Open Access Week commemoration "Redefining Impact"

Open Access (OA) Week is being celebrated from October 21 – 27, 2013. The entire week is dedicated to celebrate a successful movement that has culminated into various tremendous fully accessible OA platforms critical for researchers and communicating scholarly works. Electronic Information for Libraries (EIFL) noted that the 2013 celebrations of the global annual event are in the 7th year that promotes open access as a new norm in scholarship and research.



This picture shows the efforts of Bindura University of Science and Education (BUSE) of promoting Open Access (OA) to its community. The OA observarence are going on until the 27th of October. (Picture taken from the BUSE Library Facebook page)

 

The official theme for 2013 observance is "Open Access: Redefining Impact" which reflect the remarkable transition that OA has brought to publishing models and access methods. Prior the OA movement access to research was becoming a nightmare due to budget cuts and high expectations from patrons that naturally paralysed the profound roles of libraries. In its 7^th year a number of declarations that made the OA movement a successful have been signed that started with the signing of the Budapest Open Access Initiative (BOAI) in 2002 in Budapest. That meeting which was convened by the Open Society Institute (OSI) brought together a number of leading OA proponents to forge a holistic approach towards the OA initiatives. This very meeting lead to the signing of the BOAI, which OSI was the first signatory, defined OA as "the free availability on the public internet, permitting any users to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of these articles, crawl them for indexing, pass them as data to software, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without financial, legal, or technical barriers other than those inseparable from gaining access to the internet itself." Several other definitions have been published supporting the concepts in this founding definition given by BOAI. Through the years numerous other declarations were signed across the globe to support the fastest growing publishing initiatives.

 

Recently efforts to support OA have increased with several governments working towards making OA an acceptable publishing model that has incredible rewards in development and research output. Notable efforts have been noticed in the US where the Obama Administration that has signed an agreement to show “committed to ensuring that, to the greatest extent and with the fewest constraints possible and consistent with law and the objectives set out below, the direct results of federally funded scientific research are made available to and useful for the public, industry, and the scientific community. Such results include peer-reviewed publications and digital data.” This is a tremendous response to the OA movement since most research is government sponsored; literary meaning that tax payers are funding the researches.
 

What then are the benefits of OA? Peter Suber a renowned OA writer, enthusiast and the de facto leader of the Open Access movement, currently the Director of the Harvard Open Access Project has written extensively on the movement to create awareness and understanding of the movement. He noted several benefits of OA which are well documented in his OA book published last year. Suber noted that OA is problem solving, providing no restrictions, free access and available 24/7 outside the library walls. It is important to note that OA has potential to increase visibility of authors and institutions. EIFL observed that “Open access benefits researchers, institutions, nations and society as a whole. There are significant economic, social and educational benefits to making research outputs available without financial, legal and technical barriers to access.”

Zimbabwe has made tremendous progress in OA with university librarians on the forefront. Several noteworthy projects are at the University of Zimbabwe (UZ), National University of Science and Technology (NUST) and Zimbabwe Open University (ZOU). The main mode is through the Institutional Repositories (IR) that form part of the growing University libraries infrastructure. As the world commemorate OA week, Universities in Zimbabwe take the opportunity to market the idea to faculty, researchers and potential authors on the significance of OA for research and scholarly communication. Basically the main thrust is calling for all stakeholders to be involved in OA.

I hope next year the impact of OA in Zimbabwe would have grown and participation would have increased. To date a few institutions from Zimbabwe have registered their IRs with Opendoar the global IR directory.
 

 Further Readings of OA and Resources

Peter Suber on the state of Open Access: Where are we, what still needs to be done? Availalbe at  http://poynder.blogspot.com/2013/07/peter-suber-on-state-of-open-access.html.
 

 Peter Suber: The Imperative of Open Access. Available at   http://projectinfolit.org/st/suber.asp.
 

A list of OA articles by Peter Suber. Available at http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/~psuber/wiki/Writings_on_open_access.
 

 EIFL – OA resources. Available at http://www.eifl.net/eifl-oa-resources.

US library specialist visits Zimbabwe



Part of the librarians from different libraries who attended the presentation by the visiting library speaker Barbara Ford in Harare recently.

