Africa-Press – Tanzania. THE newly built library at the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) by China is a massive landmark in the country’s most populous city.
This well-designed structure has simply transformed the scenery at the expansive and oldest public university in Tanzania. UDSM library is open for the public to have access to information.
In fact, public libraries play an important role in people’s lives, as a source of accessing information and a place for knowledge creation.
One of the public library’s significant and fundamental roles in education is the provision of books and other materials for people to read and use.
These materials are educational and lead to self-improvement and develop basic literacy skills.
Knowledge and wisdom reside in books, but knowledge acquisition faces many challenges, especially in the developing world, because it requires commitment and a significant amount of efforts toward investing in education, including building libraries for institutional and public access.
UDSM was first established in 1961 as an affiliated college of the University of London and in 1963 it became a constituent college of the University of East Africa and in August 1970, by an Act of Parliament, it became the University of Dar es Salaam.
The Faculty of Law was the first to be established followed later by other faculties until UDSM became a full-fledged university with its library services and facilities.
The library was designed to cater for teaching and learning information needs and demands of different faculties and institutes.
The UDSM has expanded not only in terms of academic and research programmes but also in student enrolments. For example, student enrolment rose from 2,000 in the 1980s to almost 10,000 in 2003.
Since then there was a need to expand the library services, resources and facilities (both print and electronic) as well as space for reading, shelves, ICT facilities and peripherals including office spaces.
In response to the changes that are taking place, the University Library introduced several measures including subscription of full-text electronic journals and bibliographic databases, creation of Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC) for the entire campus resources and reorganization of the library along with subject specialization.
In 2016 UDSM unveiled a mega-infrastructural transformations plan that included the construction of a state-of-the-art modern library to accommodate over 800,000 books and become globally competitive.
Doubling as a public library and resource centre, the library was handed over in 2018 with the capacity to host 6,000 people, a conference room and Confucius Centre that can accommodate also 2,100 and 500 people respectively.
The project was financed by China at a grant of 40 million US dollars (about 90bn/-).
The library that covers 20,000 square metres in area is connected with 160 internetconnected computers.
The inauguration of the library was yet another demonstration of not only the revered friendship between China and Africa in general and China and Tanzania in particular but also the fulfillment of this obligation of sharing knowledge across generations, beyond one’s borders and demographics.
The building signifies that the friendship is traversing to some higher levels, now that knowledge sharing and exchange is likely to gain further momentum, from physical structures to thoughts and ideas, which may, upon localization and the recipient country’s determination, might lead to strengthened poverty reduction efforts as it happened in China and elsewhere around the globe.
This library adds to the China-Tanzania bilateral efforts at diffusing the currently fading ideas about the solid relationship with China from the times of Tanzania’s first president, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, and China’s revered leader, Chairman Mao Zedong.
Chinese Ambassador to Tanzania Wang Ke said the library will help accelerate reforms and transformations pioneered by President John Magufuli.
“Apart from funding the construction of the library, the Chinese government has also provided free information and communication technology, maintenance systems and furniture to the library,” said Ambassador Wang.
The Chinese envoy said the 54 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries were special, adding: “We have every reason to maintain and strengthen this relationship.”
Speaking during the inauguration event, Minister for Education, Science and Technology, Prof Joyce Ndalichako, said the library will enable university students from across the country to widen their knowledge and skills for the welfare of the country.
Prof Nadalichako acknowledged the government’s commitment to supporting the construction of the library, saying it was a top priority towards the country’s industrial economy process.
