This paper was presented at the Library Information Association of South Africa (LIASA) Seventh Annual Conference, held in Pholokwane, South Africa, September 27 to October 1 2004, with the theme “Libraries and Democracy: The Vital Link”.

This paper reflects on the transition and transformation of South Africa from apartheid to democracy in 1994. It notes that the relevant conference functions also a celebration of libraries in a decade of democracy, providing librarians with an opportunity to review their progress in the democratisation of library and information services in the country and to examine the challenges ahead.

The aim of the paper is to challenge librarians in democratic countries to function as agents of democracy with special reference to South Africa. It starts with a brief background about libraries in South Africa pre-1994, the transformation which has taken place and the vital link between libraries and democracy. Consideration is also given to librarians as agents of democracy and their role in promoting democracy. The author concludes by examining the challenges libraries face in their attempt to serve the diverse needs of the population of South Africa.

“As agents of democracy, librarians uphold, strengthen and promote the democratic ideals of our society. This is possible because libraries are the only institutions that make knowledge, ideas and information freely available to citizens.” Accordingly, this paper lists those characteristics or roles of librarians as agents of democracy. These are as follows:

• Assisting in creating an informed nation: as agents of democracy, librarians prepare citizens for political participation and dialogue, and can make libraries accessible for civic meetings where citizens can share similar interests and concerns.
• Offering training: Apart from providing access to information, as agents of democracy, librarians offer information literacy training, assisting citizens to identify and evaluate information essential to making decisions that affect the way they live, work and govern themselves.
• Bridging the digital divide: Librarians need to make information equity a priority and to lobby the government to ensure that all schools and community libraries have electronic access to information.
• Managing change: Librarians need to be embrace change and use it as an opportunity for growth and development. They should work hand in hand with LIASA and the government to start initiatives like the national virtual library and multipurpose community centres and information services.
• Promoting intellectual freedom: Librarians are uniquely qualified to promote intellectual freedom and fight censorship. They should speak up against censorship and refuse to remove material from their libraries on grounds of political or religious views.
• Conducting advocacy: Librarians should lobby the government through their library associations and the National Council for Library and Information Services (NACLIS) to ensure that all communities and schools have access to a library or information resource centre. Libraries are also agents of democracy and should be treated by the government as partners.
• Providing open access to libraries: Librarians should open their libraries to everyone irrespective of race, age, sex, religion or political views, and assume professional neutrality, not letting their personal beliefs or opinions interfere with their services.
• Promoting a culture of reading: Librarians should be innovative and build a culture of a reading nation. “Born to read” initiatives should be extended to rural areas as well. Libraries should become “places of healing” and their collections inspire hope for the future.
• Building balanced collections: Librarians support democracy by building balanced library collections with diverse subject matter to meet diverse needs. Librarians foster and encourage open discussion and unrestricted debate. Librarians can contribute to preserving cultural heritage.
• Supporting research: Academic and special librarians can support research by facilitating retrieval and use.

Challenges that librarians face are discussed too. They include inadequate funding, facilities and infrastructure, libraries not being viewed as a priority, and there is a lack of training in promoting democracy. There is a wide range of informational needs, meaning librarians struggle to meet them, a lack of national library coordination and of cooperation. Most librarians have not been exposed to supporting the needs of a democratic society through libraries and are not abreast of fighting censorship. Librarians still have a great deal to learn about advocacy.

The paper concludes: “Our special role as agents of democracy touches on the core of librarianship. We are uniquely qualified and placed to promote intellectual freedom and fight censorship. It takes noble, courageous, committed librarians like you to function as agents of democracy. It involves standing up and campaigning for the right to read, hear and view. It will sometimes mean challenging the government to protect the principles of democracy namely, 'the right to freedom of expression…freedom to hold opinions without interference… And freedom to seek, receive and impart ideas through any media regardless of frontiers…' This is the ideal librarians should stand for. An ideal we should never compromise. Let us rise to the challenges of our democracy.”