Origins of school library services in Africa
Activities and achievements
Reasons for failure
Evaluation and conclusions
References
Diana Rosenberg
A school library service is a system which directs and assists the development of libraries in schools on a national or regional basis. At a minimum it involves the setting of policy and standards of provision plus advice on the establishment and maintenance of libraries. It can also offer assistance in the selection of stock, the acquisition, processing and distribution of books and journals and the training of staff Such a service can be located within a public library or in a Ministry of Education; or sometimes it is the result of collaboration between the two.
In Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding South Africa), the concept of the school library service was introduced to Anglophone countries at the time of Independence and was linked to the establishment of public library systems. This followed the examples provided by the United Kingdom (UK) and South Africa. In the latter country, school libraries were (until the 1950s) seen as an integral part of the public library service. And the UK government recommended that there be a school library service arm to any national library service that was set up with its support at Independence. So the Jamaica Library Service in 1952 established a centralized schools service and the 1960 Hockey Report on the development of library services in East Africa recommended likewise. There was a general consensus that the reason for the poor state of school libraries in most of the developing world was the lack of central direction and no clearly defined policy on their development strategy. It was also recognized that the involvement of public libraries in the development of school libraries would be of mutual benefit, since it is the products of the school system who form the backbone of future public library services readership. Co-ordination and centralization were also seen as the most economic use of the scarce resources of trained staff and reading materials.
Ghana
In Ghana, although school libraries were never made the legal responsibility of the public library service, from its inception Ghana Library Board (GLB) showed itself keen to assist the Ministry of Education. From 1959, GLB, at the request of the Ministry, operated a mobile library service to middle schools. But it became obvious that school libraries needed far more help than the occasional loan of additional books. With the exception of a few, all were in need of development grants, adequate accommodation and advice on selection and routines. A Working Committee, with members from GLB, the Ministry and the British Council, was set up in 1967 to carry out a survey of school libraries in secondary schools and teacher training colleges. It concluded that the main problem was the lack of any clearly defined policy, the haphazard nature of library provision and the poor staffing situation. As an interim measure, a VSO librarian was recruited as a School Library officer in Ashanti and workshops held for teacher-librarians. But the lack of any library consciousness in institutions of learning still prevailed. Any improvements were temporary and libraries tended to deteriorate after visits.
It became clear that something more long-term and far-reaching was required. In 1972, GLB decided to establish a Schools and Colleges Department (SCD) at its headquarters in Accra. This Department was given the responsibility to advise and assist in the establishment of good and effective libraries in secondary schools and teacher training colleges throughout Ghana. The overhead costs of running the service were met by GLB, with the Ministry of Education providing money for the purchase of books and journals for the school libraries.
Tanzania
Unlike GLB, Tanzania Library Services (TLS) was given the legal mandate to revitalize and develop special, school, college, government and public libraries into a single, integrated national library system. Therefore a school library service was on the agenda from 1961 and President Nyerere, when he opened the headquarters of TLS in 1967, made a point of emphasizing that the development of school libraries was one of its key responsibilities.
Given the inadequate funds and insufficient trained manpower at its disposal, TLS had to decide what sort of school library service it could offer. It examined two possible options - to target all schools with a small amount of aid or to limit aid to a small number of schools, to which a reasonable service could be offered and which could become demonstration libraries. The latter method was adopted and, with the help of UNESCO, an expert in school library work was recruited in 1968. The establishment of the School Library Service (SLS), with its headquarters in the National Central Library in Dar es Salaam, was financed within the 2nd 5-year Development Plan, 1969-1974.
The ultimate aims of both GLB and TLS in their service to schools were very similar. Both restricted their work to the secondary level, although the former encompassed all schools, whilst the latter initially concentrated on establishing model schools. The aims were:
· to advise schools on the organization and running of their libraries, through means of regular visits and other professional assistance;· to organize seminars, workshops and in-service training for school library personnel;
· to upgrade collections though the building up standard collections, the loaning of material and the provision of reading lists;
· to order, process and distribute books and journals.
