Zimbabwe Library Association (Zimla) Transformation Agenda: a proposal...
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Zimbabwe Library Association (Zimla) Transformation Agenda: a proposal... by Raymond Chibatamoto
About the author: Ray Chibatamoto graduated from Harare Polytechnic in 1993 with a National Diploma in Library and Information Sciences. He has worked in many library and documentation setups including the Supreme Court of Zimbabwe, The Southern Africa Research and Documentation Centre (SARDC), Harare City Library (formerly known as the Queen Victoria Memorial Library), The IUCN-The World Conservation Union (the world’s largest environmental NGO), and presently as a Consultant Librarian and an infopreneur. In his spare time he tends to look back on his career spoor, reflect on the future and write.
In this paper I speak
• from what I regard as the centre of myself;
• from a point in total awareness of where my experience of the past and my intuition of the future meet;
• where my conscious knowledge of being a Zimbabwean librarian and an aspiring global citizen meet;
• so these papers could be read also from a point where the reader’s sense of the past and the future meet;
• where both the reader’s knowledge and expectations of librarian’s life meet;
• if they could be read with hearts as well as minds;
I should not fear the result.
And finally, very humbly I ask you not to consider these papers as advocacy papers.
• from a point in total awareness of where my experience of the past and my intuition of the future meet;
• where my conscious knowledge of being a Zimbabwean librarian and an aspiring global citizen meet;
• so these papers could be read also from a point where the reader’s sense of the past and the future meet;
• where both the reader’s knowledge and expectations of librarian’s life meet;
• if they could be read with hearts as well as minds;
I should not fear the result.
And finally, very humbly I ask you not to consider these papers as advocacy papers.
What I write here is merely my idea of how one librarian with the pattern of Zimbabwe Librarianship running very deep within him, has conceived how some challenges in our librarianship can be defined and addressed. I put them forward to you not as proud absolutes but merely as humble relatives; I speak not as a teacher but as one of the guinea-pigs in this vast laboratory of library and information sciences.
1. As I enumerate “change issues” affecting Zimbabwe Library Association, a part of the library herd have just returned from the 49th Zimla Kariba Conference. It is also quite exciting to see that the organising committee “dragged” the Minister of Education to be Guest Speaker at this conference. My hearty congratulations to the organizing committee of this conference for tapping the right musical chords that have reverberated throughout the professional, political and administrative corridors in our land. It is not every year that an Association brings to the podium a relevant and powerful Minister to an AGM. I humbly hope you managed to wrench a line on commitment and intent from the Minister as a preamble to the wider and more rigorous future dialogical intercourses in library and information sciences with his ministry. Your presentations and deliberations were of course of grave consequences.
1. As I enumerate “change issues” affecting Zimbabwe Library Association, a part of the library herd have just returned from the 49th Zimla Kariba Conference. It is also quite exciting to see that the organising committee “dragged” the Minister of Education to be Guest Speaker at this conference. My hearty congratulations to the organizing committee of this conference for tapping the right musical chords that have reverberated throughout the professional, political and administrative corridors in our land. It is not every year that an Association brings to the podium a relevant and powerful Minister to an AGM. I humbly hope you managed to wrench a line on commitment and intent from the Minister as a preamble to the wider and more rigorous future dialogical intercourses in library and information sciences with his ministry. Your presentations and deliberations were of course of grave consequences.
2. This is the 2nd instalment on the changes I wish to see effected on Zimbabwe Library and Information Sciences landscape, especially Zimla. Consequently, in view of the omnibus breakdown in the Library and Information Sciences machinery in Zimbabwe, I arrogate to myself the unenviable task of publicly questioning the calibre of some of the candidates and office bearers in the matters to do with Zimla. A few frameworking questions to the foregoing may be pertinent.
• Are the office-bearers or aspirants to the Zimla business offices really of the right frame of mind, experience, disposition and orientation?
• Are they relevantly qualified and motivated?
