Passion for reading sees more libraries

Clr Moyo said this during the first day of a two-day regional school library seminar on Wednesday, which was held at Masiyephambili College.
The seminar was organised by the Zimbabwe Library Association, in conjunction with the International Association of School Librarianship of Africa Sub Sahara.
It was held for the first time in Zimbabwe under the theme “School libraries in Africa in the 21st century: learning from each other”.
Clr Moyo said the passion of reading in Bulawayo had seen the establishment of nine libraries in the city.
“Of late Bulawayo has nine public libraries and if funds permit, we would want to have not less than 14. Our policy is to build a library every two years and ensure that there is a library within easy walking distance of at least not more than five kilometres from residential areas,” said Clr Moyo.
“To complement Government’s efforts in education, the Bulawayo City Council has also built schools and pre-schools. Currently there are 29 primary schools and 34 pre-schools. Due to financial constraints, council has not been able to build school libraries in the last few years.”
Meanwhile, librarians attending the seminar called upon the Government to introduce a statute that enforces the establishment of libraries in every school to expose school going children to reading books so their academic performance improves.
They said the Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture did not prioritise libraries and librarians and this affected the performance of pupils.
“Our Ministry does not support libraries that is why most schools still do not have libraries because it is not yet a priority. I am aware that the Government pays heads, clerks, drivers and groundsmen yet when it comes to librarians, we are usually referred to the School Development Committee (SDC) for salaries,” said one librarian who preferred anonymity.
She said reading books at a very young age was essential for pupils as it cultivated a reading culture that made it easier for them to study for examination.
Mr Daniel Mangale, a project team leader from Kenya said school heads were responsible for making sure schools have functional libraries.
“Most headmasters think that it is not mandatory to have libraries and the only time they think of libraries is during their spare time. A school should have its own library and librarian,” said Mr Mangale.