The role of the human resource development unit of the department of Arts and Culture in promoting a culture of reading in the Edendale community.
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Date
2018
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Abstract
The investment in education will go a long way in addressing challenges of high levels of
illiteracy, inequality, poverty and unemployment among poor communities. The contemporary
literature indicates that high levels of illiteracy is responsible for the high levels of poverty
mainly in the developing nations. Against this background, the study investigated the role of
the Human Resource Development Unit of the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Arts and Culture
(HRD Unit of the KZN-DAC) in building learning societies through the development of
reading habits in the Edendale community which falls under the Umsunduzi Local
Municipality.
The literature reviewed for the study pointed to the fact that the Sub-Saharan African region
has the lowest rate of literacy of all the world regions, and that the public library system in
Africa is beset by numerous challenges, particularly a lack of human resources, financial
constraints and low levels of awareness for the role of libraries within communities. The study
used Human Capital Theory to argue that the creation of much needed human capital for
economic growth in South Africa depends mainly on a strong culture of reading. In this regard,
the three elements of Human Capital Theory, namely: investment in education; advancement
of population; and efficiency and productivity of employees are discussed in relation to the
current study.
The empirical survey was conducted through the mixed methods approach in which data
collecion was conducted in a two-folded manner. Firstly, the semi-structured interviews
(qualitative study) were conducted with officials from the KZN-DAC and Georgetown Public
Library to solicit their views and opinions about the role of library services in the Edendale
community. Secondly, the questionnaires were administered (quantitative study) to the
community members of the Edendale community in order to draw statistical conclusions about
their understanding of how libraries should be managed in order to produce positive results for
community development.
The findings of the study demonstrates that, due to resource constraints, the HRD Unit of the
KZN-DAC is not playing a meaningful role in equipping the librarians with skills necessary
for the promotion of a culture of reading in communities. Instead, this role is to some extent,
played by the Msunduzi Municipality Library Services. The findings of the study also
demonstrates that the HRD Unit of the KZN-DAC is not budgeting for the training of public
librarians to equip them with requisite skills and knowledge for promoting a culture of reading.
The recommendations of the study points to the need for exploring ways of closing the gap
between the Municipality Library Services, the Library Information Association of South
Africa (LIASA), the HRD Unit of the KZN-DAC and the Library Services Directorate of the
KZN-DAC with regard to the initiatives geared towards the promotion of a culture of reading.
Description
Masters Degrees. University of KwaZulu-Natal. Pietermaritzburg.