Africa-Press – Angola. The director of the National Library of Angola, Diana Luhuma, said on Monday in Luanda that building the organization from scratch and digitizing the bibliographic collections are the two major challenges facing the institution she directs.
The speech was made during a lecture on the theme “Libraries, Mediation and Social Protagonism”, organized by the institution to celebrate World Library Day, which was celebrated yesterday.
With technological innovation, he added, a library website was created and the bibliographic collection was digitized. With the creation of the page, he said, it will be possible to publicize the services provided and the training courses that are carried out by the organization.
Diana Luhuma said that they continued to carry out the project to digitize the bibliographic collection, in order to make it easier for readers to consult. Another challenge, she stressed, is the construction of new facilities for the National Library of Angola.
“The location where we are no longer meets the demand for our services, and the warehouse we have, with each passing day, becomes too small for the bibliographic collection.”
Another activity, she said, is professional training in librarianship, because the institution focuses on training technicians for libraries in the country. Diana Luhuma guaranteed that she will continue to work on training technicians, so that they can perform their duties well.
The director said that the National Library of Angola is responsible for coordinating the library network at the country level, and providing methodological support to municipal, district, communal, university and community libraries, which are beginning to gain strength in the country.
“Libraries, Mediation and Social Protagonism”
“Libraries, Mediation and Social Protagonism” was the topic addressed during the lecture, and the speaker was the specialist in Library and Archive Management Joaquim Luís, who during the approach explained that the analyzed theme allows us to talk about the importance of the librarian in the development of society.
Joaquim Luís said that the word mediation can be used in various contexts, with particular emphasis on politics and information. The speaker also highlighted the profile of a librarian. A librarian must be accredited, support study and research, plan and manage information resources, preserve knowledge and facilitate users.
The specialist pointed out information, cultural editing and reading editing as the three axes of mediation, and that they come together around a great purpose, which is the formation of critical readers, whether in literary or more informational reading.
The social role that the librarian plays, he argued, is fundamental for users, as he is responsible for mediating and disseminating information, and providing the best information service.
“Library professionals need to be more attentive to the needs of users in order to better understand their needs. And they must know that the public that frequents libraries, whether university, school, municipal or community libraries, is completely different.”
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