Ghana
The first ten years were ones of steady growth. The number of institutions participating in the programmes of the Schools and Colleges Department rose from 120 in 1972, to 245 in 1975, to 350 at the end of 1978. Activities have included:
· visits. In the first year 226 library visits were made and advice offered on re-organization to meet professional standards;· information. A book list of recommended titles and a manual on the organization and operation of libraries were published and distributed;
· training. Numerous training course for teacher-librarians and in-service courses for school library assistants were mounted;
· model libraries. A model school library was opened at Accra High School in 1974, with the objective of improving standards in school libraries in Accra. A School Library Resource Centre at Aburi Girls Secondary School was set up in conjunction with the Department of Library and Archival Studies at the University of Ghana. One of the intentions was to monitor the effect of library services on student achievement;
· materials. Books and journals were purchased centrally, processed and distributed.
To run this service, GLB employed (as at 1981) a staff of four professionals, led by an Assistant Director, and 22 non-professionals. It was assisted financially by the British Council (which for example provided two years of periodical subscriptions and £5000 to purchase books for the model library) and the Ministry of Education, which granted money for the purchase of books and journals (for example US$100,000 in 1975 for books and £18,000 in 1978 for periodical subscriptions).
Since 1982, achievements have not been so spectacular. Although the number of institutions officially participating in the programme stood at 494 in 1991, the value of what is now provided is in some doubt. Alemna, writing in 1996, goes so far as to say that the SCD exists almost in name only.
Activities have greatly reduced. Some of the duties proposed in 1972, such as advice to architects in the design of school libraries, the setting up of a central rebinding service, the formation of a School Library Association, were never really addressed from the start. But even advisory visits, training courses and the purchase and distribution of books and journals, frequent during the early years, are now few and far between. In the seven years since 1990, only the following activities have been undertaken:
· four advisory visits to schools;
· five training courses for school library staff;
· 13,000 books and 350 journals purchased and distributed;
· 39,400 donated books distributed.
Staff has also been drastically reduced, compared to the early years. In 1985, there was at total of 11 staff working in the Department, in 1995, 13, i.e. around half of the 1981 figure of 26. Underfunding is also a problem. GLB only provides SCD with a small imprest to cover the operational costs of the Department. Any money for the purchasing of books and journals must come from those schools, which choose to pay their library grants to GLB. In 1985, the equivalent of US$7,190 was received; in 1995 only US$480.
Events are overtaking SCD and its role. Partly as a recognition of the poor performance of SCD, the Ministry of Education in 1986 set up a Community Libraries Project; one of its aims being to improve the standard of education of school pupils in the country (Alemna 1996). In Accra alone there are nine community libraries. Such libraries act as supplements for the poor school libraries and inadequate home libraries. However their success has been limited by poor finance, lack of materials and lack of trained staff. Another development is the establishment of the Ghana Book Trust, an NGO operating exclusively for charitable and educational purposes. It supplies books to schools and libraries throughout the country. It has also helped in the training of library assistants for these libraries. Enhancing access to information is no longer seen to be only the province of government.
Nevertheless, although the activities and influence of SCD would appear to be on the wane, its impact on the improvement of school libraries in Ghana must be given due recognition. A teacher-librarian interviewed during the data collection, considered that the training courses offered for school librarians and the processing and distribution of materials for school libraries had definitely helped to improve services. More such training courses were wanted, together with a closer supervision of what went on in the school libraries. Overall school libraries were better organized now, than before the establishment of SCD. Its very existence had helped to introduce the concept and purpose of the school library.
Tanzania
The UNESCO adviser had two tasks:
· to establish, in selected schools, model school libraries to serve as examples for teachers throughout the country;· to provide assistance and advice to teachers in the selection of books and the operation of school libraries.
Each model library would be used to demonstrate:
· well-selected materials and their effects;
· the use that can be made of a library;
· the value of a library in the total development of the school pupil;
· purpose-built accommodation, furniture and equipment;
· good library organization.
In effect only three model libraries were established, one in each of three regions.