• What is their service record?
• What are the aspirants’ footprints in library and information sciences field?
• Can we voters clearly identify with the aspirants’ and bearers’ dispositions which characteristics we deem necessary prerequisites to the articulation of Zimla business?
• Is it about a combination of odd and desirable qualities such as charisma, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation and individualized concentration?
• Or about exquisite past exploits in the field?
• Is it about one’s educational qualifications?
• Is it about what job one presently holds?
• Or perhaps is it about the knowledge, charisma and networking capabilities?
• Are they relevantly qualified and motivated?
• What is their service record?
• What are the aspirants’ footprints in library and information sciences field?
• Can we voters clearly identify with the aspirants’ and bearers’ dispositions which characteristics we deem necessary prerequisites to the articulation of Zimla business?
• Is it about a combination of odd and desirable qualities such as charisma, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation and individualized concentration?
• Or about exquisite past exploits in the field?
• Is it about one’s educational qualifications?
• Is it about what job one presently holds?
• Or perhaps is it about the knowledge, charisma and networking capabilities?
3. It is critical to have the right leaders in office. Here I paraphrase Bass who aptly characterizes leadership that would be most ideal to the business of transforming an organization. For transformation to take place leadership should
a. promote a culture that is hospitable and conducive to creativity, problem solving, risk taking, and experimentation. Would articulate the changes that are desired.
b. next, the necessary changes in structure, processes, and practices should be made and widely communicated throughout the association.
c. new role and behavioural models are established and reinforced that they become symbols of the "new" culture.
d. Attempts and successes at innovation should be rewarded, which fit with the new mission or vision for the association.
e. and finally leaders in associations necessarily serve as mentors, coaches, role models, and socialize members into the culture of transformation.
a. promote a culture that is hospitable and conducive to creativity, problem solving, risk taking, and experimentation. Would articulate the changes that are desired.
b. next, the necessary changes in structure, processes, and practices should be made and widely communicated throughout the association.
c. new role and behavioural models are established and reinforced that they become symbols of the "new" culture.
d. Attempts and successes at innovation should be rewarded, which fit with the new mission or vision for the association.
e. and finally leaders in associations necessarily serve as mentors, coaches, role models, and socialize members into the culture of transformation.
4. Having outlined the purview of what constitutes transformational leadership in an association I humbly interrogate the Zimla:
a. Does Zimla have known permanent address like other professional association such as Engineers, Nurse, Teachers and Social Workers? Is it desirable then to have a vagabond association with no known place of residence?
b. Does Zimla have a living register of members:
i. Active
ii. Lapsed
iii. Not interested
iv. Never joined
v. Students
vi. Retired
vii. Dead
viii. Unemployed
c. Does Zimla manage, operate or is it a partner in Library and Information Sciences (LIS) project at ward, district, or national level?
d. Has Zimla put together a national policy statement regarding National Library and Information Sciences wherein the policymakers may be guided for planning purposes?
e. 35 years into National Independence Zimla has not put together “living” Association Point of Reference Tool
i. on School library
ii. Public Library
iii. training framework and content on Information Sciences
iv. NGO Libraries and Information infrastructures in Zimbabwe?
v. College library
a. Does Zimla have known permanent address like other professional association such as Engineers, Nurse, Teachers and Social Workers? Is it desirable then to have a vagabond association with no known place of residence?
b. Does Zimla have a living register of members:
i. Active
ii. Lapsed
iii. Not interested
iv. Never joined
v. Students
vi. Retired
vii. Dead
viii. Unemployed
c. Does Zimla manage, operate or is it a partner in Library and Information Sciences (LIS) project at ward, district, or national level?
d. Has Zimla put together a national policy statement regarding National Library and Information Sciences wherein the policymakers may be guided for planning purposes?
e. 35 years into National Independence Zimla has not put together “living” Association Point of Reference Tool
i. on School library
ii. Public Library
iii. training framework and content on Information Sciences
iv. NGO Libraries and Information infrastructures in Zimbabwe?
