Book project boosts schools
NGO’s library drive a bid to increase literacy
AWESTERN Cape NGO is expanding its reach to the Bay, by establishing and equipping two underprivileged schools with libraries and a librarian in a bid to boost the country’s dismal literacy rate.
The Bookery (registered as The Library Project Trust) is a Cape-Town based NGO that was established in 2010 to address the lack of functional libraries in South African schools.
Port Elizabeth director of The Bookery, Relda Donaldson, said the first two beneficiaries of the new libraries are Settlers Park Primary School in Walmer and Ebongweni Primary School in Kwazakhele.
Donaldson said while she had already received book donations from Clarendon Park Primary and Herbert Hurd, she is utilising Library and Information Association of South Africa library week (19-25 March) to generate awareness of the project and more specifically book donations from schools.
“Our model strives for optimum sustainability, the departure point for a partnership being a school with either no library or a white elephant library, strong leadership and a passion for literacy.
“We will install about 3 000 donated books per library [across all the Dewey categories] and raise funds for a computer, printer, library Dewey software programme LIBWIN, shelves and furniture where the school cannot manage these,” Donaldson said.
“Critically, we will appoint a member of that community as a librarian, whom we then train with a training course developed by the University of the Western Cape as well as provide a stipend for the librarian.
“The school will appoint a library committee which will develop and oversee library policies. They will create a library period for every class once a week, the library will be open, at the very least, during all school hours. The Bookery will engage actively in on-going support to the librarian.”
Donaldson said the selection process is more focused on a school’s ability to actually create a sustainable model through good leadership and accessibility. She said that while libraries at Settlers Park and Ebongweni Primary Schools are still in progress, work towards a third library is already under way.
“The third school library that is being developed in the Eastern Cape is Kroonvale Primary School in Graaff-Reinet.
“As the language of tuition is Afrikaans, I am in the process of collecting Afrikaans books and will greatly appreciate donations,” Donaldson said.
To date, the NGO has already established 55 libraries – predominately in the Cape Flats and Khayelitsha.