Libraries aren't 'dead in the water' – even if some have given up

Briony Birdi, University of Sheffield
Having spent 15 years researching public libraries and trying to emphasise their contribution to education and society as a whole, you might expect that I’d be delighted at the good news that our public libraries are finally receiving the media attention and recognition they deserve? Sadly not.
The recent boon in media interest is of course linked to a large-scale BBC investigation into the “real” picture of library closures, staff redundancies and budget cuts which have taken place since 2010, the year in which UK Chancellor George Osborne “unveiled the biggest UK spending cuts for decades”.
I was one of a number of people interviewed as part of the investigation, and have been quoted in two two depressingly entitled articles: one on how a quarter of staff jobs have been lost as hundreds of libraries close and another entitled “Libraries: the decline of a profession?”
The first article presented some stark statistics – based on an extensive series of Freedom of Information requests by the BBC – which revealed the extent of closures, planned closures and job losses, as well as the concurrent increase in community-run libraries – where the local authority hands over the management of a library service to a group of community volunteers – and volunteer staff.
Libraries aren’t over, they will just look different. A similar view was expressed by Elizabeth Elford of the Society of Chief Librarians, who observed “there will be fewer public libraries when we come out the other side, but they will be better and more innovative.” I sincerely hope that she is right, but I question whether the closure of so many public libraries could be characterised as a positive development.
Of course, not all libraries have “closed”. In addition to the 343 libraries no longer in existence since 2010, the BBC also reported that 232 libraries have been “transferred”, 174 of which have moved from council control to management by community groups (whether or not these should also be counted as “closures” remains a point for ongoing debate).
For Ian Stephens, chair of the Local Government Association’s culture, tourism and sport board, it is testament “to how much people value their libraries that so many have volunteered to help keep them open.” This might well be true but it provides little comfort to those volunteers who would have preferred the library service to remain council run rather than being forced to fend for themselves without professional training or long-term council support.

Community run

Community-run libraries are also under no obligation to conform to council standards and, as I keep being told by people working in community-run libraries, they feel that they are in competition with other libraries in the city or county, and are certainly not connected to them as they originally thought they would be.

More colour in the community. Libraries Taskforce, CC BY

This would appear incongruous with the public library service so familiar to many of us, with one large central library providing the greatest range of resources, and a number of smaller branch libraries serving the different parts of the community. The community-run service, at least in its current form, does not appear to replicate this service, and, as the statistics show, we now have an utter lack of consistency of provision across towns and cities.

Supportive role

Volunteers have long supported library services by supplementing existing work – shelving, routine enquiry work, storytelling sessions, and so on – or by adding value to a service with more specialised skills, such as cultural awareness sessions from members of local minority ethnic communities. This is extremely valuable work, and in no sense devalues the existing service. Many of our students will work as volunteers in library services before coming on the masters programme, and it serves as excellent preparation for an information career.
However, some politicians and other commentators seem to forget that there is an important distinction between volunteers used to supplement an existing service, and volunteers either replacing the specialised roles of paid library staff, or working in “community-run” libraries. The second of these seemed at the time to relate very closely to the coalition government’s Big Society ideology, the impact of which is still being felt, particularly in terms of the ongoing drive for local authorities to make the most of ever-decreasing budgets. Certainly before 2010 the community-run library was a very rare phenomenon.
Last year I was told that public libraries – and, by association, any research into them – were “dead in the water”. No such demise has occurred, as I wrote in a blog last year. Nevertheless, the recent media coverage is a clear reminder that we cannot be complacent about the future of public libraries. These are very difficult times for these organisations and those who work in them, and it would be naive to pretend otherwise.
People who have devoted their lives to supporting public libraries are now suggesting that we have gone past the point of no return. Yet there are still a huge number of individuals and organisations who still firmly believe in the role of the statutory public library service in a democratic society, and are working tirelessly to ensure that it remains.
To those fortunate individuals who appear not to have seen the extent of the contribution a public library makes to its community, I repeat a point made by David McMenemy, in his book The Public Library: “In all of the discourse around the diminishing use of public library services it is crucial not to lose sight of the fact that many people within our communities continue to need the services they offer.”
Public library services remain one of the most significant and democratising assets within our communities and should not be sacrificed for economic or political expediency.


