Coupled with the expansion of the information system in South Africa, the library movement and not least the Kimberley Public Library was faced also with the
challenges presented by the advent of the era of the computer and other technological advances and their employment in South African libraries. The East London Public Library was the first public library to make use of computers for ‘a major and solely library function’ which occurred simultaneously with the opening of the city’s new library in 1970 (Van Deventer 1981: 62).
By the 1970’s libraries in South Africa and throughout the world were considered integral and indispensable to the service having to be provided to a society which hungered after information. This information phenomenon was also marked by the South African Library Association which, on its 50th anniversary, saw fit to change the name of the association to that of the South African Institute for Librarianship and Information Science (SAILIS) as a means of signifying the broader and more inclusive purpose of the association. During his address to the conference on this occasion, the President proceeded to remind his audience of the contribution the South African Library Association had made to the national information system in the country, stating that in point of fact ‘the transfer of knowledge via the record has always been an important raison d’ȇtre of libraries’ (Viljoen 1981: 87). He went on to point out that the concept of a national information system (NATIS), a concept initiated in 1974 by the Intergovernmental Conference on the Planning of National Documentation, Library and Archives Infrastructures could be described as
the totality of activities, persons and bodies concerned with the creation, collection, selection, arrangement, storage, retrieval, processing, provision and use of information in various spheres of life (Viljoen 1981: 87).
In the final issue of South African Libraries, the Editor makes mention of the fact that at the 50th conference of the South African Library Association, national dignitaries including the State President, had paid tribute to the library and information profession and that it seemed that
at last we no longer have to plead cap in hand with the authorities to recognize the value and necessity of providing and using information (SAL 1981, Editorial: 131)
because the State acknowledged that the country needed information but that the profession needed to deliver those services which they had undertaken when pleading for recognition.
The first issue of SAILIS’ journal The South African Journal for Librarianship and Information Science (SAfr.JLib.Inf.Sc.) appeared in July 1981 and the Editor, RB Zaaiman availed himself of the opportunity to remind members of the goal set by Charles T Loram in the first issue of the South African Libraries –
Among the many functions which this journal can perform, one seems to be of outstanding importance. The elevation of the librarians of South Africa to the status of a profession with adequate educational and technical qualifications and with all else that is implied in membership of a learned profession could perhaps do more for the advancement of the library movement than anything else (Zaaiman 1981: 3).
But all was by no means well in this field of endeavour. In his article Die funksies van die openbare biblioteek in die samelewing, B Fouché states that there were opposing views as to whether or not it was necessary to debate the aims and functions of public libraries but he felt that the negative opinion did indeed require urgent attention
daar is nie ‘n duidelike begrip van die doelstellings en funksies van die openbare biblioteek by bibliotekarisse aanwesig nie; dat die biblioteekgemeenskap gevolglik nie daarin slaag om ‘n duidelike begrip van die doelstellings en funksies aan biblioteekowerhede en gebruikers oor te dra nie; dat die openbare biblioteekwese as gevolg van hierdie
koersloosheid nie daarin slaag om in kompetisie met ander openbare dienste voldoende fondse te bekom om doeltreffend te funksioneer nie;
en dat die toekoms van die openbare biblioteek in die weegskaal is (Fouché 1981: 4).
This lack of understanding on the part of the authorities and the competition for funds to which Fouché refers was amply demonstrated by the trials and tribulations suffered by the Kimberley Public Library. Many years of negotiations with the Provincial Administration elapsed during which the Kimberley Public Library was obliged to serve the public as a free library in a library building which was totally inadequate.
The new Kimberley Public Library building finally materialised in 1984.
It was at that time, during the construction of the new building for the Kimberley Public Library, that it was decided that its valuable collection of Africana and rare books should remain in the old building and function independently as the Kimberley Africana Library to operate as a separate research institution but remain as a branch of the Kimberley Public Library system. Although the Municipality had provided for the upgrading of the old building to the extent of R200 000, these funds were quite inadequate and could provide for nothing more than the bare necessities (KPL Annual Report, 1984/85). Although the Kimberley Africana Library was to function independently as a research library, little consideration appears to have been given to the fact that substantial differences exist between the functions of a public library and one which focuses on research. The failure to make this distinction at the time of the dichotomisation of the two libraries has had severe consequences in regard to the Africana Library’s ability to function optimally as a research library and to preserve its collections.
The 1980’s saw the beginning of a period of transition in the political and social structures of South Africa, structures which had taken root in the country in 1652 when the earliest Europeans settled in the country. Gradually, those in power came to realise that the non-white component of the population of the country required a share of the country’s resources in order to improve their quality of life by ‘developing
knowledge, talent and initiative’ (Shillingshaw 1986: 40). In an address to SAILIS in September 1986 Shillingshaw drew attention to the potential role of public libraries in this process of development and outlined the problems confronting these institutions in achieving this aim. One of the central problems he identified was that
Among public administrators and policy makers, the library does not yet appear to be generally regarded as an instrument for development. Even in the field of formal and non-formal education, the public library is not regarded as a significant factor (Shillingshaw 1986:40).
Shillingshaw (1986) pointed out that to a significant extent, it was the fault of the public libraries that they did not receive the official recognition they needed and that it was indeed up to them to find ways and means of serving communities other than those who were affluent, educated and leisured. Only by adapting to prevailing sentiment and policy could public libraries be accorded the position in society they desired. He advised public libraries to make every effort to become an integral part of the educational system and not attempt to ‘become a splinter system trying to operate by itself’ (Shillingshaw 1986: 40).
A year later, in 1987, the Minister of National Education, FW de Klerk, during a speech made at the State Library in Pretoria pointed out that the country had more than 1 700 service points, all of which contained a vast body of knowledge. He went on to urge the library movement to use these resources wisely to
stimulate the process of development, and in doing so we would do well to focus on those parts of the population and the economy where the need for development is greatest.
Creating an informed community by providing information to a broader base of the community is a better investment than wealth in the hands of a few individuals (De Klerk 1987: (iii)).