The model library route was soon seen as being slow to produce results on the ground. Therefore, in 1971, a pilot school mobile library service was started, serving four regions: Mbeya, Iringa, Morogoro and Dodoma. This aimed to reinforce the book stock of all school libraries in an area, with visits two or three times a year for book return and selection.
At the same time efforts were made to improve the resources and organization of school libraries all over Tanzania:
· recommended book lists for secondary schools were produced and updates issued every three months;
· a list of recommended periodicals was published;
· a manual of library organization was published;
· minimum standards and a list of basic books in each subject were compiled;
· courses were run for teacher librarians;
· designs for school libraries and drawings of basic equipment were made available.
In addition, to try and overcome the staffing problem a Certificate in Librarianship course was started by TLS in 1972. It was hoped that this would train school library assistants.
The School Library Service was mainly financed by TLS from government funds. In the 2nd Development Plan, 18% of the budget was allocated to SLS. Help was also received from UNESCO, in particular for the first member of the staff. Up to 1976, SLS was run by one professional and one library assistant.
Expansion of the School Library Service stopped in 1976. In the 3rd 5-year Development Plan, 1976-1981, nothing was planned and nothing took place. No more model libraries were opened (the plan had been to start one in each of the 20 regions of Tanzania) and no more regions were served by the mobile service. The planned centralization of acquisition, processing and distribution of books was never started. Primary schools were never included (although they could apply for book boxes from the Extension Branch of TLS).
Even the operations of the existing service were barely maintained. Although staffing levels were retained and even increased (in 1995 it was staffed by one professional librarian, 3 paraprofessional library assistants and one library attendant), funding was reduced to a bare minimum. Records are not available, as TLS does not publish expenditure for individual departments or divisions. But, in an interview during the data collection, the former Deputy Director General of TLS admitted that the SLS programmes were severely affected by the inadequate government subventions from the early 80s onwards. And in the 1992/93 financial year, no expenses for SLS other than salaries were covered by the TLS budget.
Nevertheless the SLS still exists. In the seven years since 1990, it has succeeded in:
· making 6 advisory visits;
· publishing 8 lists of recommended books;
· purchasing and distributing 2,250 books and journals;
· distributing 112,000 donated books and journals;
· reissuing the manual on library procedures.
The School Mobile Library had long since been grounded. And although general training for library assistants was offered (the National Library Assistants' Certificate Course, in-service training, etc.), none was directed at the specific needs of teacher-librarians or school administrators. The main function of SLS today would seem to be that of an agency for receiving and distributing donated materials.
By 1985, TLS was admitting that its much vaunted supportive services to schools had been curtailed. In that year, the Deputy Director wrote: 'Tanzania Library Service is a large organization. Its operations are national and it has many commitments. The services it provides to schools are therefore very minimal' (Ilomo 1985). SLS was no longer seen as one of the top priorities of TLS. In the same paper, Ilomo suggests three approaches to work with schools:
· developing and maintaining professional standards and awareness, in co-operation with the Ministry of National Education;· on the spot guidance and assistance in the establishment, organization and management of school libraries, on request;
· provision of a School Mobile Library to four regions.
More recently, the government of Tanzania has introduced new strategies to revive school libraries. The Sectoral Development Policy for Education, which has library components, is one of those recent efforts. The government has realized that operationally TLS cannot manage all school library activities. In its plan to establish school libraries in all schools in Tanzania, the role of a SLS will be played by the Ministry of Education and Culture, in conjunction with local authorities. The role of TLS will be limited to advisory services, development and maintenance of standards and manuals and maintenance of professionalism (Interviews with former Deputy Director General, TLS and Chief Librarian, TLS).
At the same time, those interviewed in 1997 generally agreed that the SLS had resulted in some improvements. The consultation services provided by TLS had benefited a number of schools, particularly in the private sector. And the fact the Ministry of Education and Culture had recently introduced a new strategy to revive school libraries, suggests that it has realized that they are important to the educational process.