Librarians in Zimbabwe's largest cities – Harare, Gweru and Bulawayo – had an opportunity to interact with a visiting library professional from the U.S. based at the Library of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Barbara Ford. Barbara Ford is the director of the Mortenson Center for International Library Programs and Mortenson Distinguished Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She has been recognized with awards by American Library Association (ALA), Chinese American Librarians Association (CALA), and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for her significant contributions and dedication to international librarianship. In 2011, she was appointed to the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO.



Her presentations and discussions focused on the top ten fundamental trends in libraries – academic, public and school libraries. These are based on the 2012 “top ten trends” released every two years by Association of Colleges and Research Libraries (ACRL) Research Planning and Review Committee. ACRL Research Planning and Review Committee is responsible for creating and updating a continuous and dynamic environmental scan for the association that encompasses trends in academic librarianship, higher education, and the broader environment, e.g., economic, demographic, political; providing an annual environmental scan “snapshot.” The committee also is responsible for identifying the ACRL “top ten trends” for release every two years.

The presentations by Ford covered topics such as advocating for the value of libraries, library user needs and expectations, need for staff training and development, mobile services in libraries, and how information and communication technologies can help meet these needs and deliver expanded access to information and new services. She also deliberated on data curation, patron driven e-book acquisition, scholarly communication and digital preservation. All these are not new topics in Zimbabwe but they are presenting different challenges for each library as we seek to transform our libraries from the traditional model to fuse new library driven technology for a better service.

Barbara Ford during one of the presentation at the Zimbabe Open University in Harare.

Based on the ACRL report the top ten trends are also presenting challenges to U.S. libraries as new applications are emerging and user behaviour is dramatically being shaped with technology. An emphasis is on collaboration as an approach for providing solutions with the aid of a vibrant library association. The need for a knowledgeable library staff in the emerging technologies is vital for immediate adaptation to the new environment. The increase in scholarly publishing is vital for continued efforts by librarians to provide information resources through digital libraries together with appropriate curation and preservation strategies.
 

Ford noted that there is a strong interest among librarians in Zimbabwe to provide programmes to develop the information literacy of the public.  The interest in topics such as digitization to preserve cultural heritage and how to make information available on mobile devices is growing in Zimbabwe. “Attendees to presentations were eager for information on new technologies and approaches for providing information through iPads, tablets and other tools”, said Ford.

One-on-one - Mr F Mutindindi and Mr Choto discussing a few pointers during a break at the Breakfast meeting.

Her visit included working meetings with library association leadership from the branches to help think through issues relating to low membership and lack of advocacy for libraries. She hoped that ZimLA would discuss with IFLA for a joint programming for the 2015 conference in South Africa. Possibility for a Fulbright scholar in library and information science was discussed to help transform the library profession in Zimbabwe.

Barbara Fords' visit to Zimbabwe was facilitiated by the U.S. Embassy in Harare through the Speaker program. Perhaps, the following unedited comments from Facebook page of ZimLA show the hype following Barbara Ford’s visit.  
Lantern Rangarirai Fusire (ZimLA Acting President) wrote “We had a good opportunity of meeting and listening to a presentation by Professor B J Ford at the breakfast meeting at the Bulawayo Public Library auditorium on Thursday 3rd of October. Her presentation on Current trends in libraries in the USA was quite informative. The presentation was urging us as librarians and information professionals to adapt to change, promote dynamic libraries, and to think outside the box. Thank you Professor Ford. Thank you USA Embassy. Thank you library and information professionals who attended this meeting in large numbers.”
 
Pride Bhebhe wrote this in response to Lantern Fusire “I can confirm you statement as a transcript of the meeting Mr Fusire, the presentation was informative indeed..”

Jerry Mathema (ZimLA Mat Chairperson) wrote, “On behalf of the ZimLA National Executive Council, Matabeleland Branch Executive and the US Public Affairs Directorate, I would like to convey my sincere gratitude to our distinguished librarians, Archivists, Records officers, information officers etc who devoted their precious time in attending the just ended breakfast meeting on emerging trends in librarianship. The unwavering support you have rendered is greatly appreciated and without it the association would not be where it is now, it would have crumbled and crashed to the ground. You are the pillar of our strength and we cling and snuggle on your shoulders. Lastly I would like to assure you that we take seriously the linkages we have sealed between You, ZimLA and the US Public Affairs Department. It is my wish that we continually maintain and cherish them. Once again thank you very much, siyabonga, enkosi, tatenda, toboka, ndolivhuwa, twalumbwa.Lingadinwa lakusasa,ukwandakwaliwa ngabathakathi !”

