By Edeltraud Mokhatu
WINDHOEK
Randomly ask anyone what a library is, and they will tell you it’s a place full of books, or a place where books are read.
And if you ask them how often they visit libraries , the most likely reply would be a vague answer or that they don’t.
Libraries are essential to a country as they encourage and promote a culture of reading. They are the backbone of any educated and knowledgeable society even with the dominance of the computer and the information age.
Whether you need information for work purposes, school projects or just your personal enrichment the library is just the place for you.
The Windhoek Public Library is no exception when it comes to assuaging your need for information either.
Upon entering the public library, one cannot escape its tranquil atmosphere.
You’ll either find people sitting and reading newspapers on the couch, scanning the shelves for reading material, sitting at various desks doing their homework or attending to work projects.
The library is well stocked with new material, but mostly you will find old books. This is partly due to the fact that the lifespan of a book is 10 years and it must be out of circulation before it can be discarded. The other problem is that people don’t return new books or they move. But other than that, the library is stocked three times a year with new publications, and they also receive donations.
The Windhoek public library is also well utilized because of its book selection process.
“We have a lot of members as people are adapting to reading and we are buying books that are really needed,” said library assistant, Linda Heitha.
“We make people aware of our services by putting up notices on the notice board and sometimes we advertise in the newspapers or by sending circulars to schools,” she added.
The library also hosts various events such as World Book Day to promote library services and encourage reading.
“We had a very successful Day of Fun Reading in June, where the Deputy Minister of Education gave the keynote speech. We are also planning to start a reading club, but the problem is getting people to register,” says co- librarian Anna Imanuel.
The reading club is open to the community at large, members and non-members, adults and children. People can also bring their material from home or tell a story from pictures as well.
The public library staff seem to have their work cut out for them. If they are not busy helping primary school kids with their schoolwork, they have to assist their other clients.
“There are kids who are dropped off here after school to either do their assignments or homework and they don’t know how to use the books. You give them the required book and tell them to search for their information in it and they tell you they can’t find it.” said Heitha.
“Most people who make use of our services are students from the Polytechnic and Unam, but there is a 50/50 usage of materials (fiction & non-fiction),” she said.
Compared to Unam, and the Polytechnic of Namibia, the national library appears to lag behind in as far as technology is concerned. While they (Unam et al) use the computerized system for faster and more efficient work, the public library uses the manual system where everything is done the old-fashioned way by hand.
That doesn’t seem to be a problem for Immanuel and Heitha though, because they love their work.
“These days it’s a competition between the electronic media and books, but cost-wise using the library is cheapest and Internet information is not always reliable,” she said.
“There used to be library periods at school earlier, but now the electronic media is taking over leading to the neglect of books.”
According to Imanuel, libraries in Namibia are not recognized and it’s mostly due to ignorance. “Namibian schools need to establish a culture of reading and the use of libraries, because the Internet doesn’t always have everything.”
Even with their limited resources the staff try to help their clients instead of sending them away empty handed.
The library’s most valuable books are made reference books in an attempt at having them at hand and attainable to all.
There are also books in the different languages making the library even more people friendly.
Located in town it’s ideal for people to drop in during their lunch hour, to unwind with a book or newspaper. Parents can also drop off their kids after school to do their homework or catch up on some reading.
With computers domineering the information sphere, people tend to ignore the value of books (and libraries) and consider them boring and old fashioned but one cannot deny their importance.
A book after all gives us food for thought and the library is the refrigerator that keeps it fresh and readily available.