Despite initial enthusiasm for the concept, school library services in Africa have failed to maintain their early promise. The activities of those that were established declined; this is true not only for Ghana and Tanzania but also for Nigeria, where three State Public Library Boards had set up School Library Services in the 1970s. In other countries, like Kenya and Uganda, a school library service never left the drawing board. Lack of money is usually given for their ultimate failure. And Ilomo, writing in 1985, concluded that financial limitation was the main obstacle. Finance certainly played a part, but this reason is often used to disguise the existence of other crucial factors. And the availability of finance does not necessarily mean that it will be channelled to the development of school libraries. Nigeria in the 80s was rich with oil money; libraries in universities benefited, but those in schools continued to decline (Alemna 1990).
Ghana
School libraries in Ghana still 'face a myriad of problems' and these are not being solved by SCD (Alemna 1990). A regional librarian, interviewed during the collection of data in Ghana, said that the main way of improving the performance of SCD would be to provide an increase in funding and, as a result, in materials for schools. However, those writers who have analyzed the situation, place far more weight on the failure, over the years, to convince educational planners and administrators and the teaching profession as a whole that school libraries are a necessity and not a luxury. The same regional librarian also admitted that school libraries are deteriorating, because of lack of government attention and low interest from administrators. Reasons given for the overall lack of impact of SCD are:
· official interest in libraries has been 'cool and casual, rather than active and sustained' (Alemna 1996). This lack of commitment by government and lack of interest by school principals and heads is seen as the main reason why standards (neither those laid down in the 1972 Manual for School Libraries in Ghana, nor those proposed by Alemna in 1993) have not been adopted, legislation has not been introduced, and monies allocated to libraries have often been diverted for other purposes. There is no specific training requirement for school librarians in Ghana. The resulting use of unqualified staff has led to poor services and libraries which do not add to the quality of education offered in the schools. Evidence to convince those in power positions on the importance of libraries has not been made available. Alemna, writing in 1994, commented that no-one appeared to be in a position to give any clear indication as to whether the growth of organized library services in schools had any impact on the poor reading habits of school leavers - which was the key reason for setting up the Schools and Colleges Department in the first place. Even the introduction of a new educational system in Ghana in 1986, one that demanded greater use of books and libraries, did not result in more support for SCD and its role in developing school libraries;· SCD has always been in an ambiguous position organizationally. Its operational status, vis à vis both GLB and the Ministry of Education, has never been clearly defined for the purposes of co-ordination. Without a secure source of funding, it has been difficult to plan long-term programmes. SCD has always led a hand-to-mouth existence. What is needed is a School Libraries Division within the Ministry of Education, with which SCD could cooperate;
· any school library needs an adequate and ongoing supply of relevant books and journals. Appropriate material needs to be produced locally and until there is a viable local publishing industry producing such material and in sufficient quantities, it will always be difficult to stock school libraries. Reliance on imported and donated material from outside the country is not a viable option.
Given the very evident failure of SCD to continue to develop and support school libraries in Ghana, it was dispiriting to find that there are no current plans to alter or change the role of SCD, to make it more functionally relevant to the problems faced by school libraries.
Tanzania
Asked about the current state of school libraries in Tanzania, interviewees said that those in government-owned primary and secondary schools were dead. The few existing school libraries in Tanzania were run by private organizations. The situation in 1997 was much the same as it was thirty years earlier, when the SLS was just starting. The latter had had little impact.
Misgivings about the likely impact of Tanzania's School Library Service were voiced early on in its life, both by Miss Taylor, the last expatriate head of SLS, and the Director of TLS, Mr Kaungamno. The overriding problem was that schools themselves had to want and to recognize the need for libraries, to consider that a well-stocked and well-organized library was essential for teaching and learning. Only then would a part of the per capita grant given to each school be reserved for library expenditure. Only then would schools see the need to appoint permanent trained library staff, to ensure control and continuity, rather than rely on teachers, who were frequently transferred and, anyway, had other duties to perform. As it was, the education curriculum was biased towards formal instruction and teachers only expected textbooks to be read; broad reading was not encouraged. Unless there was a change of attitude towards libraries, no lessons could be learnt from model libraries. Mobile libraries could only supplement a school's own collection; the latter had to be at least adequate. Advice and training was of little use, if it fell on deaf ears. In short, it was not possible to impose libraries on schools.