Mthulisi Ndebele (ZimLA Midlands) wrote “We had a great presentation from Prof Ford at the Gweru Memorial library...”

Further Reading

ACRL Research Planning and Review Committee (2012). “2012 top ten trends in academic libraries: A review of the trends and issues affecting academic libraries in higher education.” College & Research Libraries News vol. 73 no. 6 311-320. [Internet] Available at http://crln.acrl.org/content/73/6/311.full?sid=7b9d9022-29a4-4d6d-abbf-cbaa5cc298ae

 

 

 

Using E – resources for research in university libraries

“It is regularly noted that, in much of sub-Saharan Africa, a lack of up-to-date journals is a major constraint on research. The advancing open access movement is regularly hailed as offering new opportunities for Africa and other southern researchers to gain access to better scientific knowledge, but what of the vast body of important work still published on ‘traditional’ subscription journals?” – Harle 2010

The information explosion has seen a proliferation of information sources on the internet. It has literary caused the information overload to a multitude of challenges to researchers who on a daily basis require information. However, the electronic resources available through the open access platform have provided a wide range of information sources for study. Meanwhile librarians have spearheaded the formation of conglomerates to augment the existence of open access.

Libraries world over have formed consortia’s to alleviate reading resources shortage and increase access to scholarly information in academic institutions. According to Vernagula and Kelkar, “A Consortium could be described as a group of organisations who come together to fulfill a combined objective that usefully requires co-operation and the sharing of resources.” The primary aim is to deliver “more than the sum of the individual parts”.  The premise of library Consortium formation states that they can be local, regional, state, national and inter institutional level. The library consortium has a number of advantages that are full utilisation of funds, opportunity to build up digital libraries, access to a wide range of electronic resources at substantially low costs and helpful to improve library services.

Electronic resources have improved the manner in which information is made available and shared in libraries and in numerous countries they are available through library consortiums. In Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe Universities Library Consortium (ZULC) was formed to change the way university libraries in Zimbabwe operate. It is a formation of 11 local universities that is working toward improving access to information through the e – resources platform. The major activities of the consortium vary from conferences to workshops and training activities. The ZULC members participate in the workshops to enhance their projects in individual libraries. Several projects that were initiated by International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications  (INASP) include providing funds for training on building institutional repositories (IR), e – resources use training and making the electronic resources available to the consortium through Programme for the Enhancement of Research information (PERii).

The researching community of the consortium is benefiting from the full text journals that are available 24/7 outside the library environment. A major recognition of the programme is that current information is available in the library. Undergraduate and post graduate students are making use of e-resources in university libraries apparently the statistics in most libraries reveal that a number of users prefer e – journals to print resources. The proposal to make e – resources available in the libraries was at a larger extend stimulated by budget cuts that saw libraries failing to restock. In most cases the results were failure to satisfy user information need.

The open access (OA) movement also provides alternative information sources for library users. OA refers to “access to material (mainly scholarly publications) via the Internet in such a way that the material is free for all to read, and to use (or reuse) to various extents” (Wikipedia). According to the University of Zimbabwe library website, “Open Access (OA) is the free online availability of digital content. It is best-known and most feasible for peer-reviewed scientific and scholarly journal articles, which scholars publish without expectation of payment.” Many librarians have been vocal and active advocates of open access probably having envisioned the benefits to the library amid the budget cuts. These librarians believe that open access promises to remove both the price barriers and the permission barriers that undermine library efforts to provide access to the journal literature. Librarians also educate faculty, administrators, and others about the benefits of open access. Library users are comfortable using e – journals outside the library. The library has removed the limitations to access library resources for users that have seen a rise in the use of e-resources in a number of university libraries in Zimbabwe. Scientific information is critical in enhancing research in local universities through providing valuable information for literature review.

