Press Release

U.S. Librarian Encourages Tanzanian Libraries to Share Their Wealth of Information through Outreach Programs

December 22, 2008

Last week, Ms. Valerie Wonder, Immigrant and Refugee Program Manager at the Seattle Public Library, conducted three separate workshops for librarians from Dar es Salaam, Iringa, Morogoro and Bagamoyo on "Designing Community Outreach Programs."

Workshop participants included members of Tanzania Library Association (TLA), staff of the Tanzania Library Service Board (TLSB), students and teaching staff of the School of Library, Archives, and Documentation Studies in Bagamoyo and the Library Sciences and Journalism and Mass Communication departments of the Tumaini University Dar es Salaam College. There were also representatives from the Bank of Tanzania, FAO, Agency for Development of Educational Management, Mkwawa University College of Education, Economic and Social Research Foundation, Tanzania Food and Drugs Administration, Institute of Finance Management, and Mzumbe University.

Ms. Wonder told the librarians that with changing times they need to "leave their desks and reach out to the community." She said, “This can be done in a variety of ways: through exhibits, displays, film showings, and speaker programs. Librarians should design out reach programs to the communities to interest their members to come into their libraries.” She also encouraged the librarians to design storytelling to children during their outreach programs to increase literacy levels.

Ms. Wonder told 70 library students and teaching staff at Tumaini University that once they complete their courses, they should not go and sit behind their desks in their libraries, rather they should go out into the community. Librarians have to promote and market their libraries.

While in Bagamoyo, Ms. Wonder held discussions with over two hundred Library, Archives, and Documentation Studies students and teaching staff on the importance of evaluating library services, patrons’ needs, and reference services. “Through evaluation of your library's services, librarians will know if what they are offering is what is needed by the patrons. Is the collection appropriate to the community? Are the patrons happy with the services they receive and are their questions answered correctly? All of these have to be evaluated and assessed,” she said.

According to U.S. Embassy spokesperson Jeffery A. Salaiz, funding for this technical expertise comes from the American people and results from the close collaboration between the U.S. Mission and the Tanzania Library Association of Dar es Salaam. Shabani Mwinyihija, Director of the Thomas Pickering Information Resource Center (the library located at the U.S. Embassy in Msasani free and open to the public), said, "I plan on holding more outreach events here at the U.S. Mission to reach larger numbers of wananchi; some don't know about the services we provide for free, including internet access and books, updated periodicals, and films available for checking out). Expect more public events in 2009!"

Ms. Wonder holds a Masters Degree in Library and Information Science and a Masters Degree in Public Administration. She has nine years of experience training in rural and urban libraries throughout the U.S. Her visit is part of the International Information Speakers series sponsored by the U.S. government and is part of the 750 billion Tanzanian shillings the American people have provided in direct bilateral assistance to Tanzania this past fiscal year.