Sheila Bell interviewing Information Librarian Justice Leshilo on One on One on Channel Africa.
The focus is on Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, in creating awareness for Nelson Mandela Day on 18 July 2014.
Justice Leshilo talks about his life and career as Information Librarian, as well as the impact the life of Nelson Mandela has had on his life.
His research about Mandela the Man in the Information Library is part a yearly initiative for Mandela month, culminating in Mandela Day. The SABC Information Library has many books, magazine articles and newspaper articles about Nelson Mandela. It is part of the preparation being ready for news and actuality journalists and producers compiling programmes about Nelson Mandela.
Showing posts with label Librarian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Librarian. Show all posts
Monday, July 14, 2014
Thursday, January 31, 2013
A retrospective look at 33 years in the SABC Record Library
Thersia Francis, the Manager of the SABC Record Library, is leaving the SABC Media Libraries today to pursue other interests in life. She started as a woman assistant in the Record Library, and later became the Manager of the Record Library.
How long did you work for the SABC, and where did you start before you came to the Media Libraries?
I started in 1980, 33 years ago. I started in the Record Library.
What did it mean to you to work in the Record Library?
That was a very big part of my life, and I have enjoyed every minute of it.
Did you meet interesting people, and who?
I have met a lot of bands, singers and artists.
My highlight was being backstage with Jon Bon Jovi in their first concert in Johannesburg Athletics Stadium.
What do you remember about your time here?
99% was happiness in my job - to work with music and music related functions which I have enjoyed most.
What are your plans for the future?
For the near future; to relax and doing the things I never had time to do previously!
We wish you well, Thersia!
Related post:
Interview with the Manager of the SABC Record Library
Questions & blog post by Karen du Toit, SABC Radio Archives.
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Interview with the new Librarian at the SABC Information Library
Agrineth Mashile was an intern here at the SABC Information Library, who has now been appointed as a new librarian in a permanent position.
She started working in the Information Library from 1 June 2012.
The questions helps us to break the silos which exist between the different departments in the SABC Media Libraries, as well as getting to know the job functions of each and every one.
Please tell us a little bit about yourself.
My name is Agrineth Mashile, from a small village called Moomane in Limpopo, Sekhukhune District.
I grew up there, started school in 1994 at Moomane Primary and matriculated at Ngale Secondary in 2006. When I was doing matric, I applied for admission at University of Limpopo (Turfloop Campus) for Computer science. When I got there I was told that I can’t be accepted in their school because my Mathematics marks were low, they were looking for “A” and “B”. I was so confused and I decided to check the prospectus for other courses offered, because going back home it was just out of the question.
I decided to register for BA MDST (Bachelor of Arts in Media Studies), in which they only requested a proficiency in the English language. I had no idea what was all about but I thought it was better than going back home. In my second year I realized that it was not for me.
I decided to make Information Science my major course but still continued with media studies and communication studies as electives.
Please tell us about a normal day in your office.
I come early every day at 07h15 as arranged and knock off at 15h45. My duties at the Information library include cataloguing and classification of new books and indexing of SABC Radio Bulletins from Springbok Radio. I help in assisting students from the Sound Engineering College with the Internet, as well as printing and photocopying. I am also doing research for clients.
Working at the front desk is stressful sometimes and very demanding. It demands someone with lots of patience. Dealing with clients, externally and internally, can prove to be very difficult. It is my job to make sure that they are happy with the services we offer them.
Tell us more about your collection and the scope of material you need to preserve in the library.
We have a large collection of books from different subjects. The SABC Information Library is a special library, but it is very accommodating. It does not only acquire books on broadcasting, media and communications, but also on a wide range of other subjects. We have a large collection of journals (magazines and newspapers). The daily and weekly newspapers are scanned and indexed for future reference.
Do you struggle with technical difficulties, and if so, what?
Since I was an intern and did my practicals with SABC, I have learned a lot from the systems we are using. I can proudly say that I am comfortable with the Newbase system and Inmagic Genie and I don’t find any difficulties.