The significance of e – resources in libraries particularly in east and southern Africa has been prioritised in universities to allow access to a growing body of literature for academic purposes. Several initiatives are in place to avail   an impressive range of high-quality peer-reviewed materials. A study conducted in east and southern Africa in four universities studied had 79% of the top 20 journals across 15 subject areas in 2009. According to the findings whilst the availability of journals has improved significantly the usage amongst staff and students does not appear to be keeping pace. Despite the efforts propelled by librarians to devote funds for journal subscriptions, use of e – resources remains “stubbornly low” regardless of libraries having an excellent e – journal collections in wide disciplines that are comparable to those in Western university libraries. Under ZULC university libraries in Zimbabwe have access to INASP – PERii and UN sponsored schemes HINARI, AGORA, OARE (in health, agriculture and environment respectively) which offer high huge volumes of high-quality scientific information.

The bottom line for acceptance of e – resources in libraries is the currency of information that is critical for academic excellence to students and that keep the scholarly community abreast in their field of study. The subject of information currency in information and library practice is crucial and has been debate in numerous forums in a bid to emphasize the significance of up to date information sources for research and study. The currency of information is identified by the date of publication the more recent the date of publication the more up to date the information.

Availability of information 24/7/365 days out of the library environment is a major strength for e – resources against other sources of information. Information utilisation outside the library environment provides freedom and flexibility to users giving a platform for constructive debates. The major setback probably maybe the restrictions of passwords usage outside a specified IP address but however arrangements can be done by the librarians, publishers and e – resources providers to make the passwords access from any IP. Information in universities is a critical component that at a regular basis scholars require access to and its availability outside the library building becomes an eminent priority. Today’s information collectors are interested in promoting access rather than holdings. The concept of access is the major objective of libraries but due to a wide range of challenges associated with book resources and accountability, collection of resources for holdings is slowly losing its grip in promoting access as compared to e – resources that are accessed outside the library as long connection to internet is available.

Due the nature of e - resources a possibility to search numerous database using different search terms give them strength over print resources. Researchers require accessing a number of literatures in their field of study to have conclusive information for discussion and relate to in class. The possibilities of multiple searches give the researcher opportunity to select from a wide range of information that strengthens their findings. Several other factors that librarians has considered for recommending  e – resources has been faster and easier access to information that are provided by the nature of internet.

The Zimbabwe Open University (ZOU) like other members of the ZULC has taken a major step of promoting awareness to e – resources within its community to promote access to information. A number of awareness programmes has been launched to make sure that the academic and student population make use of the e – resources for research and scholarship. A number of training workshops has been conducted with the objective of creating awareness, acquaint and demonstrate on the step-by-step procedure for accessing the e – journals. Harle (2010) has noted that researchers are simply not aware of their own holdings. ZOU has defied the notion and commerce training workshops to create awareness of the virtual library holdings.  The training programmes largely targeted the academic population and are continuing to cascade to students starting with Dhil students. The University Library Acting Director has taken every opportunity available to acquaint Dhil students on the existence of e – resources and an influx of the students to the library for personalised information literacy skills training. Information literacy skills are offered by the senior library assistants who also have gone through an intensive e – resources use training sponsored by INSAP as a mandate to their PERii programme. Through ZULC, ZOU has access to a wide range of e – journal databases that have helped to minimize reading material challenges in thee university for various programmes. Among the databases are jstor, EBSCOhost (which host a number of databases namely Eric, Business Premier, among others), Emerald, Agora, HINARI, OARE, and Cambridge journals among others. According to Harle (2010) the availability problem has been solved – not entirely of course, but to the point that attention can now be refocused elsewhere. Perhaps what may need to be done is to include the e – journals in the library catalogues to make them more accessible. He further noted that the initiatives have hugely successful in (virtually) restocking libraries across the higher education and research sector.

The valuable resources are critical in academic work as they are published by authoritative publishers and bodies that contribute immensely to the world research literature. Through these initiatives it is hoped that academic communities in Africa shall also contribute immensely to the ever growing research literature body.

Reference

<!--[if !supportLists]-->1.        <!--[endif]-->Growing knowledge: access to research in east and southern Africa. http://www.acu.ac.uk/member_services/professional_networks/libraries_network/growing_knowledge

<!--[if !supportLists]-->2.        <!--[endif]-->Harle, J. (2010) “The Availability of scientific journals in eastern and southern Africa: misunderstanding the problem?” Bulletin. No. 170 May.

Open accessing. http://en.wikipedia.org

October is International School Library Month

October is International School Library Month (ISLM) celebrated across the world to celebrate the significance of the school library and school librarians in the learning environment.

The theme for this year is School libraries: a key to the past, present and future which reveal a very strong connection between the school library and the cultural, social and educational environments of society.

