New LIASA Acquisitions Interest Group/YBP Library Services Award

YBP Library Services and its UK arm, Lindsay & Croft, in South Africa under the auspices of LIASA: LACIG announces an annual award of R 10,000.

The YBP awards are designed to recognize the contribution of members of the profession who work, often behind the scenes, in collection and technical services (library acquisitions), and to promote leadership, innovation, research,publication and practice in collection services. It has been said that these are the folk whose labours go largely unremarked, and "who make library administrators look good".

Nominations are invited from:
# all paidup individual members of LIASA (for the past two years)
#paidup interest group/ LACIG members (for the past two years)

The successful recipients(s) will be required to:
1. Prepare a comprehensive report which may be published in theLIASA in Touch and Acquisitions in Touch
2. Make a presentation at the next LIASA Conference (2007) or event and assume all costs associated with attending such an event. The presentation will outline the project/professional travel and its outcomes and will acknowledge the support given by the YBP award under the auspices of LIASA:LACIG.

In awarding the YBP/Lindsay & Croft Award, LIASA reserves the right to make broad adjustments to the proposed project to ensure optimal relevance for the association and the wider profession.
With the nomination form include the following:
# Nominee's CV with full work address
# attach an outline of why you are a deserving candidate (nominee)
# attach a brief outline by selector (why you chose the nominee and what your working relationship with the nominee is)

Nominations will be considered by the LIASA Awards Committee with recommendation of the LACIG Committee.

N.B. Nominations close on 8 September 2006, so don't delay.
Send or fax forms to UNISA: FLORIDA CAMPUS Private Bag X90 FLORIDA 1710
Tel: (+27 11) 471-2826 Fax: (+27 11) 471-2200
lnhlapo@unisa.ac.za


YBP/LINDSAY & CROFT AWARD, 2006: CALL FOR NOMINATIONS

NOMINATION FORM
I, the undersigned, being a 2006 paid-up members of LIASA, hereby nominate
__________________________________ (name of candidate)
LIASA membership no _______who is working in technical services or collection development in a library.


Position held in the library: __________________________
Name of library: __________________________________
Reason for the nomination - unique contribution made by the nominee in the field of collection development and technicalservices. (If necessary, append an additional sheet)
________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
If the nominee should win the award, the nominee will use this award to further his/her expertise in the field ofcollection development or technical services (library acquisitions) by doing the following:
_________________________________________________
__________________________________________________


Proposed by:
Full name in block letters: ________________________________________________
LIASA membership no ________ Signature: _____________________
Seconded by:
Full name in block letters: ________________________________________________
LIASA membership no ________ Signature:_____________________
Declaration by nominee:
I, _________________________________________________________ (full name in block letters)
LIASA membership number __________, accept the nomination for the above award and promise, if elected, to adhere to therules and requirements as set by LIASA
Signature: ____________________________Date:__________________

Please support Western Cape candidates for National Office

National elections are coming up and you should shortly receive details of all the nominations including the ballots in the mail. Information is now available via the LIASA website.

It is your right as a 2006 paid-up member to have your say in the ongoing development, direction and growth of LIASA by exercising your vote and electing the national executive committee of LIASA.

Since the inception of LIASA almost 10 years ago, there has been at least one member of the national executive from the Western Cape -- almost a tradition! A very strong indication of the leadership skills and talent that the branch has to offer the national association and this year is no different.

*Three* Western Cape branch members have been nominated for portfolios at national level.

Please support the following nominations:

* Tommy Matthee as President. He is currently serving as President of LIASA.

* Naomi Haasbroek as President-Elect. She has just completed her term as Branch Chair.

* Ingrid Thomson as National PRO. She has just served two terms as Branch PRO.

Full details of all the nominations, including cvs and manifestos, and ballots are on the LIASA home page. These will also be shortly winging their way into your postbox.

Completed ballots can either be faxed through or posted to the national office.

To make it easy for you to get your completed ballot to the national office before the closing date (12 pm on 27th September), Western Cape members going to the LIASA conference are willing to collect ballots (in sealed envelopes) and drop them in the ballot box at conference.

