curriculum in the classroom There are no official government posts for school librarians. When school management are faced with the national educator/learner ratio problems, the cannot accommodate a librarian. The vast majority of the existing school librarians are employed in governing body contract posts Education and training programmes for school librarianship are limited. The lack of school librarian posts means that no career path exists;
- Establish full- and part-time school librarian posts. Policy and legislation should make provisions for school library posts. It is the responsibility of the DBE. This should take place within a medium/ long timeframe. This means that school librarian education programmes will expand. In partnership with provincial education departments, universities’ education faculties and library schools should be encouraged to set up school librarianship programmes. UNISA should re-establish its school and children’s librarianship programmes; Teacher education programmes in colleges and universities should include courses in school librarianship and in children’s and youth literature. Moreover information literacy education should be embedded in al lteacher education; Both formal and informal education programmes should harness the knowledge and expertise of the existing cohort of excellent school librarians. Mentoring programmes should be established
- Implement a mentoring coaching programme for school LIS profession to harness knowledge & expertise of current cohort of school librarians. This will take the form of formal & informal education programmes & work experience. Professional bodies, provincial departments must create space for mentorship programmes. Mentoring programmes for younger & new librarians must be in place. This is the responsibility of the DBE & provincial departments of education and private sector as well as SLYSIG. It should happen within a medium timeframe.
- Part of the teams TC implementation plan is that teacher education in colleges and universities must include modules in school librarianship and in children’s and youth literature. This is to increase teachers awareness of the role of the school library & literature in teaching and learning. This is the responsibility of universities and colleges. This should be done within a short timeframe
- It is all about the teacher. Information literacy education to be embedded in all teacher education programmes to build in information literacy education Teachers lack the skills to incorporate information literacy skills and LIS in their teaching. Professional education & LIS bodies to lobby teacher education institutions, departments. Appropriate curricula introduced &.taught. It is the responsibility of Universities & Colleges This should be done within a short timeframe.
- There needs to be a team approach and consensus on the kind of learning that is valued The relationships among principal, teachers and library staff are crucial. Teacher-librarians lack status inside a school. They are often expected to run the library in a few ‘free’ periods a week; MOSTLY: lack of appreciation among teachers, principals and, indeed, policy-makers of the educational role of libraries. Libraries are seen as collections of books rather than as dynamic multimedia learning centres; and there is little awareness of their crucial role in education for the twenty-first century
- The charter recommends statutory regulated status for the profession to help do away with the poor status of school librarians and librarians in the country as a whole. It recommends that LIASA registers as a professional body within a short timeframe This would be a responsibility of LIASA who will work with DAC and NCLIS The process of registering LIASA as a professional body will empower LIASA to Promote the discipline more effectively, determine standards for professinal education and training protect the Interests of the public and regulate entrance into the profession;
- In order to deal with the challenge of the low status associated with LIS due to people with inapproapriate training being appointed into professional positions, the charter recommends that government allign remuneration of librarians (including school libraries) with comparable professions. – within a medium timeframe
- Information literacy education needs to be integrated in the learning programme across all learning areas. (d) Of the general aims of the CAPS (quoted from the CAPS document) Divisions and inadequate communication between different sectors hinder the development of school libraries and learners’ information literacy Teaming up is also necessary within government: The DBE and the DAC have identified collaborative strategies in their document Strategic Guidelines for Collaboration between Community Libraries and Schools (Department of Basic Education and Department of Arts and Culture, 2013). Acknowledging the critical shortage of school LIS and the contribution of public libraries to formal school education, the document describes a number of possible avenues for joint activity. These include networking and resource sharing, collaborative collection building, and shared literacy and information literacy programmes. The task team found that A large part of the population feels excluded from fulfilling their role as citizens. because of being illiterate and lacking information literacy. They recommend that Literacy and Information literacy campaigns & programmes should be rolled out across all LIS sub sectors, eg. Celebrate world book day, literacy week… This should be done over a medium term timeframe.
- The TC recommends that Literacy and Information literacy campaigns & programmes should be put in place. These programmes will unlock the doors to a reading culture, social cohesion and economic empowerment For school libraries, it recommends that IL be embeded in the curriculum at all levels This would also involve participation in international events such as world book day, international literacy day, book fairs, wordfest events. These programmes are the responsibility of the entire LIS sector, teachers, trade unions, religious organisations It should be done within a medium timeframe. The urgent social, health and educational challenges facing South Africa’s children and youth necessitate more active collaboration among sectors. Provincial education departments, public library authorities, professional associations, schools and universities need to share the responsibility of providing access to effective LIS programmes that will help young people to make sense of their lives.