v. College library
5. I could enumerate a dozen very disturbing graphic examples of where we have been found wanting at national level regarding Library and information Sciences. But suffice to say that Zimla should look into these, motivated by strategy and alliances. 35 years into National Independence, Zimla is of no fixed abode: a vagabond: pathetic and without power and strategy. In brief I want to speak of a Zimla that must be empowered, rejuvenated and reoriented by legislation at national level. Lets observe and be guided by the fact that by virtue of our training and skills we are obligated to manage the nation’s storehouses and systems of knowledge. From an elementary consideration that onerous mandate seems to be of no consequence but looked from a Development National Agenda angle it is as grave as medical practitioners’ mandate. The Change Issues in Zimla require a shift in approach. To shy away from instituting comprehensive and wide-ranging transformational changes would be to wait patiently for death of both the association and the field of library and Information Sciences in Zimbabwe. Time of rebirth is now, and this is how we can go about it.
6. The only way to empower both the librarian and his user/customer is by way of Zimla operating a Secretariat enabled statutorily. Statutory Secretariat means Zimla Secretariat is operationalised by an Act of Parliament or an equivalent. The need for establishing a secretariat is motivated by the realization that the librarian in Zimbabwe...the integral person in the scheme of managing and disseminating information... is just but an insignificant dot. The statutory body would manage various portfolios such as:
a. Hosting Office of the President and other Zimla arms—Lawyers and nurses associations for instance require that the president be in the office fulltime. What is our challenge? Money! I don’t think so because through these arms of the office it will be capable to raise enough for its operations from its constituencies.
b. Department of Projects—Zimla through its secretariat should write project proposals that seek both the support of national internal and external stakeholders. For starters, Projects, may focus on the School Library System, the Public Library System, Public Library: Children System
c. Department of Membership, Communication, Marketing and fundraising —the secretariat should have fulltime employees who dedicate their energies to recruiting members for the association. These may be both institutional (the bulk of members) and individuals.
d. Department of Research and Publishing— Zimla may choose to be active in the field of publishing of both textbooks and creative works for consumption by its constituencies. While it is a fact that Zimla will not be able to author most of the critical books needed by our constituencies, Zimla may have to partner its commissioned authors in researching content as well as providing living examples in the case of textbooks. Today, if you happen to be an avid reader of Shona as well as English novels you will notice that there is a very vast difference it terms of content, genres, scientific information, etc. Shona is shallow and narrow in all aspects; constrained by lack of research on material concepts; unscientific where it’s supposed to be. Zimla will grow these areas. Having worked for years in a publishing NGO, I know the role played by librarians in publishing a book worth reading twice. This is the department that will drive sustainability in the Zimla Secretariat business.
e. Training and capacity-building—Zimla secretariat will be responsible for training and building capacity in the new order of Library and Information Infrastructure and Service
f. Bookshops—presently, I am quite disturbed by the fewness of the players in this field. While there is a real danger of being labelled a racist, which race seems to dominate the (textbook) bookselling industry in Zimbabwe? Is it sustainable? Is it unthinkable that Zimla should own and operate bookshops throughout the whole country as a systemic follow up to the structural changes I have outlined above? Is it desirable to have 4 players who dominate the national bookshop industry worth millions of dollars? Do the profits made by these 4 players cascade into the national library and information infrastructure? In this area alone we need to do more in dynamiting our way into the lucrative industry. Only that we will not be doing it for capitalist motive alone but also to benefit the ordinary.
g. Book fairs—it is cruel irony that after all has been said and done, libraries are expected to buy and make deals at the book fairs for the Book Fair survival, even if librarians play an insignificant role in the management of the processes leading to the book fair. I suggest that in the absence of a win—win inclusive approach for librarians in the present set up of the Zimbabwe International Book Fair; it might be worth considering establishing a parallel national Book fair owned and operated by Zimla. Librarians make the book fair worthwhile, even memorable for publishers and government alike, but are not central to its being from a management point of view. I ask for more.
h. Content creation on the WWW— Zimla is home to many managers of electronic resources in many institutions. It would be a world of opportunity for our experts to assist the nation in creating and repackaging national information sources to be accessed in many e-formats. This move is central and thematic to the founding of a knowledge society.
