Hallo Kim
Thanks so much for this suggestion!! We only received acknowledgment
from his office. We also sent the letter to the Minister of HE.
regards
Naomi
> PS - Might I suggest also, a petition, co-ordinated by LIASA, whereby
> individual librarians and concerned other parties, may sign their names
> and
> affiliations? That might assist greatly to reflect the scale of concern in
> the library and academic community, and we could even ask other knowledge
> vendors to add their weight to the petition.
>
> I realise we are competing with the planned closure of the Centre for
> African Studies, which has received much press exposure, but if we send in
> a
> petition of signatories, including both both national, and international
> concerned professiionals, it might give make a difference, A properly
> worded
> and coordinated petition, with as many signatories as possible, can be a
> very effective instrument for influencing decision making.
>
> Regards,
> Kim
>
> On Fri, May 13, 2011 at 11:19 AM, Ingrid Thomson
> <Ingrid.Thomson@uct.ac.za>wrote:
>
>> Dear Colleagues
>>
>> Not sure whether you would have seen this, but here is a copy of the
>> letter
>> sent by LIASA to Dr Max Price, V-C of the University of Cape Town,
>> about
>> the closure of the UCT's Centre for Information Literacy (CILS).
>>
>> This has just been posted at http://www.liasa.org.za/node/537
>>
>> Regards
>>
>>
>>
>> 10 January 2011
>>
>> Dr Max Price
>> Vice-Chancellor
>> University of Cape Town
>>
>> Dear Dr Price
>>
>> *Re: Closure of UCT's Department of Information and Library Studies*
>>
>> The professional association (Library and Information Association of
>> South
>> Africa (LIASA)) representing the library and information sector (LIS),
>> at
>> its Annual Conference and General Meeting of September/October 2010,
>> instructed the Representative Council of LIASA to communicate to you its
>> grave concern over the likely closure of the Department of Information
>> and
>> Library Studies (Centre for Information Literacy) at your Institution.
>> In
>> the current age of exponential growth of information and knowledge, it
>> is
>> critical that users of information are adequately skilled in retrieving
>> reliable and relevant information in support of hypotheses, to construct
>> sound defense of arguments or simply for individuals to make informed
>> choices in their personal, professional and academic lives.
>>
>> Growing critical thinking in the current paradigm shift away from
>> 'education as a domesticator' to 'education as a liberator' has been
>> adopted
>> at the 2009 UNESCO Conference held in Paris. Leading academic
>> institutions
>> have endorsed the promotion of this philosophy of critical thinking
>> through
>> the signing of a memorandum of understanding. Given this landmark
>> commitment
>> and a national imperative to substantially decrease the first-year
>> university dropout rate in South Africa, it becomes even more important
>> for
>> information literacy to underpin every academic programme. Information
>> literacy is regarded not only as a survival skill in the current
>> information
>> age, but it also forms the basis of lifelong learning as it is generic
>> to
>> all disciplines, levels of education and learning environments. Hence in
>> view of the current transformation agenda of the country and its
>> national
>> imperatives, information literacy represents a core set of essential
>> learning outcomes for the higher education sector. The University of
>> Cape
>> Town's Centre for Information Literacy has lead in this area in terms of
>> scholarship of both teaching (workshop provision to students, academics
>> and
>> professionals) and enquiry (through research and publication). Hence the
>> LIS
>> discipline laments the closure of a leader in our field.
>>
>> LIASA believes that UCT's Centre for Information Literacy, among the
>> oldest
>> and most prestigious of LIS schools in the country, is well placed to
>> share
>> its extensive store of intellectual capacity in LIS and related areas in
>> the
>> educational preparation of library and information workers to ensure
>> that
>> the information literacy imperatives of the country are met. As
>> indicated by
>> the current President of the International Federation of Library
>> Associations and Institutions (Ellen Tise, who is also the Senior
>> Director
>> of Stellenbosch University's Library and Information Service), her
>> sojourns
>> around the world have revealed that knowledge and information are
>> critical
>> to the growth and development of a country: the "inability to extract
>> reliable and relevant information from a surfeit of sources is
>> tantamount to
>> inaccessibility with the end product being the stifling of growth and
>> development of a nation".
>>
>> Research commissioned by The Department of Arts and Culture (*DAC
>> Report*2010) highlights,
>> *inter alia*, the shortage of qualified librarians in South Africa. The
>> Carnegie Corporation of New York (CCNY) in responding to these findings
>> and
>> recognizing the disastrous implications of this shortage to a beacon of
>> hope
>> on the African continent, has requested LIASA (the professional
>> association)
>> to collaborate with other possible partners such as DAC and LIS schools
>> to
>> develop a proposal for the sum of one million US dollars (as input from
>> the
>> CCNY) for the training of 500 to 600 librarians over the next four
>> years.
>> The closing down of the UCT LIS School, one of only four LIS schools in
>> the
>> country (and the only one in the Western Cape) currently offering the
>> Postgraduate Diploma in LIS (CCNY's preferred targeted qualification),
>> would
>> be a major blow to the development of LIS in South Africa and the
>> proposed
>> CCNY programme.