- Before 1994 Colleges for whites had libraries, many others did not FET colleges were placed with DHET and the Further Education and Training Colleges Act, 2006 was promulgated. During this whole period the libraries at FET colleges were largely neglected. The Act makes no mention of libraries.
- Further Education and Training Colleges Amendment Act, 2013 was promulgated to address the fact that colleges have not been fulfilling their mandate to prepare students for the labour market. The Act provides the following definition: ‘college’means (a) a public college that is established or declared as (i) a technical and vocational education and training college; or (ii)a community education and training college; or (iii) a private college that is established, declared or registered under this act, excluding (a) a school offering further education and training programmes under the South African Schools Act; or (b) a college under the authority of a government department other than the Department of Education (Act 1 of 2013 p. 3). The White Paper for Post-school Education and Training (Department of Higher Education and Training, 2013) which has extensively restructured this sector with the intention of achieving greater articulation has renamed these colleges are Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges. In his budget the Minister allocated R2.2 billion in assistance to students at colleges and R2.5 billion for building institutional capacity including infrastructure, management, teaching and support services (Department of Higher Education and Training, 2013a).
- The role of libraries in vocational education and training is not recognised. The White Paper for Post-school Education and Training (2014) the Further Education And Training Colleges Acts, and the 2013 budget speech make no mention of libraries;
- There are wide variations in the provision of libraries and the functionality of those libraries that do exist. Few colleges have libraries. Of the colleges that do, not all their campuses have libraries. Some colleges and campuses have so-called open learning centres, which only provide access to the Internet
- Colleges are provided with posts in accordance with their enrolment. These posts do not include library posts;
- to prevent someone from being involved in something that they would normally expect to be involved in messi sidelined for 8 weeks, 2013 (torn hamstring) playing for barcelona Where colleges do have libraries and librarians, the librarians are often side-lined, not given opportunities for training, and are poorly paid; Colleges do not have dedicated library budgets; Even in colleges that do have libraries, equipment and systems are often out dated, e.g. manual library management systems and out dated security systems; There sources in the libraries are often out dated and/or not relevant to the needs of the students at the colleges ;and Libraries that do exist have limited Internet access within adequate and out dated ICT resources.
- However there are opportunities that should be taken up to improve the TVET situation. The increased emphasis on the role of TVET colleges and the concomitant increase in budget provide an opportunity for improving their LIS. This includes all aspects i.e. staff, infrastructure, equipment and resources. The open learning centres could be expanded to form libraries. University libraries should consider coming to an agreement with TVET colleges in the vicinity in order to provide a service to their students.
- o DHET should intervene to establish TVET college libraries
- o Library posts with suitable remuneration should be created for TVET college libraries;
- o The potential role of libraries in TVET colleges should be investigated and evidenced;
- Norms and standards need to be established for TVET college libraries, including staffing and budgets; 33. Adequate budgets be allocated to TVET College Libraries and to the provision of LIS in the new community colleges. Expansion of TVET Colleges and their heightened importance demand effective LIS. DHET and institutional policies. Develop strategy with DHET and TVET sector. Dedicated funds for improved and new LIS in TVET Colleges – and for LIS in the community colleges and their public adult learning centres. DHET, TVET Colleges, Community
- IMPLEMENTATION PLAN: 27. All public, school & post-school LIS should have sufficient and dedicated bandwidth and computer capacity for management and service delivery. High costs of ICT installation & maintenance are barriers. Policy intervention and private sector participation in providing resources. ICT companies’ partnership with national, provincial, NGOs & local government in computer capacity procurement. Number of computers per head used in libraries. Reduced waiting times to use computer facilities Investment incentives. DBE, DAC & DoHET to provide incentives for investors in the computer capacity. Medium. 4
- Engage the relevant departments of government via the South African National Library and Information Consortium (SANLIC) to negotiate national site licenses for electronic products;
- RECOMMEND: Target inherited inequalities, and devise innovative funding strategies to redress them, as well as challenging the Department of Higher Education and Training to seek ways in which international organisations can assist
- Create an institutional information literacy policy in universities and colleges leading to an action plan which recognises their responsibility for ensuring that all graduates enter the workplace with the requisite information literacy skills;
- University libraries and TVET colleges should investigate methods of cooperating; and The recapitalisation of Research Councils should include ring-fenced provision for improved resourcing of their libraries.
- NOTE: Many photographs and pictures were taken from various sources and incorporated in this slide show – too many to acknowledge individually but all highly appreciated!