MOSSEL BAY NEWS - Mossel Bay's D'Almeida Library recently received the Substantial Contribution to Digital Literacy Advancement Award at the Western Cape Cultural Affairs Awards evening at the Artscape Theatre Centre in Cape Town.
Mossel Bay local Leilani van der Berg has been serving as a librarian in the D'Almeida community for 25 years.
She told Mossel Bay Advertiser the award affirms the library's pivotal role in the community.
"As a team of only four staff members, we work extremely hard, going above and beyond, so being recognised is a huge achievement for us," she said.
Van der Berg's team is made up of library assistant Mary-Joe Jokwana and library aids Nombulelo James and Chante Rhode.
Not only do the staff help residents with borrowing and returning books, they also provide relevant information and reference support, assistance with technology-related queries and promoting library services.
The team manages the library's collection by selecting and acquiring books, organising and shelving returned library materials, developing, planning and running outreach programmes for various age groups and building partnerships to offer services beyond the library building.
"I am so proud to be part of such a dynamic team," said Van der Berg.
Leilani van der Berg
Closing the digital divide
Outreach programmes are what led to the library's recognition at the awards evening.
Although technology and digital platforms have become inescapable in our daily life, Van der Berg says there is still a pressing need for local libraries.
Like many other public libraries, the D'Almeida Library contributes to narrowing the pressing digital divide within communities throughout South Africa.
Fundamental computer and digital literacy training programmes aimed at the unemployed youth in Mossel Bay are offered, and residents from disadvantaged backgrounds, as well as school learners, regularly visit the library to access the internet, conduct research, study and become familiar with digital devices.
"Our other initiative is directed at intermediate phase learners, which focuses on familiarising them with various digital devices [that are] not available to them.
We teach them how to utilise these tools effectively to their benefit and also showcase how technology can be used to combat the reading-for-meaning crisis our country is facing, as children often prefer screen reading as technology becomes more embedded in their everyday experience," explains Van der Berg.
Previous recognition
Elize Nel, Director of Community Services for the Mossel Bay Municipality, shared her proudness of the D'Almeida Library team and all the work they do.
"The services they deliver in that community is top class, and over the years they have received numerous rewards to prove it," she said.
The library was named the best children's library in 2017, was awarded for reading literacy development in 2023 and was nominated for information technology and reading literacy advancement in 2022.
Besides the D'Almeida Library, Mossel Bay is home to 13 others that are main-tained by people like Van der Berg and her team.
Van der Berg believes the D'Almeida Library's success lies in the fact that the staff are committed to being changemakers. "We have embraced technology, broadened our purpose and become dependable, approachable centres of upliftment and education," she said.
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