Watch your email for names and contact details of colleagues going to conference.

Concern about Bonteheuwel Library and other public libraries in the Western Cape

There is an article in Cape Argus of 22nd August headline "Pupils protest over closure of library"about the fact that Bonteheuwel Library was closed for renovations in Augustlast year and has to date not re-opened. Contractors deserted theproject in December last year and the library has been closed eversince.

A week after the LIASA Western Cape Branch congratulated MarkShuttleworth for his generous donation for the upgrade of theDurbanville libraries, we are concerned to note that no such respite exists for Bonteheuwel Library.

According to the report in the Cape Argus, Deputy MayorAndrew Arnolds
has given his assurance that council was "working" on the problem but LIASA needs to point out that the Bonteheuwel community has been without a library service for a year.

Why has it taken Council so long to appointa contractor if there is a budget available for the renovations?

LIASA Western Cape also has also noted with concern the problems surrounding public libraries in the Helderberg and closure of the Lansdowne Public Library since February this year.

We are happy that the immediate problems which led to the closure of Lansdowne appear to be resolved with appointment of more staff and its re-opening.

UCT Libraries first in South Africa in OCLC's Enhance programme

News just out from SABINET:

Congratulations to Norma Read and her team of cataloguers from the Chancellor Oppenheimer Library at the University of Cape Town, on their acceptance into OCLC’s Enhance program. The Library is the first South African library to achieve this status.

OCLC ‘s Enhance program was established in 1983 in an attempt to decentralize quality control responsibility for WorldCat. The program now includes more than 180 institutions.

Enhance status libraries are mandated to correct or add information tobibliographic records in WorldCat to improve the overall quality of WorldCat. Libraries applying are subjected to strict reviewing of their cataloguing on WorldCat over the past year and acceptance is based on a point system.

Through their participation in this program, the University of Cape Town Library will be able to improve the quality of WorldCat records held by South African libraries and this will also result in better quality records in the SACat.


Source: media statement (just released) by SABINET

Congratulations to Mark Shuttleworth on his generous donation

If we are to lift Africa from her current circumstances, we will need a
generation of learners that are gifted with curiosity about the world in
which they live, and the tools to understand and shape that world'
- Mark Shuttleworth

Mark has lived up to this statement (taken off the Shuttleworth
Foundation website through his very generous donation of R12 million
for the upgrading of the two libraries in Durbanville, his home town.
The announcement was made at the 200th anniversary celebrations of the
town by his mother, who was representing the Foundation.

"My son has always been passionate about maths and science but this time
he has decided to extend his donations to education. Mark, the African,
Durbanviller, Londoner is donating R12m for the extension of libraries
and stocking of books."

LIASA Western Cape commends Mark on his very generous donation
to improving Library Services in Durbanville and hopes that his fine
example is emulated by other members of the business community to rescue an
ailing, but absolutely essential, Library Service in the Western Cape.

Here is the link to the story available on the IOL web page:

New Branch Exec Committee for 2006 -2008

The 2006 - 2008 Branch Executive Committee for the Western Cape Branch of LIASA are: (back row, left to right) Busi Khangala (Secretary); Wilhelmina Zaal (Membership Secretary); Lormarcia Zwaan (Treasurer); Alvina Matthee (Second Branch Representative); Sharon Adams (Additional Member); Julian Schroeder (Additional Member); (seated, left to right) Fadeela Davids (PRO); Nazeem Hardy (Vice Chair); Fatima Darries (Chair) and Ingrid Thomson (Newsletter Editor).

LIASA/SABINET Western Cape Librarian of the Year

Fatima Darries has been named the LIASA/SABINET Western Cape Librarian of the Year for 2006. She goes forward to the national round for LIASA/SABINET Librarian ofthe Year for 2006 which will be announced at the gala dinner at the LIASA Conference end September.

Congratulations Fatima!!!!!

Photo is of Fatima receiving a certificate from the chair of the Western Cape branch, Naomi Haasbroek.