05 Oct 2016

Senior librarian in Molepolole, Ms Malebo Setlhare, has urged young people to utilise public library services.
In an interview, Ms Setlhare said the library had four halls with materials suitable for all age groups.
 “There is a hall for children up to 12 years, a hall for youth aged 12 to 35 years and one for adults who are 36 years old and above. The fourth hall is a reference hall”.
Ms Setlhare said according to their records, most people who visted the library were students from primary to tertiary schools. She urged more to come on board since the library had proved to be useful to those who visited regularly.
 However, most visited the library to research in the internet.
“In August alone, 1 088 people accessed our internet, and from this number a total of 879 were the youth,” she said.
She pointed out that members of the public came to the library, especially elders, for newspapers, books and the internet.  
Also, people visited the library to take advantage of the free computer training programme founded by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation through the Sesigo Implementation Project in 2011.
Training is only for three months for each person. Ms Setlhare said each class accommodates only 48 people and that classes were always fully booked.
Ms Setlhare said the project was useful since it trained people who had not used computers before, but gave them basic training that impacted their lives in a remarkable way.
“It is not our mandate as a library to provide computer training, but the Sesigo Implementation Project came with the training component because it was about internet access.  We realised that people needed basic training so that they may be able to search for information for themselves, and it has been very useful,” she remarked.
She said they also provided free wi-fi for visitors and even the public outside or surrounding the library.  
The project supplied computers and internet for public use. “Since the implementation of this project people do come in large numbers to access the internet. Each person is allowed 30 minutes to use a computer,” she said.  
She added that there were seven computers and 30 minutes had proved to be short as in most cases users complain that they have not finished their internet surfing in the computer.  
However, Ms Setlhare wished that there were computers in all the halls and that the audiovisual hall could be well equipped.
“If the audiovisual hall could be well equipped, people would be able to watch videos and listen to the radio. Presently we do not have anything in the hall,” she said.
Ms Setlhare said while they used to take out boxes full of books to schools in neighbouring villages in the past, they have since stopped that exercise as monitoring of the use of books was poor.
The book boxes were finally donated to schools in the villages. Currently, the library gives out to schools and prison only what they have asked for, unlike the book box which was material offered by the library.
While some have appreciated services offered by the library, others have complained about poor internet connection at the facility.
Mr Phemelo Legong, who was a first time visitor, complained that the internet was too weak as he could not download a 2MB file. “The internet is much slower here compared the one at school (Botho University College) though the population is smaller here. Otherwise it is quiet here. It is a good place, they only have to improve their internet services,” he commented.
Ms Lalah Molosiwa, also a first timer, was quite impressed with the library.
“I am happy with their service, they are quick to help and they are patient. I also like the fact that there are books here which makes it easy for me to read further on a subject,” she said.
Ms Bone Ngwako, a Form IV student has been coming to the library since 2013 when she started Form 1. She is impressed with the library and prefers to study there since it is quiet and has books.
Mr Norman Mandiringana had been a client of the library for the past 20 years.
He expressed wish that there could be more books about crime, which was a subject of interest to him. ENDS