DWARSLOOP - The promotion of library services in Mpumalanga received a shot in the arm with the launch of the Friends of the Library Programme recently.
The Friends of the Library programme is designed to ensure integrated coordination and relations between the library and the communities and also reinforce community participation and promote ownership.
“We are launching this programme to create awareness and foster a culture of reading in communities. Central to this is to encourage our people to read and write in indigenous languages, said Culture, Sport and Recreation MEC, Ms Sibongile Manana at the launch of the programme at Mafemani Public Library on January 21.
Ms Manana added that apartheid system had turned people and leaders against using indigenous languages. “Nowadays some leaders find it difficult to communicate with our people, let alone writing in indigenous languages,” she said.
Members of the Friends of the Library signed a pledge to promote libraries and the services they offer to the public. The programme has been rolled out to 45 libraries and it is envisaged that in the near future it available in all public libraries in the province.
Friends of the Library falls under the Fundza For Fun Project, which is aimed at encouraging communities particularly schools to access public libraries. Through this project, the department fights illiteracy and equips public libraries with relevant and current reading materials. Other programmes under the project are Translation of Children’s Book, Service to the Blind and partially-sighted and Writer’s Development Project.
Earlier, Ms Manana together with her counterpart at the Department of Education, Ms Reginah Mhaule, Mayors of Bushbuckridge and Steve Tshwete local municipalities, Cllrs Renias Khumalo and Cllrs Michael Masina respectively, took part in a fun walk in Dwarsloop, which was aimed at promoting reading and encouraging people to use libraries.
According to Ms Manana, libraries have a direct contribution to the lives of our people as they expose them to available opportunities for education, employment and social-economic programmes. The fun walk started at the civic centre and saw MEC Manana and her entourage donating books to Twalakule and Nkwekwezi primary schools as well as to members of the community. The donations were aimed at giving the schools a head start to start their own libraries.