If you have an anecdote about a specific piece of interesting information, please share it with us.
I really can’t remember anything right now, but I have list of interesting books that people might enjoy reading: For politics: 8 days in September; for spiritual: The shack; for leisure: The no.1 ladies detective (the whole collection of six)
Tell us why you enjoy doing the work that you do.
Surrounded by loving and caring colleagues is the best thing one could ask at the workplace. The Information Library has such a warm atmosphere that when you get up in the morning you don’t have to worry about going to work because you know you will find people who will make your day easy.
I love reading. Reading is my passion, so my heart is close to what I enjoy and like doing. It is interesting when a client comes in and you are able to discuss or review the books you like or enjoy reading.
Related post:
Interview with the intern in the SABC Information Library, Agrineth Mashile
Questions and blog post by Karen du Toit, Afrikaans Archivist in the SABC Radio Archives.
Monday, July 23, 2012
Interview with an intern at the SABC Information Library - Justice Leshilo
The purpose of the intern-ship is to acquire valuable skills, but also to help with the workflows in the SABC Information Library.
Justice Leshilo is a qualified librarian.
Questions are asked to understand the type of skills that he has to offer, but also to get a better understanding of what he is doing here in the SABC Information Library.
Please tell us about your personal history as well as your studies. How did you become an intern here at SABC?
I was born and raised in Sekhukhune (Limpopo) in a village called Ga-masemola. I started school in 1991 and matriculated in 2003. I went to the University of Limpopo, Turfloop Campus, in 2004 and enrolled for BPSCH (Psychology). I dropped out in 2005. In 2006 I started with BA-Social Science which I successfully completed in 2010. In 2011 I enrolled fro Higher Diploma in information Studies (HDINF) which I completed the same year. During my studies I volunteered for being a peer counselor at the counseling centre and a lab assistant at our general lab purpose of ICT. I was later promoted to be a supervisor of the labs. I also did my practical in our academic library and a four week practical at SABC Limpopo in 2011. I heard about this internship from my friend and former varsity mate Agrineth Mashile. I applied and went through the interviews and fortunately was appointed in April of this year.
What does your job entail here at SABC?
My job in the information library entails scanning, cutting and indexing of newspaper articles in the newspaper section using the Newbase system. It includes indexing, cataloguing, classification, issuing and shelving of books in the books section, as well as indexing articles, receiving and filing in the magazines sections. My job also involves indexing SABC bulletins that will be digitized in future. We also deal with information requests from internal and outside clients.
What have you learned already while you have been there?
I have learned important skills of scanning a newspaper, responding to information requests and indexing of articles in many formats and also learned working in a busy media organization.
Tell us of any interesting anecdotes story with regards to your intern-ship.
I have found myself being a colleague of TV and radio personalities that I used to admire (still does) and I have to learn to stop being a fan but a colleague, sometimes awkward.
Tell us about you social media involvement for the SABC Media Libraries.
I love social media and being involved in social networks. I am active on Twitter and the blogs of the SABC Media Libraries when I have time. I participated on International Archives Day on June 9 2012 where I tweeted for most of the day using the hashtag #archday12. I have learned a lot and have marked it as one of my favourites.
What are you planning to do after this?
I have developed a love of media archiving and media libraries. I am looking forward to work in a broadcasting related field or any type of media organization.
Related posts:
Interview with an intern in the SABC Information Library - Agrineth Mashile
Interview with an intern in the SABC Information Library - Veronica Machate
Blog post by Karen du Toit, Afrikaans Archivist in the SABC Radio Archives.
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Musings in the Music Library #9 - Budgets
Cape Philharmonic Orchestra Library
A vignette from the music librarian.
O tempora, O mores! What we could do if we only had more budget!
Artscape is now saying they may “renovate” the Library. Well, they mean the room it’s in. Considered old, ugly, dissheveled and antiquated (all true), the general upgrade of the entire Artscape Theatre Complex has now noticed another problem to be solved. Motive? To make it look modern and impressive, mostly.