The school libraries are instrumental in fostering intellectual growth amongst the students and further prepare the students to be independent researchers through imparting information literacy skills to allow students to study and seek information effectively in the information age. Thus the benefit to the students is competences to utilise information effectively and be able to participant in the education system as an informed student.

The Zimbabwe Library Association (ZimLA) branches in Manicaland, Mashonaland, Matebeleland, Midlands and Masvingo are to commemorate the month in different activities that honour the school librarians for their resilience in working towards achieving the Unesco/IFLA School library Manifesto that states that, “The School library is essential to every long-term strategy for literacy, education, information provision and economic, social and cultural development.”

It is envisioned that training activities are to be part of the events to equip the school librarians with skills that make them relevant in the environment were electronic gadgets are becoming popular with students. Further activities may include a School Library Open Day to create awareness about the school library and its purpose in the learning environment to parents and the community in general.

The functions of the School Library as expressed by the International Association of School Librarianship (IASL) are as follows:-

Informational - to provide for reliable information, rapid access, retrieval and transfer of information; the school library should be part of regional and national information networks.

Educational - to provide continuous lifelong education through provision of the facilities and atmosphere for learning: guidance in location, selection and use of material and training in information skills, through integration with classroom teaching; promotion of intellectual freedom.

Cultural - to improve the quality of life through the presentation and support of the aesthetic experience, guidance in appreciation of arts, encouragement of creativity, and development of positive human relations.

Recreational - to support and enhance a balanced and enriched life and encourage meaningful use of leisure time through provision of recreational information, materials and programs of recreational value, and guidance in the use of leisure time.

The role of the school library is to “facilitate the planning and implementation of learning programmes that will equip students with the skills necessary to succeed in a constantly changing social and economic environment.” Through resource-based programs, students acquire skills to collect, critically analyse and organise information, problem-solve and communicate their understandings reported IASL.

The school library system in Zimbabwe is facing a myriad of challenges from lack of funding to lack of space. Above that school libraries do not seem to be a top priority for the Ministry of Education and School Administrators despite the advantages and the instrumental role of the school libraries in the learning environment. A general assessment of the situation shows that a school library may be a classroom block with boxes and is always closed and if opened it is under stocked. Further assessment reveal that the position of a school librarian in Zimbabwe is not supported by the Public Service Commission (PSC) and Salary Services Bureau (SSB), human resource department of the government. This leaves the position of librarian being sponsored by the School Development Association offering poor remuneration and working conditions that give the position a bad image.

At the 46^th ZimLA Conference in Kadoma in June librarians moved a motion to the Ministry representative that the position of the school librarian should be absorbed in to the PSC and SSB structures. It is the hope of ZimLA that a positive resolution would materialise from the Ministry.

As the School library month progress in the month of October let’s see the events that promote the school library as an engagement place that help to define the students in the quest of information and impart information literacy skills essential for independent learning.

Harare City Libary received support

The Harare City Library formerly Queen Victoria Memorial Library which was established in 1902 recently benefited from a $20 000 donation raised from a fundraising dinner and library books worth $15 000. The Zimbabwean reportedly said that, British Ambassador Deborah Bronnert handed over the donation to the Harare City Library Board to help renovate the library.

In her remarks, according to The Zimbabwean, Ambassador Bronnert said, "Libraries are tremendously important in all communities and I am delighted that we have been able to make contribution towards restoring the Harare City Library, which would be a centre of learning and literacy." Ambassador Bronnert appreciated efforts by members who supported the fundraising and hoped that such support will continue.

The donation will go a long way to renovate the building and improve on collection building to play its role effectively as a public library. The library is heavily used with students from private colleges who find frequent the library for reading material.  

Technology is the catalyst - Librarians urged to find new models

“Technology is the catalyst – the opportunity to challenge ourselves – time to adapt, to think out of the box, to move way out of our comfort zones – to be visionary and see a bright and exciting future for the librarian.” These are the words of Library and Information Association of South Africa (LIASA) president Naomi Haasbroek during the keynote address at the 46^th Zimbabwe Library Association conference underway in Kadoma.

