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Public Libraries SectionFunding Opportunity for African LibrariansIFLA Public Libraries Section offers funding opportunity. A small amount of money is available for libraries in Africa.
The Public Libraries Section has been working on a project to help African librarians to deliver library materials to remote communities. The scheme called the Caterpillar Project uses folding boxes to deliver library materials. The scheme has been successfully tried out in South Africa and now the Public Libraries Section is happy to announce funding to help roll out the project in other African countries. For a full description of the project see: If you are interested in obtaining funding, please contact one of the following Officers: Ian Stringer, Public Libraries Section Information Officer: John Lake, Public Libraries Section Chair Barbara Gubbin, Public Libraries Section Secretary Here is a brief description of the project The designThe Caterpillar Book Box is a folding case, which is 1.8m high on castors for ease of movement, and the shelves accommodate approximately 100 books fuelled by a crate depot of approximately 500 books to replenish the stock in circulation. The first box has been used by an Adult Basic Education group who are using it at night, and a very small school group in the daytime.The Pilot SchemeThe pilot scheme is located in Koekenaap, which is a very poor farming area where 60% of the adults are illiterate and only 30% of nine year olds can read. They are too poor to travel the 20 miles to the nearest library. The adults are nomadic as they earn a living during the grape season, which lasts only three months a year before they move in search of other work. The Caterpillar Book Box is the only access that this community has to books. The children have been very excited by the existence of the first Caterpillar Book Box, which bears the IFLA logo. It is the aim of the Public Libraries Section to seed fund a further 20 Caterpillar Book Boxes to be placed in rural communities in Kenya, Swaziland and Malawi and they should contain not only books but also health information on HIV and AIDS. Construction of the boxes can be done by local carpenters, who will make the boxes to the specification supplied. The local communities will select the materials with the assistance of Librarians and Information workers in the countries selected. Ian Stringer | |