So a budget begins a theoretical dance, beyond my reach; a budget that if given to me would have a very different outcome.
Like, maybe a full or even part time assistant? Or lots of new score and parts sets?
At least I’ve accessed the atmosphere by getting fifty archive boxes with which to re-box all the ballet sets and further to that other outsized local creations (quasi A4 sized parts and scores with huge plastic comb binders…an interesting challenge to fit into any storage facility).
And look, let’s admit it is wonderful to have real interest in improvements.
There have been so many retrenchments and closures in the last 18 years that I can drop my suspicious nature for a moment and really be grateful.
Related posts:
Musings in the Music Library - "Librarians are nice"
Musings in the music library #7 - Librarian stereotypes
Musings in the Music Library #6 - Cape Philharmonic Orchestra Library
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Musings in the music library - "Librarians are nice"
Cape Philharmonic Orchestra Library
Another vignette from the music librarian.
I've got two relations who are very successful professional academic librarians. They are very nice people. The nicest person I knew at Eastman School of Music was the head of Sibley Music Library. The kid next door where I grew up became a big deal librarian in Indianapolis Public Library system. He too is a very nice man.
And every professional librarian I’ve had any communication since becoming Librarian of the CPO has been a very nice person.
AND… they’re all very smart.
Interesting that in the early 21st century being nice is almost a curse…certainly taken for a sign of weakness in our oh so competitive world.
You can imagine the extremes of the Tea Party movement in US politics deriding librarians as blood sucking parasites embedded in the bloated bureaucracy of the civil service. Generally I guess our reaction would be to smile and ask “and what can I do for you today?”
What else would we say? We’re, by nature, nice people!
Related posts:
Musings in the music library #7 - Librarian stereotypes
Musings in the music library #6 - Cape Philharmonic Orchestra Library
Musings in the music library #5 - Copyright
Monday, June 25, 2012
Musings in the Music Library #7 - Librarian stereotypes
"In 2004 I was playing for the first SA production of Phantom of the Opera and as such I was privy to lots of comments from the conductor and production team. They had reservations about one of the girls cast as Christine, the character that is sweet and totally innocent and more than totally devoted to music, but underneath has a sensual and passionate romantic streak.
They said more than once that this actress didn’t really display the latter, and their repeated comment was “she’s too much like a librarian”.
I was by then three years the CPO librarian, and I didn’t take that too kindly. But it is true that librarians, even of the orchestral kind, are subject to an occupational stereotype that is probably universal. Why?
Perhaps it is that our occupation is one of almost complete service? If you consider what we do in general, it’s that we provide, upon request, materials, information and advice, without a transactional fee being attached. It’s as far removed from sales and marketing as Cape Town is to Alpha Centauri."
Related post:
Musings in the Music Library #6 - Cape Philharmonic Orchestra Library
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Monday, June 13, 2011
Interview with an intern at the SABC Information Library: Agrineth Mashile
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| Agrineth Mashile Intern: SABC Information Library |
The interns are here for a couple of months to acquire valuable skills, but also to help with the workflows in the SABC Information Library.
Agrineth Mashile is a qualified Librarian.
Questions addressed to the intern to understand the type of skills that they have to offer, but also get a better understanding of what they are doing now here in the SABC Information Library.
Agrineth, please tell us about your personal history as well as your studies. How did you become an intern here at the SABC?
My name is Agrineth Mashile. I was born and grew up in a small village in Limpopo province and started school at Moomane primary and continued to Ngale secondary till 2006. I went to the University of Limpopo (Turfloop campus) from 2007 till 2010 to study Information Studies and Communication studies. It was a four years degree. Last year when I was busy with my research I got the internship advertisement from my lecturer and I applied immediately. I got a call from Thembi asking me to come to the interview. In January I got another call telling me that I went through and qualified for the internship.
What does your job entail here at the SABC?
