Libraries are trending in KwaDukuza

While many might think libraries have become graveyards for dusty books, in fact with modern technology the old school world of storytelling and information has evolved to take on bustling new life.

KwaDukuza libraries manager Sihle Mathibela said libraries have to keep up with the times to survive, as screens are the drawcards now, not books.

KwaDukuza library has successfully morphed into an information centre, providing various services to help further educate the surrounding community according to the head librarian Sthembiso Shabalala.

Also read: Ploughing back into the community

“We are the busiest library in the province. We have 14 000 registered members and our most active age groups are the high school pupils and tertiary institution students,” said Shabalala.

“People are often scared of the online world, so we help empower them at our Cyber Café where we provide computers with internet free of charge to registered members. We also offer free basic computer classes. Besides online, we try to encourage reading with our weekly poetry and book reviews as well as story telling and reading for children. During the holidays we also host chess tournaments.”

Often the only library members who still borrowed traditional books from KwaDukuza library were school pupils, because their teachers forced them to do book reviews. There is now a free e-book download service which works well.

While Ballito library is much smaller, librarian in charge Shakila Singh believes they have already taken some pioneering steps into the new world of libraries.

“We were the first library in KZN to be fully automated.

“We are also the top circulation library and have the highest number of e-readers in the province,” said Singh.

“Most of the schools in our area, including some of the private schools, do not have libraries, so the pupils often visit our library with their teachers.”

Further up the road, Umhlali library’s Lordon Buck said they see mostly primary school children who visit with their parents.

“Each library attracts a different group of people and has a different dynamic. Here, we mostly see children under the age of 10, who are still excited to learn to read and their parents are eager to encourage reading, because they have happy memories of their childhood reading days.

“Once they get older, we lose them to social media and the internet,” said Buck, who has been at the library for 20 years.

“As in all libraries, the computers are the most popular. The young generations do not know how to use an index or how to find information in a book. It is a tragedy. Kids just want to Google something and copy and paste the information.”

She said audio books are trending too, as adults often listen to the books in the car.

Working with Buck is Mukelisiwe Makhaye who is studying to become a librarian and is driven to encourage the use of libraries.

“I grew up in the township in Durban and we did not know what a library was. When I got older, I discovered libraries and realised how much information was available. The government has now built so many libraries around townships, but they are still very new to the communities and they do not know what they are missing out on.”

Interestingly, Tongaat Central Library breaks the mould of having only one major user group, as the whole community make use of the free service.

Head librarian Vigie Padayachee said their secret is that the library goes beyond a reading service and is really part of the community.

“We currently have 6000 members of all ages. We offer computer services, free Wi-Fi, holiday programmes, women empowerment workshops and arts and crafts courses. We collect items for those less fortunate and do fund raisers for locals in need,” said Padayachee.

Further North, Darnall library has identified a different need in their community – a need for playing.

Librarian Gerald Nair said they have a toy library which is very popular.

“We have various educational toys, all made from wood which the kids can come and play with while the parents catch up on some reading. We also have puzzles, counting games and traditional games like mlabalaba (a type of chess). There are also teddy bears, for those who need a cuddle,” said Nair.

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