04 Sep 2018

Employees from Botswana National Library Services branches all over the country visited Maunatlala library on a benchmarking exercise.

Maunatlala Library committee deputy chairperson, Ms Motlatsi Gaotshabege said in an interview that the national library services branches came to benchmark on programmes and projects undertaken by Maunatlala library, to improve the services and standards of other libraries.

She said it was of great importance for the community to use the community library to improve and enhance their social lives through research from the internet and books.

“We were showing and explaining to other staff from different libraries about the services and products we designed and manufactured through the use of our well managed community library,” Ms Gaotshabege said.

She said in addition to books and the Internet, Maunatlala Library also offered sewing and needle work where they made comforters, pillows, dresses and other related products through the help of books and internet.

She also indicated that the committee members also enhance their cooking and baking skills through the advanced and latest recipes from the Internet, adding that guests were treated to the cookies, scones and buns to showcase their skills and knowledge.

Ms Gaotshabege stated that the committee was also on food processing where the members packaged jam and atchar using fruits such as oranges, mangoes and melon.

“The library committee also assists local farmers to research about the current methods of farming to advance their farming skills for them to get high yields and breed livestock which can withstand their area’s climatic conditions,” she said.

Ms Gaotshabege encouraged all communities to utilise the libraries to improve their livelihoods and always engage librarians to guide them further in uplifting their social lives.

She also urged librarians to form clubs, committees and groups and come up with ideas that could inspire residents to utilise the libraries.

The visitors had an opportunity to visit the youth poultry project, which is also the library committee project where the youth is engaged to improve their livelihoods.

The secretary of the youth group Ms Botshelo Leungo said as youth they built the poultry house with natural resources as a way of promoting the spirit of self-reliance.

For his part, Maunatlala librarian Mr Morning Nkepe said all the ideas and initiatives came from the Sustainable Development Goals of eradicating poverty, empowering women and creating jobs.

Mr Nkepe explained that Botswana was among the 193 United Nations member states that adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the goals set are universal, people centred and transformative.

He noted that the goals were built on the outcomes of the Millennium Development Goals that ran from 2000 to 2015 and seek to end poverty, fight inequality and injustice and to tackle climate change by 2030.

He added that the adaption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was timely for Botswana as it coincided with the preparation of key national and sub-national frameworks, which are Vision 2036, National Development Plan 11, District Development Plan 8 and Urban Development 4.

One of the librarians from Phitshane-Molopo, Mr Reuben Patrick appreciated how the village leadership worked together towards achieving their goal.

He said he was impressed by what he learnt from Maunatlala Library and sought to implement most of the ideas and initiatives at his station. Ends