Here at the Media Library (Information Library) we are two interns which means we have to rotate. I started by scanning SABC radio bulletins and special collections. I have to index them as well. After a month I started scanning daily newspapers. Now I work with books: circulation, accessioning, cataloguing and classification, shelving and assisting clients with the Internet and relocation of books. Next month I will be working with magazines.
What have you learned already while you have been here?
I’ve gained a lot of experience more especially with indexing. Surely I can take a post that needs an indexer. I have also acquired knowledge on how to handle people with different attitudes and expectations, while maintaining my professionalism.
What suggestions do you have for us with regards the collection of the Information Library?
I think the students from Sound Engineering should have some kind of library orientation because they are leaving the library in disarray everyday; misplacing and hiding of books.
There must be some kind of security alarm installed when somebody goes out of the library with stolen books.
What are you planning to do after this?
I enjoyed working here! It will be a privilege if maybe I can have a permanent job here, apart from the wish to work for big institutions like the National library of South Africa. I want to further my studies and do systems management or knowledge management.
Related post:
Interview with an intern at the SABC Information Library: Veronica Machate
Questions and blog post by Karen du Toit, Afrikaans Archivist in the SABC Radio Archives.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Interview with an intern at the SABC Information Library: Veronica Machate
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| Veronica Machate Intern: SABC Information Library |
The interns are here in the SABC Media Libraries for a couple of months to acquire valuable skills, but also to help with the workflows in the SABC Information Library.
Veronica Machate is a qualified Librarian.
Questions are asked to understand the type of skills that they have to offer, but also to get a better understanding of what they are doing here in the SABC Information Library.
Please tell us about your personal history as well as your studies. How did you become an intern here at SABC?
I was born and raised in Bushbuckridge in a place called Acornhoek. I started school in 1994 and matriculated 2006. I went to the university of Limpopo Turfloop campus in 2007 where I studied for a bachelor degree in information studies which I obtained in 2010 and I will be graduating on the 14th of this month. During my final year of my study I worked as a part-time student assistant in our university library and also worked as a computer laboratory assistant. I heard about this internship from our lecturer. I applied and fortunately I was called for an interview. In January I was called and told that I was appointed.
What does your job entail here at SABC?
My job differs according to the sections in the Information Library. They have a newspaper, magazine and book section. After every three months I have to rotate. During my first three months I have worked in the newspaper cutting section where my job entailed the scanning of daily newspapers, using a flatbed scanner, indexing SABC articles and also responding to requests. From May until July I will be working in the magazine section and in this section my job entails indexing and cataloguing magazines articles. Thereafter I will be rotating to the book section.
What have you learned already while you have been there?
I have mastered responding to requests, scanning of daily newspapers and more especially indexing of SABC and magazine articles.
Tell us of any interesting anecdotes story with regards to your internship
During my first month I was always hanging my access card on my neck even on the street where I live so that people could see that I’m working at the SABC.
What are you planning to do after this?
My plan is to get a job as librarian either in the SABC or any other sector and to further my studies in the field of Information Studies.
Related posts:
SABC Radio Archives: Interview with an intern - Thakhani Ramufhufhi
Interview with an intern at the SABC Radio Archives: Obakeng Phiri
Interview with an intern at the SABC Radio Archives: Nokuthula Mzelemu
Intern in the SABC Radio Archives: Mbali Jezile - an interview
Questions and blog post by Karen du Toit, Afrikaans Archivist in the SABC Radio Archives.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Interview with an assistant record librarian at the SABC Record Library: Oliver Mhlanga
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| Oliver Mhlanga SABC Record Library |
The interview this week is with Oliver Mhlanga, an assistant record librarian in the SABC Record Library. He is responsible for the filing of the music.
The Record Library houses recorded music, previously unavailable, as well as all genres of recorded music, including sound effects and others. The music is regularly accessed by staff and made available to SABC internal clients.
Please tell us a little bit about yourself.
I am Oliver Fana Mhlanga. I grew up in Mpumalanga in the place called Piet Retief. Before I joined the SABC I was working as a bricklayer (builder).
Please tell us about a normal day in your office. What music do you give priority to?
I need training and understanding of different music genres and how to classify it.
