Library Services in Gwanda

The Edward Ndlovu Community Libraries, as a Canadian charity, works directly with the Edward Ndlovu Memorial Trust (ENMT) which provides library services in Gwanda and Beitbridge districts of Matabeleland South, Zimbabwe. According to the 2022 census, Gwanda town, our base, has a population of 27,143. Of these, 6.452 were under 14 years. 

In 2000 the Trust opened a purpose-built library, the Edward Ndlovu Memorial Library, on land donated by the municipal council, and a second wing, for children, was added in 2009. Funding is now being sought for a third wing.

The library in Gwanda town serves the urban population as well as peripheral communities, mainly around nearby mines, and is the base for the Rural Outreach Program, providing Book Boxes to elementary schools. It also is the base for work with Community Study Circles to develop micro-businesses. From time to time, workshops for teachers and community members are conducted inside the Library.  Read more

The policy of the library is to allow anyone to enter and read the books, magazines, newspapers which are available. 

The total circulating book stock of the town library is now 15,000 for the children’s section and 40,000 for the adults. For a small subscription fee, anyone can become a member and is allowed to borrow books, however, most of our users are not members.

In late 2025 our staff numbers 7 full-time employees. Our director is an experienced educationist and also holds a degree in Development Studies and an MBA as well as a qualification in project management. Under him work a qualified, degreed librarian, a project officer with a degree in Development Studies and diplomas in education and social work, a community development facilitator with diplomas in education and social work, an administrator with a degree in human resources management and a certificate in book-keeping, and two certificated library assistants, We also work with a part-time accountant and three volunteers.

The staff frequently attend training workshops provided by donors to provide for the upgrading of their skills.

There is wide diversity amongst the users in terms of information needs, reading capabilities and preferences for formats and languages requiring the Library to build collections and develop supporting services. One of the wings of the Library houses books for adults and students from secondary level and upwards.

The second wing caters specifically for children (see below). In both wings, there is plenty of reading space, as most users do not have quiet study space where they live.  Furthermore, those who cannot buy memberships need to be able to read within the library.​

To ensure that they access local, regional and international current-affairs materials the Library also has an annual subscription to one Zimbabwean daily newspaper.  If the budget allowed, we would have more.

During 2024, nearly 15,000 “visits” were made to the library, including both children and adults. (4,604 boys, 7,900 girls, 1017 adult men and 725 adult women) These include repeat visits by the same individuals. Boxes for rural outreach are also prepared in the main library.

Open Doors Children's Corner​

In 2016, an Open Doors Children's Corner (ODCC) was established in the children's library, funded by Book Aid International (UK). This child-friendly corner was designed to accommodate children starting from a very young pre-school age.

The refurbishments involved painting the walls, putting up murals, book displays, colourful children's chairs, and tables, mats, dolls, paints, crayons, puzzles and cushions for children`s comfort.  Whilst the corner offers a convenient place for relaxation, the area also provides a diverse and attractive collection of children’s books which are tempting to pick and read.

The library staff have been involved over several years in training library staff in other Zimbabwean towns to set up and manage children’s corners on this model in municipal libraries.  

Children’s Programmes​

Children generally frequent the library in large numbers. They come to read, exchange books and to attend various programs. Whilst the majority of children are non-members, many do pay a small subscription so that they can borrow books, and others still prefer to spend their leisure time in the library, while some come to be helped with their homework.

The vast majority of our books are provided by Book Aid International, a UK charity, and they are very appropriate for the children, but we have also managed to purchase publications in the local language, Ndebele, and these are very popular. The library works with four pre-schools in urban Gwanda in an effort to promote the use of books. 

The children’s library is a hive of activity every week, especially from Tuesday to Thursday, as children stream in for their activities.

Mid-week, “Wonderful Wednesdays” provide special activities. Children listen to stories and do crafts and drama and artwork based on the stories and their reading. These programs have on occasion attracted over 100 children on a single afternoon.. The main objective of these programs is to cultivate a culture of reading, complement school efforts to improve literacy and develop literary skills.

Hospital Programs 

There has been an on-going programme with the provincial hospital over several years.  In order to interest mothers in the idea of exposing their children to books and reading available at the library, our staff visit the ante-natal clinic to interact with expectant mothers and the family friendly clinic to read

The mothers access a wide range of books and enjoy the stories. Publications of stories written in the local Ndebele language as well as one Shona-language publication are popular. This program promotes discussion and an appreciation of reading. In 2024 441 expecting mothers and 256 nursing mothers participated.

In the Children`s Ward (3 to 13 years), a reading programme has also been established. But two years ago we were able to provide a special shelf of books to be kept in the library for the use of children who have been admitted to the hospital.  The intention is to ensure that children who are missing school will not lose touch with books to maintain their literacy skills, especially if they stay in hospital for a lengthy period.  In 2024, 122 children benefited from this service

Collection Development​

The Library book collection has grown over the past 30 years from a handful of titles, housed in a small room in Gwanda High school, to the 55,000 + volume-collection housed in a state-of-the-art library building.

An additional 20,000 books circulate amongst the rural schools we support.

Each year, Book Aid International provides several thousand books which replace lost and damaged books and add to the numbers. Approximately 30% of books in the library are for children. The collection continues to grow in subject coverage and depth, positioning itself as one of the best book collections in the country, and supporting recreational reading, learning and research.

Over 80% of the volumes in this collection are materials published after the year-2000. Older books include biographies, history, and literature.

Internet

An internet hotspot was also set up in the library. With an increasing number of patrons having access to either a laptop or a tablet, the organization found it feasible to avail access to the internet to patrons through their personal devices, relieving pressure on the limited computers the library has. As part of the benefits of joining as a library member, a coupon will be awarded to members every month.

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Database and OPAC

In 2016 the Library managed to successfully automate the library management system (cataloguing of books into database, online public access catalogue and computer-assisted circulation).

The library now uses the KOHA library management system, a free access software which does not require subscriptions. It is less expensive to both set up and maintain.  The Library purchased the hardware, conducted the necessary training and paid for the transfer to a digitalized system. The old card-system was done away with in January 2017.

e-Books Programme​

In 2018 the Trust entered into an agreement with Book Aid International to manage a programme for e-books. The library received 20 e-readers, each loaded with about 200 books which we had specifically requested.

A heavy safe was provided so they can be safely stored. This development sparked a great deal of interest. The library held a workshop for the teachers in the schools to train them in the effective use of the e-readers. Unfortunately these readers are now out-dated. We hope to have a new ICT programme from BAI. 

Indigenous Language Books

In the lower grades in school, children are taught in one of the local languages – siNdebele, seSotho or chiVenda. There is a shortage of literature in these languages, especially seSotho and chiVenda. In an effort to make more literature available in these languages, the ENMT, partnered with New Zealand Aid to produce storybooks for grades 1 to 3 in the Ndebele language, then with Open Society Initiative Southern Africa (OSISA) to produce 6 titles in seSotho for primary level readers.

The manuscripts were solicited from local teachers and ex-teachers, the best chosen, and then illustrations sourced. It is hoped that funds will be raised to produce some chiVenda storybooks. Currently work is going on with a South African publisher to translate some of their publications into seSotho.