Cape Crusade: Building the Steve Biko Library-Archive in the Eastern Cape

Kenneth SchlesingerChief LibrarianLehman College

Mission Impossible

•Draft a three-year Strategic Plan for proposed Library and Archive for Steve Biko Centre in Eastern Cape, South Africa

• . . . in six weeks

Who was Steve Biko?• South African student leader

from the 1970s actively involved in liberation movement

• Developed concept of Black Consciousness [community empowerment]

• Brutally murdered by police while in detention in 1977

• His death awakened world to excesses and abuses of Apartheid

Steve Biko gravesite

Statue – East London City Hall

Steve Biko Centre• Cultural heritage center under

construction in Ginsberg Township [Biko’s hometown]

• Museum, auditorium, conference center, community garden, Internet Café, library and archive

• Community-oriented space promoting leadership development, training and empowerment

• Need for spaces to interact – talk to each other

• Petition to be designated as UNESCO World Heritage site

Steve Biko Centre – under construction

Process – Eastern Cape• Visit local public libraries – meet

with librarians• Accomplish needs assessment of

access, content and technology requirements

• Meet with Provincial government representatives in libraries, archives and curriculum development

South Africa - Map

King William’s TownPublic Library

East London Central Library

Eastern Cape - Challenges• Poorest Province in South Africa• 43% unemployment – little local

industry• 51% pass rate on high school

Matriculation exam [second lowest in country]

• Libraries under resourced – not acknowledged as part of education reform

• Public schools share library services [in clusters of groups of ten]

• Limited access to Internet technologies

Archives - Plan• Visit Special Collections at

National Library and major universities

• Review original documents related to Steve Biko, Black Consciousness and student liberation movements

• Attempt to enact duplication and exchange agreements with various repositories

University of Fort Hare – Alice

Computer Lab

Rhodes University - Grahamstown

Information Commons

Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University – Port Elizabeth

University of the Witswatersrand [Wits] -

Johannesburg

Historical Papers – Reading Room

University of Cape Town

Manuscripts and Special Collections

Project Plan – Mission Statement• Collection Scope *African History and Civilization *Cultural Heritage *African Diaspora *Information supporting Biko Centre programs and initiatives *Free public health information

User Groups

• Ginsberg Township, King William’s Town, Eastern Cape

• Cradle to Grave: Pre-schoolers, Seniors, Primary, Secondary, University Students, Out-of-School students

• Visitors, tourists, research scholars

Space PlanningLibrary divided into three sections:•Entrance – Reference Desk greets visitors•10 Internet terminals•Central – Bookshelves on either side, bookstore-style•Four large work tables

Space PlanningPublic Space includes the following: *Exhibit cases *Couches and chairs for Periodicals section *Carpeting-cushions for Children’s Readings

Cataloging-Software-Consortia• Recommendation that Library

selects Sabinet for cataloging and circulation management [OCLC-affiliated]

• Join national SANLiC Consortium to make available major portal of electronic resources for Eastern Cape at reduced price

• 10,000 book collection cataloged by Dewey Decimal system [used by most South African public and academic libraries]

Staffing•Librarian•Archivist•Library Assistant

[book cataloging-circulation]

•Archive Assistant [records processing]

Literacy-Writing CentreCurriculum Materials

• Library offers literacy training to children and adults

• Writing Centre staffed by volunteer specialists to critically review students’ essays

• Teachers encouraged to contribute syllabi, lesson plans, and best practices to Curriculum Materials repository as community resource to foster excellence in instruction

Outreach• Library must extend reach and

influence beyond physical walls of Centre

• Librarian can visit schools, child care centers, churches, and prisons for library orientations and Book Talks

• Mobile Library – Bookmobile travels to schools in underserved rural areas to distribute books and provide computer demonstrations

Steve Biko Archive• Specialized repository collects

materials documenting Steve Biko’s writings, philosophy, political activity, and legacy

• Archivist must proactively solicit related materials and pursue exchange agreements with appropriate collections

• Archivist maintains intellectual control over release of sensitive documents

Archives - Challenges• Special Collections at major

universities reluctant to show primary documents

• Perception that Biko Centre is in competition with them

• In their defense – South African libraries have been burned by insensitive U.S. university libraries presuming ownership of documents in cooperative digitization projects

Archives - Achievements• Mayibuye Archives agreed to

share copies of Steve Biko-related documents

• Memorandum of Understanding in process

• National Library generous in showing rich liberation materials in collection

• University of Cape Town provided lead to trove of oral histories related to Steve Biko with major players

Mayibuye Archives – University of Western

Cape

South Africa National Library - Cape Town campus

Computer LabMultimedia Centre

• Computer Lab extends Library by offering information literacy workshops, exam preparation, and computer training [novice to advanced]

• Multimedia Centre provides fledgling multimedia journalists with training in online editing and oral history techniques to create new programs and community legacy assets

National School of the Arts students - Johannesburg

Apartheid Museum – Take a Look at our Beautiful Country

Then Walk Away Free . . .