Do you struggle with technical difficulties, and if so, what?
Yes, I am struggling with technical issues because it is not part of my job description to work on a computer most of the time.
If you have an anecdote about a specific piece of interesting music, please share it with us.
Of course I have a specific piece of interesting music which I enjoy!
R Kelly: The Storm is over now.
Quote from the lyrics:
“I was in a tunnelTell us why you enjoy doing the work that you do.
And couldn't see the light
And whenever I'd look up
I couldn't see the sky
Sometimes when I'm standin'
It seems like I done walked for miles
And my heart could be cryin'
Dead in the middle of a smile
But then I climbed the hills
And saw the mountains
I hollered help 'cause I was lost
Then I felt the strong wind
Heard a small voice sayin'
The storm is over
(The storm is over now)
And I can see the sunshine
(Somewhere beyond the clouds)
I feel Heaven, yeah
(Heaven is over me)
Come on and set me free, whoa”
Yes, I am enjoying my work because it is encouraging every day!
Related posts:
Interview with Aaron Magoro at the SABC Record Library
Interview with a Systems Administartor at the SABC Record Library
Interview with a Record Librarian at the SABC Record Library
Questions and blog post by Karen du Toit, Afrikaans Archivist in the SABC Radio Archives
Monday, May 9, 2011
Interview with Aaron Magoro at the SABC Record Library
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| Aaron Magoro SABC Record Library |
The interview this week is with Aaron Magoro, a Record Librarian in the SABC Record library.
The Record Library houses recorded music, previously unavailable, as well as all genres of recorded music, including Jazz, Gospel, Kwaito, Rap, Rave, Classical, World, Light, Mood, Sound Effects and others. The music is regularly accessed by staff and made available to internal clients.
Aaron, please tell us a little bit about your life and career.
I was born in Soweto. I grew up in the township and I attended primary & higher primary school in Soweto. I moved to Mpumalanga where I went to secondary school to obtain my Junior Certificate.
Before I joined the SABC I was at CNA Warehouse supplying different outlets with magazines and newspapers of local and international content. It was very interesting to work in that department. I only worked there for a short period. After I had left I had a call that there were vacancies at the SABC, upon which I applied for a job here.
Please tell us about a normal day in your office. What music do you give priority to?
A normal day at the office is hectic. We deal with different clients with different needs. Every piece of music to us is a priority as a service to our clients. After I have completed the requests by customers, I do my normal work capturing data. The information being captured is shared with the ten regions of the SABC country wide.
Tell us more about your collection and the scope of material you need to preserve in the record library.
In the library we have a variety of global music. We have a vast collection. It includes the National Anthems of other countries. We came up tops during the Soccer World Cup which was hosted in South Africa. We were the sole independent of the media to rely on in terms of music of other countries. We receive music as it is presented to us. This point is very important because we don’t limit our collections or censor it. Different people do research on different projects. It is not up to us to select for them but to cater to their needs of what they require.
Do you struggle with technical difficulties, and if so, what?
Technical difficulties in the record library: It is very few, except for the process and procedures which should be followed very carefully, as well as to remember the password and id users may need in future.
If you have an anecdote about a specific piece of interesting music, please share it with us.
I like a selection of evergreen music with the message of courage; lifting up one’s spirit when you are feeling down. To name a few: Mahalia Jackson, Uncle Satchmo, Brook Benton, Aretha Franklin, and local northern Sotho tradition and township music with a vibe.
Tell us why you enjoy doing the work that you do.
I enjoy a social life. My daily life at work involves socialising with different people, sharing different ideas and most of the time I assist when more information are required.
Related posts:
Interview with a Record Librarian in the SABC Record Library: Sound effects and mood music
Interview with a Record Librarian at the SABC Record Library: William Rapabi
Interview with a Record Librarian in the SABC Record Library: Justice Muthakhi
Interview with a Systems Administrator at the SABC Record Library: Marinda Wolmarans
Questions and blog post by Karen du Toit, Afrikaans Archivist in the SABC Radio Archives.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Interview with the Principal Librarian at the SABC Information Library
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| Monica van Deventer SABC Information Library |
The interview this week is with Monica van Deventer, the Principal Information Librarian who overseas the Newspaper Cutting Section, the Book Lending Section as well as the Magazines in the SABC Information Library. She has been with the Information Library for almost 21 years.
