Dual Use School Community Libraries

Expedient Compromise or Imaginative Solutions

Abstract

The paper describes a case study of a group of six dual use school community libraries in one remote region of South Africa. The recent government sponsored LIS Transformation Charter has placed a spotlight on the backlogs in school library provision. The study, conducted in April 2009, investigates if shared libraries might help fill gaps and, if so, under what conditions. The background, research questions, methodology and site are described but only an outline of possible findings are provided here. A fuller picture will be ready for the IASL conference in September.