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A study of the interaction in book selection between provincial library systems and their affiliated public libraries in South Africa

Bibliography: leaves 360-395.

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Gertz, Mary Bonnin
Other Authors: Kesting, J G
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: Library and Information Studies Centre (LISC) 2015
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access_status_str Open Access
author Gertz, Mary Bonnin
author2 Kesting, J G
author_browse Gertz, Mary Bonnin
Kesting, J G
author_facet Kesting, J G
Gertz, Mary Bonnin
author_sort Gertz, Mary Bonnin
collection Thesis
description Bibliography: leaves 360-395.
format Thesis
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institution University of Cape Town (South Africa)
language eng
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:33:49.949Z
license_str Not specified — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
publishDate 2015
publishDateRange 2015
publishDateSort 2015
publisher Library and Information Studies Centre (LISC)
publisherStr Library and Information Studies Centre (LISC)
record_format dspace
source_str UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
spelling oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/15439 A study of the interaction in book selection between provincial library systems and their affiliated public libraries in South Africa Gertz, Mary Bonnin Kesting, J G Book selection Public libraries - South Africa Library and Information Science Bibliography: leaves 360-395. Current methods of book selection in provincial library services in South Africa are examined with a view to establish whether they are the most effective possible from the point of view of the affiliated public libraries throughout the country. This involved tracing the history and development of the four provincial library services and examining their current selection practices. A well-organised network of affiliated public libraries making provision for white, and to a lesser extent coloured, South Africans has been established since World War II, with the strongly centralised provincial services providing the book stock. It appeared from the study that relatively little change had occurred in either the organisational structures or the book selection methods of these services since their inception, and that the involvement of local librarians in book selection was negligible. Instead of their role increasing as more public libraries were staffed by qualified librarians, financial pressures had resulted in even less initiative being permitted and an increase in centralised control. To establish the ideal model against which the performance of the provincial library services could be evaluated, contemporary professional opinion on public library objectives, management and book selection, as also the developments in rural systems in selected countries was surveyed. Compared to the static local picture of service which emerged from the empirical investigation, overseas advances in goals and management as reported in the literature had seen exciting professional advances, with librarians accepting, and going out to meet, the challenge of the changes in society. Strong communication links between users and selectors were emphasised. Rural networks in the foreign countries surveyed had grown to improve in efficiency and in economic terms, but in all cases the local librarian selected his own book stock, which seems more satisfactory than the current South African practice. To further test this hypothesis an empirical investigation by means of a questionnaire was circulated to all affiliated public libraries circulating more than 60 000 books annually. The findings confirmed the surmised lack of interaction in book selection between provincial and public librarians, and there was dissatisfaction, particularly among the very biggest libraries with experienced qualified staff, at the present system. The thesis concludes with recommendations made towards remedying this situation. 2015-11-30T08:24:11Z 2015-11-30T08:24:11Z 1981 Master Thesis Masters MA http://hdl.handle.net/11427/15439 eng application/pdf Library and Information Studies Centre (LISC) University of Cape Town
spellingShingle Book selection
Public libraries - South Africa
Library and Information Science
Gertz, Mary Bonnin
A study of the interaction in book selection between provincial library systems and their affiliated public libraries in South Africa
thesis_degree_str Master's
title A study of the interaction in book selection between provincial library systems and their affiliated public libraries in South Africa
title_full A study of the interaction in book selection between provincial library systems and their affiliated public libraries in South Africa
title_fullStr A study of the interaction in book selection between provincial library systems and their affiliated public libraries in South Africa
title_full_unstemmed A study of the interaction in book selection between provincial library systems and their affiliated public libraries in South Africa
title_short A study of the interaction in book selection between provincial library systems and their affiliated public libraries in South Africa
title_sort study of the interaction in book selection between provincial library systems and their affiliated public libraries in south africa
topic Book selection
Public libraries - South Africa
Library and Information Science
url http://hdl.handle.net/11427/15439
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