>>
>> The national programme of 'One School, One Library and One Librarian'
>> (supported by UCT) has brought to the attention of relevant authorities
>> the
>> fact that more than 24 thousand school librarians need to be trained to
>> fulfill this aim – removing a leading library school in the country
>> from
>> this process can only impact negatively on the process. LIASA is
>> optimistic that the University of Cape Town would appropriately weigh
>> these
>> qualitative imperatives in the interest of national growth and
>> development,
>> against issues of financial viability.
>>
>> While the LIS programme at UCT is regarded as being among the most
>> prestigious in the country, unfortunately the Sword of Damocles that
>> hangs
>> over the programme has had the effect of dwindling student numbers as
>> many
>> potential, masters' and doctoral students particularly, have put on hold
>> their study ambitions pending a decision by UCT. Another issue that
>> needs to
>> be placed on the table is the recent advertisement for the post of
>> Executive
>> Director for UCT Libraries which asks for a minimum of a master's
>> degree. It
>> is precisely LIS Schools of the caliber of the UCT programme that
>> provide
>> the education and training for future leadership positions such as these
>> as
>> well as others in LIS academe and the professional body because of the
>> strong research and general education (liberal arts) focus. Or perhaps
>> is
>> South Africa resigning itself to the fact that foreign librarians are
>> likely
>> to fill these key posts and provide a foreign biased service which would
>> surely be another nail to the development agenda of the country.
>>
>> The National Council for Library and Information Services, which advises
>> relevant Ministers on LIS issues, is optimistic that the Department of
>> Arts
>> and Culture would set aside a sum of two million Rands for investigating
>> and
>> legislating a statutory body for the LIS sector. This funding is to
>> serve as
>> an impetus for the acceleration of the revitalization and growth of the
>> profession and it would indeed be a pity if the UCT LIS School is no
>> longer
>> around to contribute to this important process.
>>
>> LIASA is fully cognizant of the financial constraints within which
>> academic
>> institutions function. It is also aware that the current cohort of LIS
>> academics at UCT is at or close to retirement age. However, the immense
>> experience and intellectual capacity of these individuals who are highly
>> respected and recognized as leaders in the LIS field not only in LIS
>> scholarship but also in the academe generally, provide an ideal
>> opportunity
>> for the UCT LIS School to mentor and capacity build among emerging LIS
>> academics of colour and thus contribute to the revitalization of a
>> development related profession and to national transformation generally.
>>
>> In view of these issues, LIASA sincerely hopes that you and your
>> administration would kindly RECONSIDER the decision to close down the
>> LIS
>> School at UCT – the closure would spell disaster for the LIS profession
>> as
>> other far less prestigious LIS schools are likely to follow suit.
>> Closure
>> of the UCT School is likely to have a negative effect on the LIS
>> profession
>> and on our developing society. Please do not hesitate to contact us if
>> you
>> need clarity on any of the issues raised in this letter or if you wish
>> to
>> engage the professional body in any way.
>>
>> Best regards
>>
>> Naomi Haasbroek
>> President
>> president@lliasa.org.za
>>
>> CC: Dr Blade Nzimande, Prof M Nassimbeni
>>
>> ###
>>
>> UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN
>>
>> This e-mail is subject to the UCT ICT policies and e-mail disclaimer
>> published on our website at
>> http://www.uct.ac.za/about/policies/emaildisclaimer/ or obtainable from
>> +27
>> 21 650 9111. This e-mail is intended only for the person(s) to whom it
>> is
>> addressed. If the e-mail has reached you in error, please notify the
>> author.
>> If you are not the intended recipient of the e-mail you may not use,
>> disclose, copy, redirect or print the content. If this e-mail is not
>> related
>> to the business of UCT it is sent by the sender in the sender's
>> individual
>> capacity.
>>
>> ###
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Lib-helig-l mailing list
>> Lib-helig-l@lists.uct.ac.za
>> https://lists.uct.ac.za/mailman/listinfo/lib-helig-l
>>
>>
> WebRep
> Overall rating
> _______________________________________________
> Lib-helig-l mailing list
> Lib-helig-l@lists.uct.ac.za
> https://lists.uct.ac.za/mailman/listinfo/lib-helig-l
>
Naomi Haasbroek
Head: Library and Information Services
iThemba LABS
P O Box 722
Somerset West
Tel: Direct: +27 21 8431259
Tel: Reception: +27 21 8431000
Fax: 0866116096
Mobile: 0828959931
E-mail: naomi@tlabs.ac.za
President
Library & Information Association of South Africa
P O Box 1598
Pretoria 0001
E-mail: president@liasa.org.za
Chair: IFLA Africa Section
_______________________________________________
Lib-helig-l mailing list
Lib-helig-l@lists.uct.ac.za
https://lists.uct.ac.za/mailman/listinfo/lib-helig-l