Briony Birdi, Lecturer in Librarianship, University of Sheffield
This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

Who says libraries are dying? They are evolving into spaces for innovation

Crystle Martin, University of California, Irvine

With the expansion of digital media, the rise of e-books and massive budget cuts, the end of libraries has been predicted many times over.
And while it is true that library budgets have been slashed, causing cuts in operating hours and branch closures, libraries are not exactly dying. In fact, libraries are evolving.
As a researcher of youth learning in out-of-school spaces, I have studied the online information habits of youth. I am currently studying how librarians are supporting teen learning and teaching coding to novice learners.
So, how are libraries changing and what is their future?

Making a difference

Traditionally, libraries provided no-cost access to books and a quiet place to read.
But many of today’s public libraries are taking on newer roles. They are offering programs in technology, career and college readiness and also in innovation and entrepreneurship – all 21st-century skills, essential for success in today’s economy.
Look at some of the examples of this change happening across the nation.
In 2014, the San Diego Public Library Central Library opened the IDEA Lab, where students can explore and learn new technology with the support of their peers.
The lab hires teen interns to run workshops on a variety of topics of their interests. These range from Photoshop to stop-motion animation and skill-building technology projects.
These interns, coming from schools with predominantly African-American and Latino students, also get to work with a librarian to plan activities that give them experience related to their career goals.

Libraries are becoming spaces for collaborative learning. Jisc infoNet, CC BY-NC-ND

Similarly, in early 2015, librarians at the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library in North Carolina created a “maker space” called Idea Box, a place where area youth are invited to learn to 3D model, 3D print, knit and code. This creates learning opportunities for the youth and develops their interests in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) careers.
In another such example, the Seattle Public Library started a partnership in 2014 with the Seattle Youth Employment Program. Together, they have designed curriculum to build digital and information literacy skills.
Alongside individual libraries, national organizations such as YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association), who strengthen library services for teens, are already making changes to what they view as the purview of the library professional. Their recent report focuses on changing the role of library staff to support young people as they explore and develop career paths.

Libraries for the homeless

This is not all. Libraries are expanding beyond their traditional roles and reaching further into their communities.
Since spring 2014, the Brooklyn Public Library has been running “transitional services” that focus on providing programs such as “pop-up libraries” for people who are homeless, as well as opportunities for children to read books with parents who are incarcerated.
Even institutions going through budget cuts strive to maintain this component of serving the community. For example, when the Detroit Public Library had to deeply slash its budget during the economic downturn, alongside reducing its branch hours to 40 per week, it reworked its schedule to maximize the number of evening and weekend hours it was open, so as to best serve the community.

Future will be service

Libraries in the 21st century are going to be less about books and more about the services that library staff provide to their communities.
Miguel Figueroa of the Center for the Future of Libraries sums it up best, when he says:

The library of the future, whether the physical space or its digital resources, can be the place where you put things together, make something new, meet new people, and share what you and others bring to the table. It’s peer-to-peer, hands-on, community-based and creation-focused.

Crystle Martin, Postdoctoral Researcher , University of California, Irvine
This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

Decolonising economics: more context is needed, not less content

Johan Fourie, Stellenbosch University

There is a new call to arms at South African universities: it’s time to decolonise the economics curriculum. This is part of a broader project to make curricula across disciplines more applicable to the South African context. Ihsaan Bassier, an Honours student at the University of Cape Town, writes that the institution’s curriculum is “largely abstracted from South Africa’s economic crisis and reinforces an anti-poor understanding of policies”. He explains:

Economics is presented as an amoral subject, only examining mechanistic questions and optimising efficiency. If it is amoral, why is so little attention given to heterodox thought? Capitalism arbitrarily privileges those with money over others in the most violent form possible, through a system of class protection, marginalisation of the poor and gross injustice.

