05 Aug 2015

Botswana National Library Service (BNLS) has taken a step to change the operating hours of public libraries across the country.

Speaking in an interview recently, a senior library officer in Letlhakeng, Ms Tshoganetso Wame, said the changes started in April this year.

“As of April, public libraries started opening their doors to the general public at 9am and close at 6pm from Mondays to Thursdays while on Fridays we open at 7:30am to 4:30pm. The previous operating times were the normal 7:30am to 4:30pm during the week,” she said.

Ms Wame said this change was prompted by the realisation that most of their clients were workers and as such, their hours of work mirrored the operating hours of the library.

She said this then meant that most workers, especially public servants, could not access their services.

She also explained that libraries would also open at 9am to 3pm on Saturdays as opposed to the previous 9am to 12pm to cater for students. She said they too did not have enough time to access their services such as studying materials, newspapers and the internet.

Ms Wame said the change was meant to improve service delivery throughout public libraries. She said she was impressed by the number of members of the public who had since been visiting the library after 4:30pm, saying it showed that this change had long been overdue.

One of the customers, who benefited from this development was Mr Letsenye Kefenye, who is on attachment in the civil service. He said the change of operating hours benefited him as the previous arrangement disadvantaged him. He said he could now visit the library after knocking off at work. ENDS