Dreams, Policies, Problems and Practitioners: Learning to Provide Information for All

This paper reviews documents which reflect and have shaped the development of library and information services in South Africa, from the Carnegie Memorandum of 1928 to the Centre for Education Policy Development document of 1994. Each of these has identified ideal nation-wide integrated structures of libraries and information services, the 'dreams' of the title, yet problems have prevented their full development or implementation. Since 1990, major policy development initiatives have focused not only on a centrally structured library and information system, but specifically on the need for redress of the historical imbalance of library and information service provision in South Africa, within a framework of democratic, non-discriminatory principles. This approach carries considerable implications for traditional 'establishment' library and information service practitioners. Changes in human resource training and management and service orientation likely to be needed to meet the challenges of such transformation and reconstruction are examined. In conclusion it is suggested that the apparently new orientation being demanded of practitioners is fundamentally little different from the ideals of 65 years ago.