From the outset, let me say that I agree South Africa’s economics curriculum needs to be refined. The tricky question is how. Simply removing content is not the answer: a more nuanced approach is needed.

Capitalism is not anti-poor

Economics equips students with a set of tools that allow them to explain the world around them. One of those tools is statistical analysis, which means we can test a hypothesis – such as Bassier’s above statement – with evidence from the real world.
And the real world evidence, unfortunately for Bassier, is loud and clear: capitalism, a system based on the principle of individual rights, has created remarkable economic freedom for humanity over the last three centuries. Consider this: in 1981 more than half the people in the world lived in absolute poverty. Today, that figure is less than 20%. Millions of Indians, Chinese - and Africans, too - have better living standards than their parents did.
That is not to say that everything about capitalism is great. Capitalism is not a single thing. It morphs into different forms depending on the political and social context. Capitalism in America is certainly more unfettered than capitalism in, say, France. And there is certainly space for more debate about the type of capitalism that’s needed in South Africa.
But those debates need to be based on sound theories and falsifiable evidence. Economic policy arguments – Is a higher minimum wage better for the poorest? Do social benefits lead to unemployment? Does regulation impede growth? – are all empirical questions, one that economists’ statistical toolkits can answer. Everyone has theories about how the world works. But as Dani Rodrik explains in his excellent book Economics Rules, there is not one single, better theory. Instead, there’s a menu of theories that economists can use to understand their work and the societies in which they operate.
Think of a theory as a map. There is no single map that explains everything. Sometimes you need a world map to look at countries. Sometimes you need a street map to find that new restaurant. Economists’ theories or models are the same. Different models are used in different contexts, and what makes a really good economist is picking the right model for the right question.

History provides context

Here is where Bassier is right: there must be more context in South Africa’s economics curricula. You do not decolonise a curriculum by removing content. If you do that, students are denied the opportunity to participate in local policy debates and the global job market. Universities can decolonise by adding more context and diversity.
My solution? More economic history and more economic thought. Global and African economic history provides us with an understanding of the historical roots of growth, poverty, development and inequality. The history of economic thought is concerned with theorists’ ideas about solving the economic problem, including philosophers that were very much in favour of socialism. If the neoclassical model is a map of one country, the history of economic thought is a map of the world. It shows how neoclassical thinking evolved and why it became the dominant model.
This is already happening at some institutions. The University of Cape Town has an undergraduate programme in economic history and an excellent third-year course called the History of Economic Thought. At Stellenbosch University, where I teach, we have created an entire course in the second year to investigate African economic history and contemporary economic development. One semester starts with the Neolithic Revolution and ends with the economics of apartheid. Another discusses current education, health and other social policies to tackle poverty and inequality. I see this course as complementary to the standard economics courses. You cannot have the one without the other.
Another challenge is persuading students to study economics for longer. At Stellenbosch, only one in ten first-year economics students will enrol for economics in their third year. Some students obviously fail, but most simply choose not to continue. Those who only study the discipline for a year or two will not understand the nuances of the models, as Bassier argues.
But no one expects me to be a psychologist with just Psychology 1, or fluent in French with just French 2. This is why universities need to encourage more of the country’s brightest minds to choose economics through to post-graduate level. This will expose more students to better analytical tools, and produce the analytical skills so desperately needed to address the vexing economic issues that face the country.
Science is advanced by standing on the shoulders of giants. Decolonisation, when it’s done right, can add more shoulders to stand on.