These same reasons were reiterated by those interviewed in 1997. Although TLS had the legal mandate to develop school libraries, it was recognized that the momentum must come from the Ministry of Education and, in the schools, from the headmasters. It was essential that the co-ordinator of any SLS should be based in the Ministry. Only teachers and school administrators could provide the opportunities for librarians to speak on the importance of school libraries and how they might be used to enhance the education process.
Of course funding or lack of it was also given as a reason for the failure of SLS to maintain its services, whether in the purchase of books, the running of the mobile service or even at the very basic level of making transport available for librarians to visit schools.
Another reason was that, as in Ghana, the local book industry needed to be developed, so as to provide materials which were relevant and appropriate to the school population at a reasonable price.
Despite its relative lack of success in practice, the school library concept remains a popular solution for ensuring access to reading materials. The Director of TLS (as late as 1979) declared that the experience of Africa had proved that a school library service is the right course of action, with the national library service taking the lead. And for countries like Kenya, which never managed to establish such a service, the call throughout the 1980s was for a definite government policy, enshrining standards in terms of library buildings, books, equipment and staff and for these to be implemented through the development of a comprehensive school library service. But the continuing deplorable state of school libraries is leading to a more realistic approach. It is recognized that Tanzania, where the legal responsibilities are clearly spelled out, has not managed to overcome problems. Whereas a Workshop on School Libraries at the 1984 IFLA Conference still favoured the development of school library services, an IFLA Seminar in 1993 was more cautious. Yes, an explicit government policy and training for those running school libraries was considered necessary. But co-operation and collaboration with other libraries rather than the setting up of a school library service was recommended. And the encouragement of a local publishing industry, so that relevant reading materials were easily available, was thought to be equally important.
Certainly the experiences of school library services in Ghana and Tanzania tend to support these conclusions. One thing that comes out very clearly is that any such service, whether comprehensive or limited in its objectives, must be based in the Ministry of Education rather than a national library service or public library. It must have the total commitment of that Ministry; it must arise from the expressed needs of school heads and administrators; it must be recognized as an essential part of the education process; its programmes must dovetail with the teaching programmes. Only then will it stand a chance of receiving financial support. Once established, such a service can then request co-operation from other libraries, for example in establishing standards or in training of staff to run the libraries.
Another conclusion is that a school library service, however comprehensive, can only supplement the library that is established and maintained by the school. The need for libraries has to be accepted by both teachers and parents; their value (e.g. in improving examination results) has to be demonstrable. The support offered by a school library service has to be demand-led. Libraries are bottom-up rather than top-down operations; they are the result of community need. Only then will financial support (through, for example, parental contributions on pupil enrolment or charity walks organized by the school - suggestions made by interviewees in Tanzania) be forthcoming.
A school library service presupposes that school libraries in each school are the best way of providing access to reading materials. Of the two countries studied, Ghana is now moving towards community libraries as an alternative. And Tanzania has experimented with joint school-public libraries. Maybe the answer may lie in cooperation between different types of libraries and taking advantage of what exists.
One advantage of a school library service is that it should benefit from economies of scale: centralized training, rotating book collections, expert advice. However, in practice in Africa, such a service seems to have become an expensive and not very effective additional layer of bureaucracy. And when funds for the purchase of reading materials are in such short supply, it is hard to defend the existence of this extra layer. To pay the salaries of 13 staff (as in Ghana) to make four advisory visits to schools, run five training courses and distribute a small number of books over a period of the last seven years is not cost effective. And the same is true for Tanzania, where 5 staff only managed to make 6 visits, publish 8 reading lists and again purchase and distribute a relatively small number of books over the seven years. Among those interviewed, the centralized services that were most valued by the schools were expert advice and the provision of specialized training courses for school librarians. Perhaps these could be provided more cost effectively by small non-governmental bodies set up for that specific purpose? Such as the Ghana Book Trust and, in Senegal, BLD (Bibliothèque-Lecture-Développement).