“The core business of the Information Library is to deliver a World Class Service to the users of the library. When given a request to handle, this must be done immediately and very professional.
Staff must also have sufficient knowledge of the unique nature of the broadcasting environment, in which they work. They must be able to work under stress and also to understand that the journalists work under stressful circumstances.”
(Quote from the SABC Media Libraries website)
Monica, please tell us a little bit about your life and career (Where you grew up, where and what you studied and your work experience before you joined the SABC Information Library)
I was born in 1961 and grew up in Westdene, Johannesburg. I studied at Vorentoe High School and after that at the Rand Afrikaans University (now UJ). There I obtained my BA Social Work Degree – at that stage it was still a four year degree. After that I worked as a Social Worker at Transvaal Cripple Care Association in Westcliff, Johannesburg for a period of 2 years. After my resignation there, I started to work as a Library Assistant at Rand Afrikaans University at the circulation desk. I studied part-time for my B.Bibl Degree and obtained that a week before our daughter was born. After that I moved to the cataloguing section as a Junior Librarian. I worked there for almost 6 years, resigned and started my career at the SABC – and I am still here! I am also still a registered social worker and would like to practise social work again when I retire from the SABC one day.
On 30 July this year I will be married for 28 years. My husband works at UJ. We have 2 children – a daughter (23 years) and a son (20 years). We love the outdoors and like to do camping, boating, diving and we also like to fish. We live in Krugersdorp and have 3 dogs and 1 parrot.
Please tell us about a normal day in your office. What information and tasks do you give priority to?
A normal working day consists of replying to emails; attend meetings as and when requested; requesting quotations from books and magazines agencies. I do my utmost to manage the Information Library the best I can. We handle information requests immediately and our newspaper articles are being scanned in on a daily basis. We also do our best to have a good magazine and book collection. At the moment all SABC related information – old and new – is our main priority.
Tell us more about your collection and the scope of material you need to preserve in the library.
Our collection consists of books, magazines and newspapers and newspaper articles. Our collections are very broad and include broadcasting related material, biographies, and travel books – everything that you will find in any other library. Our newspaper article collection is huge and we have more than 3 million articles in files. We also have a collection of old SABC Radio Bulletins, of which we are currently scanning on our Newbase System and indexing on our Inmagic Genie System.
Do you struggle with technical and other difficulties, and if so, what?
Not really. We have good, solid specialised systems. When we experience problems, we receive good support from Ronnie Singh at BIT, who looks after our systems from the SABC’s side. If he cannot solve the problem, we contact Mindex or Digital Archiving Systems and our problems usually then get sorted out quickly.
If you have an anecdote about a specific piece of interesting information, please share it with us.
A lot of things happened in the Information Library over the years. We had very nice and enjoyable International Library week’s celebrations, where we invited all SABC staff members to the Library and had nice snacks, competitions and prizes.
Once we also had a client, for whom we borrowed an old book on the Olympic Games from another Library. He didn’t return the book and we got a reminder from that library for the amount of R1000-00. He insisted that he had returned the book and complained for a few months about the library staff not believing him. Eventually, one day, he turned up with the book and a very sincere apology. He found the book in his safe at his home! We were just very relieved that the book has been returned.
Tell us why you enjoy doing the work that you do.
I love working with people and I love handling information requests. The Information Library broadened my general knowledge – specifically when I worked in the newspaper cutting section - and also taught me to build and maintain very good interpersonal relationships. I have a passion for what I do!
