“From food silos to community kitchens”—Retooling African libraries

⁎ This paper was based on a presentation by Du Plessis, Jacques C., Britz, Johannes J., & Lor, Peter J. in the Summer 2006 at the Standing Conference for Eastern, Central, and Southern African Libraries, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

⁎

Abstract

This article explores reasons why the Western library system does not adequately address Africa's vision for a library and why it does not meet the local needs for information. With a focus on the AIDS pandemic, the role and mission of libraries are revisited as a customized tool that is culturally localized to effectively participate as a proactive disseminator of information, specifically to support the three key public health objectives regarding HIV/AIDS, namely, to have people tested for the virus, to inform those infected about their best options to sustain life, and to support efforts to prevent the spread of HIV. A progressive Africanized vision of the role of libraries is proposed—to retool libraries from their current passive roles as the guardians of books, to active, live, and customized disseminators of socially relevant and culturally appropriate information.

Notes

⁎ This paper was based on a presentation by Du Plessis, Jacques C., Britz, Johannes J., & Lor, Peter J. in the Summer 2006 at the Standing Conference for Eastern, Central, and Southern African Libraries, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.