Johan Fourie, Associate Professor, Department of Economics, Stellenbosch University
This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

Shittu, others mull over $300bn Africa smart cities investments

The Nigerian minister of communications, Mr Adebayo Shittu, executive director of the SMART Africa Programme, Dr Hamadoun Touré, and several leading information communications technology (ICT) players, have said that there is an investment need for infrastructure in Africa of about over $300 billion over the next 10 years if the continent is to reach its full potential.

ADEBAYO SHITTU

The experts spoke at the second installment of Ericsson’s Africa Night, a networking and conversation platform for key stakeholders in the sector to engage on matters related to the digitisation of Africa at the just concluded Mobile World Congress 2016 in Barcelona, Spain, where Ericsson hosted a discussion on the impact of smart cities for a connected Africa.

The head of Ericsson’s region sub-Saharan Africa, Fredrik Jejdling, said, “Industries and society are transforming as a result of ICT, and the establishment of smart cities that are equipped to manage some of the most important needs in evolving cities, such as safety, transportation, and utilities, requires active collaboration between various stakeholders.

Touré said, “The investment will not be charity, its business. Today, the continent has the highest return on investment. Governments are putting the right regulatory environments in place with regard to spectrum, licences and national broadband plans and, therefore, with the public partnership model that we are advocating, there is money to be made.

From the Nigerian perspective, Shittu shared the success of two initiatives that were having a positive impact on connecting Nigerians and bringing financial inclusion and accountability: the Treasury Single Account (TSA) as well as preloaded money cards that are now available, for example, to farmers.

The Rwandan minister for ICT and youth, Jean-Philbert Nsengimana, extolled the role of partnerships in delivering smart cities in Africa.

“Rwanda is leading in four areas in collaboration with Ericsson: payments, digitising transportation, safety and utilities. There is no way a government alone can drive massive projects at the rate at which we are doing it without strong partnerships,” Nsengimana.

Speaking on the progress of the Smart Rwanda Project in his country, the minister projected that 95 per cent of all transactions between the government and citizens by the end of 2017 will be online, and round the clock.

The United Nations estimates that by 2050 almost 70 percent of the world’s population will be city dwellers. Though Africa remains mostly rural with only 40 per cent in urban areas as at 2014, this is expected to change in coming decades as Africa, like Asia, is expected to urbanize faster than other regions in the world.

The growth of cities raises a range of social, economic and environmental challenges, putting pressure on infrastructure, natural systems and social structures. However, as the challenges of urbanization intersect with ICT-driven opportunities, solutions emerge with the potential to improve the lives of billions.

ABBA MORO TO BE CHARGED TO COURT TODAY

 Abba Moro, the immediate past interior minister, will on Monday, February 29, be arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The ex-minister is to be docked on an 11-count charge bordering on obtaining by false pretence, procurement fraud and money laundering before Justice Anwuli Chikere of the Federal High Court, Abuja. Premium Times reports that others to be charged alongside Moro for their roles in the botched March 15, 2014 immigration recruitment exercise that killed no fewer than 20 job seekers across the country are: permanent secretary of the ministry at the time, Anastasia Daniel-Nwobia; a deputy director in the ministry, F. O Alayebami; one Mahmood Ahmadu(at large), and the contracting firm given the recruitment job, Drexel Tech Nigeria .
The EFCC accused the defendants of defrauding 676,675 Nigerian applicants of N676,675,000 (Six hundred and seventy-six million, six hundred and seventy-five thousand naira). Each of the 676,675 applicants were charged N1,000 each for participating in the recruitment exercise. The anti-graft agency is also accusing the defendants of flouting the Public Procurement Act, No. 65 of 2007 in the award of the contract for the organisation of the recruitment test to Drexel Tech Nigeria Ltd. According to the EFCC, Drexel had no prior advertisement and no needs assessment and procurement plan was carried out before the contract was awarded. The anti-graft agency said the contract was awarded through selective tendering procedure by invitation of 4 firms without seeking the approval of the Bureau for Public Procurement, contrary to sections 40, 42 and 43 of the Public Procurement Act, No 65 of 2007 and punishable under section 58 of the same act. Drexel is also alleged to be unregistered and had no legal capacity to enter into the said contract.
There is also said to be no budgetary provision for the exercise in the 2014 Federal Capital budget hence the applicants were made to bear the responsibility of funding the project without approval of the Board contrary to section 22(5) of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Act 2000, the charge said.

