Melani School Cluster Pilot

Newly trained teacher librarians- Melani School Cluster

SA Partners initiated its first school library project pilot in collaboration with the Library & Information Service and Distance Learning Departments of the University of Fort Hare, the Eastern Cape Department of Education, and the Library and Information Services of South Africa. While the Libraries for South African Schools Program (LSAS) is designed for national implementation, SA Partners used its six-year history in the Province of the Eastern Cape, to launch a pilot project, building upon SA Partners already extensive network of colleagues and contacts.

As a starting point, SA Partners and its Eastern Cape partners identified a cluster of ten primary schools in the Melani area, near the rural town of Alice, Eastern Cape Province, as the site for the pilot project.

The Melani Schools cluster has received technical assistance and training, staff support, and small grants to purchase new books. In the next year, the schools will receive continued support as the teacher/librarians build the inventory of their library, ensure that available resources are integrated into the school's curriculum, and establish a School Library Committee to oversee the growth and development of the library.

In August of 2004, Gail Willett, SA Partners Board member, and two of her colleagues from the Cambridge Public Library, Daryl Mark and Vicki Solomon, visited the Melani School Cluster. This visit was the first, of what SA Partners hopes will be a series of exchanges to support the Melani Cluster school libraries. As time goes on, SA Partners will reach out to other rural schools in the Eastern Cape facing similar challenges.