Public libraries have not been successful in Africa (Mostert, 1998) as most people in the continent cannot easily access them (Dent & Yannotta, 2005).
Even in post-colonial Africa libraries still have severe shortcomings. Their development has been hindered by a lack of financial and irregular support from African governments (Dent et al. 2014 & Raseroka, 1994). Library services typically receive less funding compared to other government services (MacLennan, 2005).
Dent & Yannotta (2005) and Mostert (1998) assert that community libraries are much more suitable to the needs of Africans. Dent & Yannotta (2005:39) declare that “[a]n alternative to public libraries that has shown great promise in providing communities with reading materials and other services is the community library”. Community libraries in Africa developed out of a need to rectify certain flaws in traditional public libraries. Traditional public libraries are very Eurocentric in their nature as they were originally built with European settlers in mind. In their book entitled Rural community libraries in Africa: challenges and impacts, Dent, Goodman, and Kevane (2014:2) state that “because of its origins, the concept of the traditional library has not been able to integrate or represent the information needs of the majority of Africa’s population, which in and of itself is one of the richest and most diverse cultural mosaics in the world”. Amadi (1981) suggest that libraries geared towards Africans are possible within the traditional or Eurocentric library model. In his view:
“It is quite possible, within a traditional library framework, to devise alternative methods of delivering needed and meaningful information to African populations…A true African library can become a dynamic force for a persuasive and complete cultural revolution as well as an agent capable of grooming and nurturing the psycho-social renaissance of the individual, the clan, town, community and entire nation” (1981:205).
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“A way must be found out of the existing pattern of library service which cannot function without expensive buildings and the equally expensive importation of foreign books, many of them irrelevant to the information needs of the rural people. The present system of building huge, monumental public libraries based on Anglo-American architectural designs is not only expensive, but also unsuitable for the tropical conditions of Africa. What is expected is a simple, inexpensive plan of well-ventilated reading rooms. Such buildings are not only cheaper to construct, but also inexpensive to maintain.”
There are differences between public and community libraries according to Mostert (1998) and Dent and Yannotta (2005). Some of the criteria of community libraries are that they are designed to be easily accessible to all members of the community; and the daily lives of community members are directly connected to them (Mostert, 1998). Another difference between public and community libraries as per Dent & Yannotta (2005:40) is that community libraries “are created by and for a local population and usually are not supported with government funds”. The librarian’s role in a community library is crucial and differs from that of a traditional librarian according to Stilwell (1991). “Community librarianship aims at information provision in the crucial areas of people’s lives and at those who have limited access to other sources of help” (Stilwell, 1991: 20).
Mostert (1998: 76) argues that “community library services should not be imposed from outside the community, nor should they be based solely on the Western concept of the library”. Raju and Raju (2010) offer a solution on how public libraries in the continent can be useful in providing information that is accessible to all, particularly to those who reside in rural areas. They recommend that librarians “need to merge indigenous knowledge, expertise from developed countries, local conditions and such, and package that information in a format that will be meaningful to the local inhabitants in their quest for relevant information” (Raju and Raju, 2010:4-5). One of the ways of creating meaningful content as suggested by Raju and Raju (2010) is for libraries to record indigenous knowledge. In adherence to this, community and village libraries like the Village Reading Rooms and Book Box Service in Botswana, Osu- initiated libraries in Ghana, Family Literacy Project libraries in South Africa, village libraries in Tanzania, and rural library services in Malawi are initiatives that have attempted to make traditional libraries ‘more African’ (Dent et al. 2014).
One example of a rural community library that has been able to fulfil the information demands of a rural community according to Dent & Yannotta (2005) is the Kitengesa Community Library Project in Uganda. The project which was started in 1999 began with 161 books in a box loaned out to the learners of the local Secondary School (Dent & Yannotta, 2005). In 2004,
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Dent & Yannotta investigated users of the Kitengesa Community Library. The aim was to find out “who uses the library in the community? How do users go about finding and using books/information in the library? And what kinds of materials are being used and what is most popular?” (Dent & Yannotta, 2005:43). Their findings revealed that the library was primarily used by students; relatedly Raseroka (1994) also points out that students are the main users of public libraries in Africa. Teachers also used the library in preparation for lessons. Community members, outside of students or teachers, used the library the least.
The authors concluded that the community library was very effective in meeting the needs of the community. They believe that the library can be used as an example for other communities in providing resources that are useful to communities, such as books that are relevant to the needs of Africans. The Kitengesa Community Library Project has been successful as a result of the following factors: “the location of the library on the grounds of a school, a collection of books that reflect the worldview of the population, a staff that are committed to providing services to the community, and the continual monitoring of users’ needs” (Dent & Yannotta, 2005:53).