 The court document reads: “One of the accused Mahmood Ahmadu(who is at large) in connivance with Drexel Tech Nigeria Ltd, lavished the total of N423,800,000.00(Four hundred and twenty-three Million, eight hundred thousand naira) part of the N676,675,000 (Six hundred and seventy-six million, six hundred and seventy-five thousand naira) gotten from the applicants on the following: the sum N202, 500, 000( Two hundred and two million five hundred thousand naira ) in purchase of a property in a choice area of the Federal Capital territory, N120, 100,000 (One hundred and twenty million one hundred thousand naira ) used in upgrading a property in Abuja, while the total of N101, 200, 000( One hundred and one million two hundred thousand naira) was converted to United States dollars for personal use.” Moro and Anaesthesia Nwaobia were detained by operatives of the EFCC on Monday, February 22. The antigraft body says further investigations are underway to verify their claims. One of Moro’s associates, Mahmood Ahmadu is reportedly on the run, trying to avoid the law. The fugitive businessman who is on the run over the 2014 sham immigration recruitment, has allegedly shut down three of his companies located in the United Kingdom (UK).

AGONY OF AN UNEMPLOYED GRADUATE

According to Oxford dictionary,"Education"is defined as a process of teaching,training and learning,especially in schools or colleges,to improve knowledge and develop skills.
Many years ago,Martin Luther wrote "The prosperity of a country depends,not on the abundance of its revenues,nor on the strength of its fortifications, nor on the beauty of its public buildings; but it consists in the number of its cultivated citizens, in its men of education, enlightenment and character". When he wrote this,he was of the view that education in its best form will refine and shape the future of a country,and he channeled this to inspire the developing countries, majorly black nations to invest more in education to fortify their immediate future.
Also as a way of encouraging developing nations,one of the MDGs that was set in the year 2000,by the United Nations,was that by 2015,children everywhere should be able to achieve basic education which significantly translate to achieving the first two set of the 6-3-3-4 educational system we practiced in Nigeria.
With the growing level of civilisation and development around the world,everyone exhibited a certain level of determination to pass through a certain level of education to be classified as literate citizens. After passing through thick and thin to acquire some certain level of knowledge,it is disheartening, and ridiculous that there isn't a platform to practice what you've garnered down the years. There is no gainsaying that a country that failed to harness its best brain and product is doomed. It is so hard for any Chinese factory to employ a non-Chinese because they have an effective education system that is productive,likewise India,Russia and many countries around the world.
It is crystal clear that those entrusted with the nation educational policy has lost their touch and have been left dumb headed by the rest of the world. The first major problem that has enveloped the education system of Nigeria is the inability of the system to encourage Functional education. Imagine a foremost university in the country teaching its computer science students FORTRAN programming up till date. Little wonder some Nigerian graduates are unable to compete with their mates globally.
Let me state categorically, majority of Nigerian students are brilliant,inquisitive,effervescent and can stand up to their mate around the world if the system is being fixed to be positively productive.
The Nigeria educational system can be described as a schematic way of enslaving the helpless youths by the power that be. The mode of slavery is to send children to school,upon graduation from a balderdash system, they will be turn to political jobbers,praise-singers,and indirectly turn them to worshippers of their ill-acquired fame and fortune. It is disgustingly frustrating,for someone to graduate and end up as a jobless citizen.
Nigeria educationists needs to adopt a functional educational system that corroborates practical and theoretical mode of learning together. Functional education should be Paramount in any society.It defines a role for the individual in nation building and it enables the individual to chart a meaningful path towards the realization of that role.Functional education builds a complete human being who is able to meet challenges of the world.
Another problem that has affected the education system of the country gravely is the compulsory One-year service for all graduates. It is imperative for me to state some reasons why I detest NYSC and described it as a wasteful program that needs to be checked and essentially needs to be reform. NYSC as a program has been successful in the aspect of instilling discipline in many people. The prior motives of the initiators of NYSC was to integrate National Unity amidst our diversity which was to curb the act of ethnic bigotry and accord mutual respect to a fellow country man, it is safe to say that NYSC on this front have been successful.On a larger scale NYSC is wasteful for individual development.Any system or program that gives preference should be deemed useless.
