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MOSSEL BAY NEWS AND VIDEO - When one speaks to librarian Elna Gous, one is struck by her love for her job.
It is immediately clear that she is extremely thorough and serious about her work.
Gous is a Provincial Library Service regional librarian, servicing all the libraries in the greater Mossel Bay area and Hessequa.
She is based at the Mossel Bay office, which is in the Prince Vintcent building in Bland Street, in the town centre.
But the sad news is that Gous is retiring because she turned 65 on 6 April. Her last day at work is 29 April.
"I've been in this position for almost 27 years," she says. "I began in April 1992. I left in December 2007 to pursue other opportunities and then returned in September 2010. I spent a short time in George and then returned to Mossel Bay."
VIDEO - Mixed feelings about retiring:
Needs in communities
Gous' role was to deal with the librarians, not the public. Part of her work was to hold meetings with librarians to find out the needs in their communities.
"The needs of people in the countryside differ greatly from those in the large towns," Gous points out.
"During the long period I was in Mossel Bay, we were able to establish libraries in small communities, where there had been no library before.
"We started a new library in Brandwag last year."
Gous said this library started as a room in a church hall, then moved to a room in a clinic building and then a room next to the community hall.
"Now it is a small, properly functioning library," Gous says with satisfaction.
She also mentions the little library in Jonkersberg. "Children who live there go to school in George or Great Brak, by bus, so we placed a library with internet access in Jonkersberg, so that children could do their school tasks there in the afternoons."
The same was the case with children who attend the small farm school at Brakfontein, near Riversdale. Gous was instrumental in establishing a library in the school building for these children, with internet access.
She explains that there are 67 000 books at the Prince Vintcent building office.
If one of the libraries in the Western Cape needs a certain book and the only copy is at the Prince Vintcent building, Gous sends it by post.
She is able to view all the books available at all the libraries in the Western Cape on a database. There is a total of seven million books in libraries in the Western Cape.
"I deal with a total of 27 libraries in my region," Gous says.
'Visited all the libraries'
A highlight of her job has been that she was not office-bound. "Before Covid-19, once a quarter, we visited all the libraries and took them books and fetched books from them for use at other libraries. When Covid-19 took place, we scaled down and visited the libraries three times a year."
Gous is proud to say she "survived" learning two new computer programs.
"Our program was DOS-based. We had to go over to another program that was internet-based. This was a highlight for me."
She chose to be a librarian because of her passion for books and love of reading.
"I can't think of any low points regarding my job. It has been one big pleasure. But we're in difficult times. The whole country has been hit with budgetary constraints."
Gous' working with books and reading will not end when she retires. "It is said librarians do not retire, they are just re-shelved. To me it is almost tragic that many children can't read properly. It hampers their development and their learning ability. I will still be involved at a preschool, reading stories. It remains my passion to give children the enjoyment of being able to read."
Elna's post will be filled once the usual official government procedures have been completed.
Librarian Elna Gous is retiring.
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