6. The only way to empower both the librarian and his user/customer is by way of Zimla operating a Secretariat enabled statutorily. Statutory Secretariat means Zimla Secretariat is operationalised by an Act of Parliament or an equivalent. The need for establishing a secretariat is motivated by the realization that the librarian in Zimbabwe...the integral person in the scheme of managing and disseminating information... is just but an insignificant dot. The statutory body would manage various portfolios such as:
a. Hosting Office of the President and other Zimla arms—Lawyers and nurses associations for instance require that the president be in the office fulltime. What is our challenge? Money! I don’t think so because through these arms of the office it will be capable to raise enough for its operations from its constituencies.
b. Department of Projects—Zimla through its secretariat should write project proposals that seek both the support of national internal and external stakeholders. For starters, Projects, may focus on the School Library System, the Public Library System, Public Library: Children System
c. Department of Membership, Communication, Marketing and fundraising —the secretariat should have fulltime employees who dedicate their energies to recruiting members for the association. These may be both institutional (the bulk of members) and individuals.
d. Department of Research and Publishing— Zimla may choose to be active in the field of publishing of both textbooks and creative works for consumption by its constituencies. While it is a fact that Zimla will not be able to author most of the critical books needed by our constituencies, Zimla may have to partner its commissioned authors in researching content as well as providing living examples in the case of textbooks. Today, if you happen to be an avid reader of Shona as well as English novels you will notice that there is a very vast difference it terms of content, genres, scientific information, etc. Shona is shallow and narrow in all aspects; constrained by lack of research on material concepts; unscientific where it’s supposed to be. Zimla will grow these areas. Having worked for years in a publishing NGO, I know the role played by librarians in publishing a book worth reading twice. This is the department that will drive sustainability in the Zimla Secretariat business.
e. Training and capacity-building—Zimla secretariat will be responsible for training and building capacity in the new order of Library and Information Infrastructure and Service
f. Bookshops—presently, I am quite disturbed by the fewness of the players in this field. While there is a real danger of being labelled a racist, which race seems to dominate the (textbook) bookselling industry in Zimbabwe? Is it sustainable? Is it unthinkable that Zimla should own and operate bookshops throughout the whole country as a systemic follow up to the structural changes I have outlined above? Is it desirable to have 4 players who dominate the national bookshop industry worth millions of dollars? Do the profits made by these 4 players cascade into the national library and information infrastructure? In this area alone we need to do more in dynamiting our way into the lucrative industry. Only that we will not be doing it for capitalist motive alone but also to benefit the ordinary.
g. Book fairs—it is cruel irony that after all has been said and done, libraries are expected to buy and make deals at the book fairs for the Book Fair survival, even if librarians play an insignificant role in the management of the processes leading to the book fair. I suggest that in the absence of a win—win inclusive approach for librarians in the present set up of the Zimbabwe International Book Fair; it might be worth considering establishing a parallel national Book fair owned and operated by Zimla. Librarians make the book fair worthwhile, even memorable for publishers and government alike, but are not central to its being from a management point of view. I ask for more.
h. Content creation on the WWW— Zimla is home to many managers of electronic resources in many institutions. It would be a world of opportunity for our experts to assist the nation in creating and repackaging national information sources to be accessed in many e-formats. This move is central and thematic to the founding of a knowledge society.