Why will a graduate of medicine be posted to a hospital and an Engineer will be posted to a secondary school to teach Mathematics?
Why will a law graduate be posted to a law firm and a graduate of Agricultural science be posted to a Local Government office?
It is apparent that one graduate will be able to further his practice on the knowledge he acquired down the years,while one will jettison all he has learnt for good one year. The program needs to be reformed or replaced with a better program- a program where graduates will be able to practice the experience they garnered in school to enable them impact positively to the growth and developments of their immediate community. Those that went to University of education or studied a course that is related to education should be posted to schools. It is sane that NYSC should be a program where graduates will be posted to their respective field.
Nigeria leaders down the years,were bunch of selfish,visionless,and corrupts people, who never took their time to understand the context and significance of education to the development of a country. India was never where it is today in terms of education, it was the dedication of the government, that led them to the India of today.
Jawarhalal Nehru,India first prime minister, took an economic decision that placed pressure on the education system of the country. He closed door on importation of any foreign products varying from the essential to the less valued product and encouraged indians to make use of locally made products that was not available at the time. It took those in charge of the education system to put the onus on themselves,they designed an effective system that will be able to meet the demands of the teeming populace,the result is India of today.
Sequel to the failure in the education system,National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS) came with a structural plan which was never executed by the power that be. They realised that the main target of the plan was for the emancipation of helpless Nigeria students and graduates from the educational slavery we are being condemned to. It is conspicuous that the successful implementation of the NEEDS plan will improve the nations education system and consequently reduce the level of unemployed graduates in the country. The NEEDS plan structurally have in it,a goal with its respective targets and how to execute them. It is unfortunate we found ourself in a nation where a viable plan will be jettisoned by those entrusted with the execution of the plan because of their lack of vision and selfish interest.
Nigeria is humorously referred to as the giant of Africa-a giant with the head of a newt, a giant that is unable to cater for the needs of it body. Nigeria used to be a country with great potentials. It is frustrating that the future of the country lies in the hand of a growing number of unemployed citizens. The nation has failed to harness its potential at independence to secure the present which has resulted in the woeful state of the nation.
The growing rate of unemployment needs to be checked in order to dent a general saying that an idle hand is the devil's workshop. It need to be referenced that the mind of a typical youth is like an open-blanked book,where anything written is indelible. Unfortunately, we are in a society where bad influence is the order of the day. Bad influence is parasitic and found its host in a jobless person, the host need to be catered for in order to reduce the rate of negative influence in the society.
Bad influence and joblessness are entangled together and it takes a careful and viable action to separate them, if not done properly,the state of mockery Nigeria will found itself will be unbearable.
The growing rate of unemployed graduate in the country is an indication that Nigeria is a failed state, she has been governed by leaders whose only attributes is failure, and lack of progressive vision for the Nigerian state.
The present day government needs to checkmate the failure of the previous government and put in place a viable education system and economic plan where its graduate will be able to rub shoulders with its mate globally. I hope the new regime implements his employment plan sooner before we form an Association of Unemployed Graduates which will be ridiculous to Nigeria as a country.
Little word of encouragement for my fellow unemployed graduates, it isn't our fault being a product of a failed system, a failed country down the years. While we remain morally upright in our course to better standard of living,let's hope the sun that shines on the face will make it brighter.

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