This came at a time when librarians are battling to content with emerging technologies which are fast developing than the librarianship profession. The advent of internet has brought a number of technologies that require continual funding for the library to keep abreast which cannot be done due to frequent budget cuts affecting libraries. The theme of the conference ‘Information professionals at crossroads: opportunity for change’ has challenged librarians to be proactive through using that technology to improve information distribution. Haasbroek said that technology has created exciting possibilities for business, education, and research and libraries are no exception - the new developments in technology have brought new modes of information delivery, new platforms, and new access points. Haasbroek contributions are significant towards encouraging developing new models for running libraries in times of transition. The most critical development to note is Web 2.0 technology that has allowed the users to take control of information delivering tools that are easy and convenient and are available 24/7 outside the library walls.

Naomi Haasbroek (far right), LIASA pesident
sharing ideas  at the 46th ZimLA
Conference and AGM in Kadoma.

The notion of embedded librarianship should take into effect as highlighted by Haasbroek that the Embedded Librarian is a new generation librarian who no longer sits in the library waiting for the client to visit the library, but who “embeds” him/herself in the faculty, department or classroom.  She further pointed out that the new role requires the librarian to become an integral part of the team, to build relationships with faculty and to add value by providing relevant information and assistance to access, evaluate and manipulate the information as needed.   The emphasis is on utilizing the emerging technologies to better serve the user in time of need.

The embedded librarian is the ideal tool to better serve the “Google Generation”, Generation Y, also known as “Born with technology” (BWT) a group of users who are digitally savvy and communicate via social networks. Technology has dramatically changed the way librarians should model there operations to better serve the new group of users.

The conference has provided a new perspective for librarians to understand trends in library communities and how the library spaces are shifting to pave way for new developments. The concept of open access, e-books, kindle and other new web 2.0 functionalities are making it possible for librarians to deliver better and improve the visibility of the library. LIASA president put a new mark through challenging librarians to adopt emerging technologies as a route to take from the crossroads to reinvent and transform the way information services are delivered.

Zimbabwe Rural Schools Library Trust Launched in Harare

The birth of a new baby brings joy to the family and new hope for the future when that baby’s needs are provided for. Probable opportunities are high that the child one day lifts the family flag high by landing that high job that would change the position of the entire family – including extended family.

The birth of a new baby is synonymous to the launch of Zimbabwe Rural Schools Library Trust (ZRSLT) an organization established for the sustainable development of libraries in rural schools and communities. The launch took place in Harare and was attended by several Ministers, council officials and members from the library fraternity. ZRSLT join a plethora of civic organizations established to push for the development of school and rural community libraries in Zimbabwe with the view of improving rural information access and to fill the gap between the ICT ‘haves’ and ‘have-not’.

Well, the amazing attribute of the trust is to reinforce a reading culture among rural school children who have been marginalized due to a myriad of challenges associated with lack of library infrastructure and commitments to other work after school. The support to be provided by ZRSLT in form of book donations and training (I suppose) will go a long way to support the schools and communities’ educational, cultural, entertainment and informational interests. The right to information is a fundamental right that requires efforts from all concerned parties (government and civic society) to build a knowledgeable people capable of leading the future with wisdom. Access to information to deprived communities has potential to increase economic activities and agricultural development which are key activities to eradicate poverty.





Part of the people that attended

 the launch of  ZRSLT in Harare at the Town House.

(Picture courtesy of ZRSLT)



ZRSLT anticipate unlocking the reading potential in participating communities whilst putting a stop to child delinquency through participatory activities that engage the children in mental and intellectual capacity. Further benefits of the ZRSLT programmes include assistance with information on agricultural activities and equip the community ICT skills to enable them to be independent researchers and learners. Information literacy skills are critical for the 21^st century citizen to allow effective information sharing and participate in development issues. The trust programme provides a working solution to challenges bedeviling the rural schools expansion and educational projects if implemented fully.

As I said in the beginning that such birth can be a blessing if well taken care of as they propel growth in society but the big question still remains – How are they going to implement the trust projects for the rural schools to benefit? Several other issues stand in the way relating to the role of National Library and Documentation Services (NLDS), Zimbabwe Library Association (ZimLA) and other Ministry departments who have the mandate to develop the library fraternity in Zimbabwe. Their continual silence is tantamount to put the library development in Zimbabwe into a sinking ship regardless of the fundamental importance of libraries in communities they are established. Efforts from ZRSLT and other civic organizations are imperative for equipping the society with the endeavor to enrich the human mind for social inclusion.