7. With the foregoing in mind, I therefore propose that the Secretariat be known as Zimbabwe Library Council or National Library Council. In registering this institution it is important to explore many available avenues that give credence to both sustainability and autonomy.
a. One way of incorporating Zimbabwe Library Council or National Library Council would be to court a government ministry such as Home Affairs, Education or Social Services. The ministry would then sponsor a bill through Parliament for the statutory creation of Zimbabwe Library Council or National Library Council.
b. Another way would be to lobby the repealing of the Harare City Library Act 25:05. The repealed Act would be replaced by the Zimbabwe Library Council or National Library Council or whatever we choose to call it. The Zimbabwe Library Council or National Library Council Act would principally found a body mandated to roll out a nationally customized national library infrastructure and service. The main constituencies of the Zimbabwe Library Council or National Library Council would be the school, the urban, farming, mining and rural populace, and the NGO. The Zimbabwe Library Council or National Library Council Act would affect the NGO library system as we know it today. (More on this will be explored in my next “calling” paper on “The future of Public, Schools and NGO Libraries in Zimbabwe: a paradigm shift to address structural Library and information sciences poverty”.)
8. In terms of structure and operations, The Zimbabwe Library Council or National Library Council Act would operate much in the same way as the Zimbabwe Aids Council, which finances its operations from levies, budget allocations and management secondments and superintendence from parent ministry and external donors.
9. The Zimbabwe Library Council or National Library Council would annul life out of all existing public libraries which would be appropriated to The Zimbabwe Library Council or National Library Council. For instance, the City of Harare Municipal Library would be integrated into the new service infrastructure. For most municipalities they would gladly offload this burden to the new institution. Municipalities in general do not know how they should invest in this burdensome system. For years big municipalities have halted investing in the library altogether or have superficially maintained a presence in the barest of terms. Small towns have failed altogether to establish libraries in Zimbabwe. There are 66 urban settlements of note in Zimbabwe.
I hear your reservations about appropriations, but I speak to you from my heart to your senses and sensibilities to project a new thinking regarding public librarianship which somehow is the intellectual as we as association’s professional burden. A dedicated pursuit in this area presents us with a momentous paradigm anchor; that which will assist the nation establish strong bedrock of the 21st Century Zimbabwe Knowledge Society. This climb up must be seen for what it is: a pluralistic enfranchisement for otherwise wholesale marginalized masses in terms of access to knowledge and information. I offer that it is no longer optional to statutorize and institutionalize Zimbabwe Library Council or National Library Council. It is a criticality. Incidentally that move will put to an end the shameful vagaboncy of the Zimla.
10. These calls for transformations are not without precedence. Some 20 years ago whirlwind transformation hit the library and information sciences in Zimbabwe. I recall that Mr. Chinyemba and his team at the Harare Polytechnic started the changes that we are tempted to take for granted today. That iconic librarian took headship of the library school and immediately sought to enlarge the enrolments of the school. Can you imagine the paucity of the numbers of graduates in the early 1990s: in the National Diploma graduating class of 1993, there were 10 men and one lady! I confess, I was one of the people who spoke against that vision of “ballooning” enrolments in the library school. Then came the library schools at NUST, Bulawayo Polytechnic, and ZOU. How myopic I was. Are Mr. Chinyemba and his team not vindicated by turn of events 20 years later? That transformation, expanding the horizons and catchment areas of the library schools are welcome and indeed changed forever the national landscape in the library and information sciences. Mr. Chinyemba and the founding fathers and mothers of the other schools, I applaud you for transforming this profession. But again true transformation is not monumental and everlasting; it is organic, responding to the urges and demands of the times. Seriously speaking the number of librarians and library schools in this country are still frighteningly few. To juxtapose our numbers against the country’s learning institutions demands for librarians, the economy and other factors permitting, should show this gap. Come to imagine the demands for librarians in the ministries of Health, Local government, justice, agriculture and education: all things being normal in the country, this short list of government institutions would swallow us en mass and still be hungry for more.