A final conclusion is that school libraries are there to provide supplementary reading materials. Some of this material may come from outside the country and through donations; at the moment most of the material distributed in Ghana and Tanzania is composed of donations from abroad. But the core, if it is to be relevant to school age needs, must be published and available locally. This requires a vibrant local book industry. If this is lacking, then the contribution of any school library to education will be drastically reduced.
Data, on the development since 1975, on the recent activities and on the performance of the school library services of Ghana and Tanzania, was collected in late 1997 by Professor A. A. Alemna, Department of Library and Archival Studies, University of Ghana and Alli Mcharazo, Tanzania Library Services, through questionnaire and interviews. The data collection instrument used is given in the Appendix.
Africa
Johnson, I. M. (1995) International issues in school librarianship: the IFLA Pre-Session Seminar, 1993. Information Development, 11 (I): 50-55.
Klynsmith, J. T. O. (1993) School library services in Namibia. In: Co-ordination of Information Systems and Services in Namibia: papers of the seminar held in Windhoek, 1993. Bonn: DSE: 172-182.
Kruger, J. A. (1981) School Library Service [Republic of South Africa]. In: Jackson, M. M. Contemporary developments in librarianship: an international handbook. London: Library Association: 96-103.
Ocholla, D. N. (1992) Essentials for school library development: some worthwhile considerations for an African nation. New Library World, 93 (1103): 9 - 15.
School Libraries in Uganda: papers and proceedings of a DSE/EASL/MOES Seminar. Kampala, 1995. (1996) Bonn: DSE.
Ghana
Alemna, A. A. (1983) The development of school libraries in Ghana. International Library Review, 15: 217-223.
Alemna, A. A. (1990) The school library in Ghanaian education: an analysis of issues and problems. Nigerian Library and Information Science Review, 8 (2): 1-9.
Alemna, A. A. (1993) Management of school libraries in Ghana: a case for new standards. Library Management, 14 (4): 31-3 5.
Alemna, A. A. (1994) Libraries and information provision in Ghana. Accra: Type Cp. Ltd.: 36-44.
Alemna, A. A. (1996) The future of school libraries in Ghana. 8p. (Unpublished paper)
Kaungamno, E. E. and C. S. Homo. (1979) Books build nations, vol. I: Library services in West and East Africa. London: Transafrica; Dar es Salaam: Tanzania Library Services: 39.
Oddoye, D. E. M. (1969) The role of the school library in education. Ghana Library Journal, 3 (2): 6-10.
Ofori, A. G. T. (1981) Ghana. In: Jackson, M. M. Contemporary developments in librarianship: an international handbook. London: Library Association: 5 - 7.
Osei-Bonsu, M. (1990) Secondary school libraries in Ghana: an evaluative study. International Review of Children's Literature and Libraries, 5 (2): 87-105.
Tanzania
Frost, E. (1972) School library service in Tanzania. East African Library Association Bulletin, 13: 113-117.
Ilomo, C. S. (1985) Towards more effective school library programmes in Tanzania. Dar es Salaam: Tanzania Library Services. 6p. (Occasional Papers; no. 23)
Kaungamno, E. E. (1974) School libraries as a basic tool for teaching. Tanzania Education Journal, 3: 38-40. (Paper delivered to International Association of School Librarianship Conference, Nairobi, 1973)
Kaungamno, E. E. (1981) Tanzania. In: Jackson, M. M. Contemporary developments in librarianship: an international handbook. London: Library Association: 108-109.
Kaungamno, E. E. and C. S. Ilomo. (1979) Books build nations, vol. 2: Library services in Tanzania. London: Transafrica; Dar es Salaam: Tanzania Library Services: 194-197.
Taylor, M. (1975) My experience with Tanzania Library Services. Someni, 4(1): 20-30.
