WLP volunteers Margaret Traylor of California and Del Hornbuckle of Washington,
D.C. spent two weeks helping reorganize the existing library and teaching library
skills to teachers and students alike. The school has 13 teachers and 441
learners, and its school governing board consists of seven parents, two learners,
two educators and the principal.
"We work to enlighten our community because we have been so deprived," Mbatha said. "We need the library to enhance the culture of study and the culture of seeking information." Mbatha was able to obtain donated books and other materials from a nearby college and a local private school. The library began with these donated books, but no one at the school knew what to do with the books. Many of older black South Africans had no exposure to libraries until teachers college, and even then their experience was limited in the years of apartheid. So along with maps and other materials from the United States, Traylor and Hornbuckle set to work re-organizing, cataloging and processing the donated books that were already there. In addition, 10 learners were chosen and taught how to process books and run the library.
"The World Library Partnership
project enriches and gives sustenance to what is already on the ground,
said Ndawo. "You couldnít have come at a better time. In a matter of weeks
Del and Margaret have been able to deal with processing that would have
taken our teacher/librarian years in her spare time. The volunteers have
triggered something in the teachers and students." Mbatha echoed the importance
of sustainability and the future of the library. "At the end of the day
the learners will feel a sense of ownership of their library," he said.
"They need to see the value of the library and take ownership of it."
"Two priorities that I believe will
solidify the work of the Inform
the World program is giving youth ownership in the library's development,"
Hornbuckle said. "The young people should be the major stake holders here;
their involvement and leadership in the planning and growth of the library
is an investment in their collective future. This will also guarantee the
library having a stable presence in the community. The youth will be the
force to encourage each other to begin to view the library as the resource
that can help them begin to make informed decisions about their future."
Although the library was originally
set up to benefit the learners at the school, Mbathaís vision includes
making the library accessible to the community and creating partnerships
between adult learners and students. "We view this library not only as
for the school but for the entire community," he said. "We must balance
how we help the community and our partnerships with other institutions
against how well this project helps the learning process."
Part of the motivation for a dual library is the desire not to squander precious resources that may not be appropriate for the learners. Mbatha believes that these materials could prove valuable to adults, and should not be wasted. Many refugees from flood ravaged Mozambique often come to this community in search of help, but there is not room in the schools to accommodate the influx of new students. Mbatha said that opening the doors of the school library would not only allow access to information resources in his community, but to refugees in need. In turn people with certain skills or stories can share them with the library so that they might be preserved and passed on to a younger generation, Mbatha said.
"In our view, the most important part
of this project is its impact on teaching and learning," Mbatha said. "We
appreciate you coming here to share your ideas, and we promise as long
as one person is left here, we will not allow the efforts to go down the
drain."