11. I would want to see a transformation in the area of relations we have with stakeholders outside the country. For instance, I would want to see a tender and intimate relationship being grown and managed as India does with its librarians in the Diaspora. A special working relationship may have to be acknowledged and enshrined in Zimla statues as regards Librarians in Diaspora. Recognizing that Diaspora librarians are practising librarianship in contexts that we can learn a lot from, to our advantage, might be a starting point.
12. As school children in Rhodesia we had a school break known as the Rhodes and Founders holiday. This was in honour of the founding fathers and mothers of Rhodesia. In independent Zimbabwe we also have what is known as the Heroes Holidays. In the field of librarianship in Zimbabwe are we short of heroes and heroines? Is it not the right time to encourage those with the talent and knowledge to capture our footprints in History? There are many unsung heroes that may be profiled in our ZLA newsletter. I should be forgiven but how can I forget the following people whom I know did all that make a heroes be remembered. I could have written a short paragraph on each of the peoples below but suffice to say these people who make this list have impacted on Zimbabwe librarianship in a way that would be difficult to imitate.
13. :
• Mr. Made (late)
• Mr. Mapasure
• Mrs Podmore
• Mr. Chinyemba
• Mr Lawton Hikwa
• Mr. Tendekayi Bhowa (tg)
• Mr. Dryden Kunaka
• Ms Powell
• Mr. Hosea Tokwe
• Mr. Mushonga
• Mrs Ross-Smith
• Mr. Tonderayi Chanakira
• The founder of Rural Libraries Program Director
• Mr. Maenzanise
• Mr. Mamvoto
• Lantern Fusire
• All founding librarians of the university and public libraries in zimbabwe
b. Another way would be to lobby the repealing of the Harare City Library Act 25:05. The repealed Act would be replaced by the Zimbabwe Library Council or National Library Council or whatever we choose to call it. The Zimbabwe Library Council or National Library Council Act would principally found a body mandated to roll out a nationally customized national library infrastructure and service. The main constituencies of the Zimbabwe Library Council or National Library Council would be the school, the urban, farming, mining and rural populace, and the NGO. The Zimbabwe Library Council or National Library Council Act would affect the NGO library system as we know it today. (More on this will be explored in my next “calling” paper on “The future of Public, Schools and NGO Libraries in Zimbabwe: a paradigm shift to address structural Library and information sciences poverty”.)
8. In terms of structure and operations, The Zimbabwe Library Council or National Library Council Act would operate much in the same way as the Zimbabwe Aids Council, which finances its operations from levies, budget allocations and management secondments and superintendence from parent ministry and external donors.
9. The Zimbabwe Library Council or National Library Council would annul life out of all existing public libraries which would be appropriated to The Zimbabwe Library Council or National Library Council. For instance, the City of Harare Municipal Library would be integrated into the new service infrastructure. For most municipalities they would gladly offload this burden to the new institution. Municipalities in general do not know how they should invest in this burdensome system. For years big municipalities have halted investing in the library altogether or have superficially maintained a presence in the barest of terms. Small towns have failed altogether to establish libraries in Zimbabwe. There are 66 urban settlements of note in Zimbabwe.
I hear your reservations about appropriations, but I speak to you from my heart to your senses and sensibilities to project a new thinking regarding public librarianship which somehow is the intellectual as we as association’s professional burden. A dedicated pursuit in this area presents us with a momentous paradigm anchor; that which will assist the nation establish strong bedrock of the 21st Century Zimbabwe Knowledge Society. This climb up must be seen for what it is: a pluralistic enfranchisement for otherwise wholesale marginalized masses in terms of access to knowledge and information. I offer that it is no longer optional to statutorize and institutionalize Zimbabwe Library Council or National Library Council. It is a criticality. Incidentally that move will put to an end the shameful vagaboncy of the Zimla.
