The Role of Mobile Libraries in Developing a Culture of Reading

An Experience in South Africa

Abstract

South Africa is faced with tremendous library service development and delivery challenges in the face of a rapidly increasing and geographically dispersed population. Learners often come from a background where books and reading are not part of their lives and literacy levels need to be significantly raised. A mobile library service provided to remote schools by one provincial department of education is a successful initiative to improve library service as well as literacy levels and a reading culture. An overview of the role of the mobile library service and other related programs is the focus of this paper.