Cape Crusade: Building the Steve Biko Library-Archive in the Eastern Cape
Kenneth SchlesingerChief LibrarianLehman College
Mission Impossible
•Draft a three-year Strategic Plan for proposed Library and Archive for Steve Biko Centre in Eastern Cape, South Africa
• . . . in six weeks
Who was Steve Biko?• South African student leader
from the 1970s actively involved in liberation movement
• Developed concept of Black Consciousness [community empowerment]
• Brutally murdered by police while in detention in 1977
• His death awakened world to excesses and abuses of Apartheid
Steve Biko gravesite
Statue – East London City Hall
Steve Biko Centre• Cultural heritage center under
construction in Ginsberg Township [Biko’s hometown]
• Museum, auditorium, conference center, community garden, Internet Café, library and archive
• Community-oriented space promoting leadership development, training and empowerment
• Need for spaces to interact – talk to each other
• Petition to be designated as UNESCO World Heritage site
Steve Biko Centre – under construction
Process – Eastern Cape• Visit local public libraries – meet
with librarians• Accomplish needs assessment of
access, content and technology requirements
• Meet with Provincial government representatives in libraries, archives and curriculum development
South Africa - Map
King William’s TownPublic Library
East London Central Library
Eastern Cape - Challenges• Poorest Province in South Africa• 43% unemployment – little local
industry• 51% pass rate on high school
Matriculation exam [second lowest in country]
• Libraries under resourced – not acknowledged as part of education reform
• Public schools share library services [in clusters of groups of ten]
• Limited access to Internet technologies
Archives - Plan• Visit Special Collections at
National Library and major universities
• Review original documents related to Steve Biko, Black Consciousness and student liberation movements
• Attempt to enact duplication and exchange agreements with various repositories
University of Fort Hare – Alice
Computer Lab
Rhodes University - Grahamstown
Information Commons
Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University – Port Elizabeth
University of the Witswatersrand [Wits] -
Johannesburg
Historical Papers – Reading Room
University of Cape Town
Manuscripts and Special Collections
Project Plan – Mission Statement• Collection Scope *African History and Civilization *Cultural Heritage *African Diaspora *Information supporting Biko Centre programs and initiatives *Free public health information
User Groups
• Ginsberg Township, King William’s Town, Eastern Cape
• Cradle to Grave: Pre-schoolers, Seniors, Primary, Secondary, University Students, Out-of-School students
• Visitors, tourists, research scholars
Space PlanningLibrary divided into three sections:•Entrance – Reference Desk greets visitors•10 Internet terminals•Central – Bookshelves on either side, bookstore-style•Four large work tables
Space PlanningPublic Space includes the following: *Exhibit cases *Couches and chairs for Periodicals section *Carpeting-cushions for Children’s Readings
Cataloging-Software-Consortia• Recommendation that Library
selects Sabinet for cataloging and circulation management [OCLC-affiliated]
• Join national SANLiC Consortium to make available major portal of electronic resources for Eastern Cape at reduced price
• 10,000 book collection cataloged by Dewey Decimal system [used by most South African public and academic libraries]
Staffing•Librarian•Archivist•Library Assistant
[book cataloging-circulation]
•Archive Assistant [records processing]
Literacy-Writing CentreCurriculum Materials
• Library offers literacy training to children and adults
• Writing Centre staffed by volunteer specialists to critically review students’ essays
• Teachers encouraged to contribute syllabi, lesson plans, and best practices to Curriculum Materials repository as community resource to foster excellence in instruction
Outreach• Library must extend reach and
influence beyond physical walls of Centre
• Librarian can visit schools, child care centers, churches, and prisons for library orientations and Book Talks
• Mobile Library – Bookmobile travels to schools in underserved rural areas to distribute books and provide computer demonstrations
Steve Biko Archive• Specialized repository collects
materials documenting Steve Biko’s writings, philosophy, political activity, and legacy
• Archivist must proactively solicit related materials and pursue exchange agreements with appropriate collections
• Archivist maintains intellectual control over release of sensitive documents
Archives - Challenges• Special Collections at major
universities reluctant to show primary documents
• Perception that Biko Centre is in competition with them
• In their defense – South African libraries have been burned by insensitive U.S. university libraries presuming ownership of documents in cooperative digitization projects
Archives - Achievements• Mayibuye Archives agreed to
share copies of Steve Biko-related documents
• Memorandum of Understanding in process
• National Library generous in showing rich liberation materials in collection
• University of Cape Town provided lead to trove of oral histories related to Steve Biko with major players
Mayibuye Archives – University of Western
Cape
South Africa National Library - Cape Town campus
Computer LabMultimedia Centre
• Computer Lab extends Library by offering information literacy workshops, exam preparation, and computer training [novice to advanced]
• Multimedia Centre provides fledgling multimedia journalists with training in online editing and oral history techniques to create new programs and community legacy assets
National School of the Arts students - Johannesburg
Apartheid Museum – Take a Look at our Beautiful Country
Then Walk Away Free . . .
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