LPYL -

School library development
in South Africa and
Sweden

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Library Project for Young Learners ( LPYL)

REPORT:

A JOINT PROJECT BETWEEN:

PROJECT KEY OBJECTIVE

This Project aimed primarily at concretizing best practice ideas and developing school library plans to improve library services to primary and secondary schools in disadvantaged areas in each of the nine provinces of South Africa.

 

EVALUATION REPORT: PHASE ONE

LPYL Phase One concluded with a Project Evaluation Report, written by Prof. Archie Dick in October 1999. This recommended that, although the Project achieved its key objective, it needed to progress to another Phase in order to more fully realise its wider aims.

 

IASL CONFERENCE

Two South African project participants (June Baatjes and Viceroy Jujuju) and two representatives of the South African and the Swedish Reference Groups (Lyne Metcalfe and Lennart Wettmark) attended and presented papers on Phase One of the Project at the International Association of School Librarianship (IASL) Conference in Malmo, Sweden from 6 to 10 August 2000. Other members of the Swedish Reference Group also attended the conference and organised an exhibition of materials relating to the Project and the work of BiS. A LPYL Project information pamphlet was developed to form part of the display.

 

BUSINESS PLAN FOR PHASE TWO

A Business Plan was developed by EPU and BiS for Phase Two of the Project, with participation by DoE and the nine provincial departments of education, and was subsequently approved and funded by SIDA. The Business Plan was contextualised within the draft National Policy Framework for School Library Standards of the DoE, which offered a menu of diverse library models, as a developmental progression, in order to provide support for Curriculum 2005. The focus remained human resource development and capacity building, and materials development, but a Project Grant of R5000 was planned for each library to implement their library plans.

 

PROJECT MANAGER

Jan Beeton, was appointed as Project Manager from the middle of 2000 until December 2001. Prior to her appointment, the Director of EPU fulfilled the role of temporary project manager, visiting provinces, writing situational analysis reports and submitting project progress reports.

 

REFERENCE GROUPS

A South African Reference Group was convened, comprising of representatives of national and provincial school and public library sectors, the EPU Director and the former LIWO representative. The Swedish Reference Group continued in support of Phase Two of the project. In addition, the participation of the Standing Committee of Heads of Education Library and Information Services (SCHELIS) was confirmed in a consultative role. The respective Reference Groups held regular meetings, either by way of face to face meetings, or, in the case of the South African Group, more often by way of teleconferences, in order to plan and evaluate the progress of the Project, and to advise EPU on the implementation of the Project. During the sabbatical leave of Jenni Karlsson, Director EPU, from January to June 2001, Michele Berger acted in her place and joined the Reference Group.

 

STUDY TOUR TO SOUTH AFRICA

Nine Swedish librarians arrived in South Africa on Friday 27 October 2000 for a national orientation and information weekend seminar beginning with presentations by the South African project school librarians. They then divided into three groups, each group visiting the Project schools and other libraries in two provinces, thereby visiting a total of six provinces. Debriefing sessions on 2 and 3 November concluded the study tour. The librarians then proceeded privately as tourists on a visit to Cape Town. On their return to Sweden a seminar was held together with the Swedish Reference Group in Stockholm. The nine delegates reported on their varied experiences and what they had learnt in South Africa, and presented their project plans for their own libraries.

STUDY TOUR TO SWEDEN

Nine South African teacher-librarians, school library advisors and public
librarians (one from each province) and the Project Manager, as Tour Leader, participated in a most informative study tour to Sweden for the period 12 to 21 May 2001, receiving information talks on the Swedish school and public library system, visiting sites of best practice school and public libraries, staying in Swedish homes as a cultural experience and working on project plans for future implementation on their return to South Africa. The tour was preceded by a preparatory seminar in South Africa. Following the tour, participants were required to write reports to demonstrate how their practices had changed in relation to the strategic objective

 

SCHOOL VISITS

The Project Manager paid at least two, and in some instances three, visits to each of the nine provinces, visiting the Project schools, providing training and support for the development of their school library policy and development plans, the setting up of library committees and the writing of grant requests and reports, and organizing workshops in conjunction with the provincial heads, school library advisors and school or public librarians concerned. Status reports were written after the visits, including recommendations.

 

MATERIALS DEVELOPMENT

Three booklets on developing school library policy and fund-raising, the use of the school library in support of the curriculum and the integration of library resources and information literacy skills with the curriculum were initially developed by the English Language Educational Trust (ELET), and, through pilot testing and consultation with other role players, were further developed and edited by the Project Manager. Because the time frame proposed by the Business Plan was inadequate for the full consultative and piloting process, the budget allocated by DoE in 2000/1 for printing and distribution was forfeited. Since no allocation for this purpose was made in the subsequent year, and in the absence of the finalisation, approval and implementation of school library policy, and the revision of Curriculum 2005 by DoE, the publication of the booklets was put on hold, pending the finalisation of policy revision. Although a number of successful training workshops were held by the Project Manager using trial draft copies of the booklets, it was felt that there should be consistency between the booklets and national policy development and implementation before final printing and distribution was done.

 

CASE STUDIES RESEARCH

Three project schools in North West Province, Gauteng and Limpopo were selected to be case studies. The research team was facilitated by EPU. Their findings were extremely positive, and would be presented at the national mini-conference.

 

NATIONAL MINI-CONFERENCE

A national mini-conference was planned for Saturday, 1 June 2002, at the Birchwood Executive Hotel for all role players in Phase Two of the Project, and invited guests, in order to share experiences, to evaluate and bring closure, and to consider future possibilities. A Conference Organiser, Shannon Moffett, was contracted to arrange this mini-conference. The Swedish Reference Group planned to send representatives, and an Evaluator from Sweden would also attend.

 

MONITORING AND EVALUATION

BiS and EPU were responsible for monitoring the Project in their respective countries, with BiS responsible for the overall evaluation of activities in both countries. The two References Groups also met, or communicated regularly to monitor progress and advise on the direction of project activities. Reports were required to be written by the study tour participants and by the Project Manager. Summative reports would also be presented at the concluding mini-conference. BiS contracted an evaluator with African public library experience, who would conduct a final evaluation of activities in South Africa and Sweden.

 

FINANCIAL AUDIT

Financial records were kept up to date in the course of the Project, and Annual Financial Statements were presented to auditors. A final audit of the accounts would be arranged and coordinated by EPU and BiS.

 

FUTURE PLANNING

Since it did not seem possible to obtain further funding from SIDA to proceed with a third phase of the Project, it was felt that it would be necessary to investigate other ways of developing a structure for sustaining links and contact between the Swedish and South African role players and the activities initiated and supported by the Project. BiS intended to publish a booklet to provide thoughts and ideas about the Project. Representatives of the South African Reference Group attended seminars during 2001 and 2002, organised by the Swedish Embassy with the Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology (DACST) in order to make input and gain insights into future plans for the funding of culture projects by SIDA in South Africa.

 

LYNE METCALFE

31 MAY 2002

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