10. These calls for transformations are not without precedence. Some 20 years ago whirlwind transformation hit the library and information sciences in Zimbabwe. I recall that Mr. Chinyemba and his team at the Harare Polytechnic started the changes that we are tempted to take for granted today. That iconic librarian took headship of the library school and immediately sought to enlarge the enrolments of the school. Can you imagine the paucity of the numbers of graduates in the early 1990s: in the National Diploma graduating class of 1993, there were 10 men and one lady! I confess, I was one of the people who spoke against that vision of “ballooning” enrolments in the library school. Then came the library schools at NUST, Bulawayo Polytechnic, and ZOU. How myopic I was. Are Mr. Chinyemba and his team not vindicated by turn of events 20 years later? That transformation, expanding the horizons and catchment areas of the library schools are welcome and indeed changed forever the national landscape in the library and information sciences. Mr. Chinyemba and the founding fathers and mothers of the other schools, I applaud you for transforming this profession. But again true transformation is not monumental and everlasting; it is organic, responding to the urges and demands of the times. Seriously speaking the number of librarians and library schools in this country are still frighteningly few. To juxtapose our numbers against the country’s learning institutions demands for librarians, the economy and other factors permitting, should show this gap. Come to imagine the demands for librarians in the ministries of Health, Local government, justice, agriculture and education: all things being normal in the country, this short list of government institutions would swallow us en mass and still be hungry for more.
11. I would want to see a transformation in the area of relations we have with stakeholders outside the country. For instance, I would want to see a tender and intimate relationship being grown and managed as India does with its librarians in the Diaspora. A special working relationship may have to be acknowledged and enshrined in Zimla statues as regards Librarians in Diaspora. Recognizing that Diaspora librarians are practising librarianship in contexts that we can learn a lot from, to our advantage, might be a starting point.
12. As school children in Rhodesia we had a school break known as the Rhodes and Founders holiday. This was in honour of the founding fathers and mothers of Rhodesia. In independent Zimbabwe we also have what is known as the Heroes Holidays. In the field of librarianship in Zimbabwe are we short of heroes and heroines? Is it not the right time to encourage those with the talent and knowledge to capture our footprints in History? There are many unsung heroes that may be profiled in our ZLA newsletter. I should be forgiven but how can I forget the following people whom I know did all that make a heroes be remembered. I could have written a short paragraph on each of the peoples below but suffice to say these people who make this list have impacted on Zimbabwe librarianship in a way that would be difficult to imitate.
13. :
• Mr. Made (late)
• Mr. Mapasure
• Mrs Podmore
• Mr. Chinyemba
• Mr Lawton Hikwa
• Mr. Tendekayi Bhowa (tg)
• Mr. Dryden Kunaka
• Ms Powell
• Mr. Hosea Tokwe
• Mr. Mushonga
• Mrs Ross-Smith
• Mr. Tonderayi Chanakira
• The founder of Rural Libraries Program Director
• Mr. Maenzanise
• Mr. Mamvoto
• Lantern Fusire
• All founding librarians of the university and public libraries in zimbabwe
14. Finally, I call upon the association to acknowledge the importance of library schools students’ contributions to this debate. Normal students are passionate, their criticisms are fearless and most importantly their intimations with library sciences technologies are astounding. Does the association invite students to our conferences? Who foots the costs? Are we not leaving out an important segment of our association out in the cold?
15. We shall be meeting again, soon, this time to challenge the Zimbabwe Public Library System as we know it today. I shall be dispelling the often held misconception that a public library system, in the present economic and political climate, cannot devise a sustainable livelihood system. It is my view that Zimbabwe Librarianship disabuses itself from viewing itself as destitute and perennial beggar. We must sacrifice; we must innovate; interspersed with the occasional request for assistance.
15. We shall be meeting again, soon, this time to challenge the Zimbabwe Public Library System as we know it today. I shall be dispelling the often held misconception that a public library system, in the present economic and political climate, cannot devise a sustainable livelihood system. It is my view that Zimbabwe Librarianship disabuses itself from viewing itself as destitute and perennial beggar. We must sacrifice; we must innovate; interspersed with the occasional request for assistance.
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