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| Dr. Mbambo-Thata |
Today was very eventful. We had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Buhle Mbambo-Thata whose presentation on International versus African leadership summarised the important aspects that were discussed daily during our sessions. She emphasized the importance of maintaining a professional attitude towards our profession. She encouraged us to reflect moral equality with the rest of humanity and to represent our organizations and Africa with dignity. I will use her advice throughout my career as a librarian and that is to be a RARE
(Reliable, Accountable, Responsible and ethical ) leader. More significantly, she emphasised that our involvement should not only be seen locally at our own institutions but that we should "think globally - act locally". A librarian should participate in conferences, whether these are online or by attendance and in this manner we should continue to remain knowledgeable and well-informed about current trends in librarianship and in the specific subject discipline in which we serve. She says that developing emotional intelligence is essential - know when to speak, when to remain silent, when to offer assistance and create beneficial networks and alliances. 
Our visit to the LIASA head office introduced me to a few familiar names in the organisation. Generous gift bags were distributed - amongst the stationery and key rings which bear the LIASA logo, I intend wearing my "Library Week" sweater with pride. I never imagined that this modest environment with its small offices and traditional office furniture is where most of the important decisions are made for the development of our fellow librarians.
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| The NLSA Boardroom |
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| Myself and Rachel More, the Dynamic Deputy Director of the NSLA |
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| Pages which need to be treated for preservation are identified |
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Hard at work at the Preservation Unit
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After our visit to LIASA we were taken to the National Library of South Africa adjacent to the head office. At first we were shown to the board room for tea and was joined by Deputy National Librarian, Ms Rachel E. More. She introduced us to the staff and they in turn spoke about their roles and responsibilities. Afterwards the tour guide took us to various departments. I was particularly impressed with the NSLA's Preservation Unit. A demonstration on the chemical that is used in the preservation process peaked my interest. I am in charge of a very special rare collection at UCT law library which dates back to 1475 and thus far, although I am responsible for retrieving items from the collection and for maintaining it, I am unfamiliar with the preservation procedure itself. The chemical is imported from the USA and is quite costly. The books are put into cylindrical containers and kept under specific temperatures for a few hours.
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| The map room and its storage facilities |
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| Historical Maps |
The map room was fascinating - maps depicting any area in South African are easily located and removed from their folders using a quick and easy procedure. They are housed in fairly large cabinets and located by number.
My colleague, Isaac Mkadimeng, who works at the NLSA, acted as tour guide for the remains of the afternoon. He showed the group how items are digitised using special machinery. Electronically available, these items are saved as Pdf documents for easy accessibility.
Newspapers dating far back are housed in a very cold room in order to preserve them. These departments are all located in the basement of the NLSA.
The International and Foreign Publications department's operations peaked my interests. They sign a Memorandum of Understanding with certain countries such as the USA and Australia whereby legislative material is sent to the NLSA and made available to the public. As I was not aware that there is a standing agreement with these nations, it was indeed a privilege to learn this. After all, the NLSA is a legal deposit, but its duty to provide materials to the public extends beyond those of South African works.
We were taken to the Reading Room, where one of my group members, Viveka Pillai, managers the staff. It is very spacious, has ample computers, which are booked for a mere 30 minutes at a time. I think that they should review this policy and extend the time allocation per student. Even as I am writing this blog, I am amazed at how much time it takes to record information let alone download files and pictures! A half an hour hardly suffices to perform intensive research. Overall there are many study spaces and photocopying facilities that students can enjoy and I admired the decor, paintings and murals which complement the setting.
With our return to the Boardoom, Rachel More asked for feedback and our thoughts regarding this visit - it was indeed very inspirational and I am hoping to return to the NLSA.
We were fortunate to drive through the Union Buildings area where we stopped and took pictures.
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| Student's study sanctuary |
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| In front of the Union Buildings
On our return from the NLSA, Prof Cronje presented a session on " Thinking outside the box". We were asked to think about all the changes that are happening outside our organisation as well as those occurring internally. Group activities included designing our own businesses and use our talents that we are currently not using as librarians. We had to think about ways in which to use our alternative skills.
We also had to draw, create paper woven mats as a group and essentially we were taught what the ingredients are for a successful team. This was the most interactive session as yet, I think, apart from Prof Ann de Boer's class.
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| Prof Cronje engaging us in fun activities |
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| My creativity - a picture of an elephant |
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