Related posts:
Interview with the Librarian at the Newspaper Cutting Section
Interview with the Librarian at the SABC Information Library: Newspaper Cutting Section
Interview with the Information Librarian at the SABC Information Library
Questions and blog post by Karen du Toit, Afrikaans Archivist in the SABC Radio Archives.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Interview with the Librarian at the SABC Newspaper Cutting Section
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| Themba Mtshali SABC Newspaper Cutting Section |
The interview this week is with Themba Mtshali, the Information Librarian who works in the Newspaper Cutting Section of the SABC Information Library.
This section has a collection of 3200 000 newspaper articles. The following newspapers are ordered for this section: Beeld, Sowetan, Business Day, Star, Citizen, Mail and Guardian, Rapport, Sunday Times, Sunday Independent, Sunday World and the City Press. Every day articles are scanned in on the Newbase System and then electronically get cut, pasted and indexed.
Themba, please tell us a little bit about yourself. (Where you grew up, where and what you studied and your work experience before you joined the SABC Information Library)
Answer: My name is Themba Mtshali. I was born in Soweto. I studied and passed my matric in KZN during the 1976 unrest. In 1981 I joined Standard Bank and worked as a Clerk. After that I worked at a NGO Company in Braamfontein as project coordinator for 5 years. In 1995 I joined the SABC as Desk Help Officer for late Dr Ivy Matsepe Cassaburi’s office. In 1996 I joined the SABC Media Libraries at the Cutting Service Section.
Please tell us about a normal day in your office. What newspaper articles do you give priority to?
Answer: My normal day in office starts with fetching newspapers from the security office at ground floor in the morning. I look through the papers for SABC articles to be scanned first and start scanning other newspapers thereafter. We give priority to current affairs news mostly form politics, sport, health etc. I also give attention to information requests that come to our office and cut, paste and index sports articles.
Tell us more about your collection and the scope of material you need to preserve in the library.
Answer: Our collection consists of newspaper articles that are scanned as well as newspaper articles that were cut and pasted and filed into files before we got the digital system. The focus is mostly on politics of the past and present government; SABC collections from when the SABC was established to present date. The newspaper collection is very vast and varied in its scope.
Do you struggle with technical difficulties, and if so, what?
Answer: Not much, but when we do have problems with our system server, we have BIT to assist us.
If you have an anecdote about a specific piece of interesting information, please share it with us.
Answer: As I am a sports fan, particularly soccer fan, I would like to preserve the history of soccer in South Africa.
Tell us why you enjoy doing the work that you do.
Answer: The job keeps me well informed about what’s happening around me.
Related posts:
Interview with the Librarian at the SABC Information Library: Newspaper Cutting Section
Interview with the Information Librarian at the SABC Information Library
Questions and post by Karen du Toit, Afrikaans Archivist in the SABC Radio Archives.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Interview with the Librarian at the SABC Information Library: Newspaper Cutting Section
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| Thelma Hlapolosa SABC Information Library |
The interview this time is with Thelma Hlapolosa, the Information Librarian who works in the Newspaper Cutting Section of the SABC Information Library.
This section has a collection of 3200 000 newspaper articles. The following newspapers are ordered for this section: Beeld, Sowetan, Business Day, Star, Citizen, Mail and Guardian, Rapport, Sunday Times, Sunday Independent, Sunday World and the City Press. Every day articles are scanned in on the Newbase System and then electronically get cut, pasted and indexed.
Please tell us a little bit about yourself. (Where you grew up, where and what you studied and your work experience before you joined the SABC Information Library)
Answer: My name is Nonhlanhla Thelma Hlapolosa, a mother of three. I grew up in Soweto (Mzimhlophe to be specific). I am currently studying Human Resource Management through UNISA. I did not have any experience when I started here in the SABC. I was fresh from school with my Matric and employed as a temp. (That was 1994). I was employed as a library assistant. Then my contract was extended from six months to a year from a year to permanent post in May 1995.
Please tell us about a normal day in your office. What newspaper articles do you give priority to?
Answer: My normal day starts on my way to work with news post on the road of headlines from different newspapers. By the time I am in the office I already know what the requests are going to be, from scandals of celebrities to politics and sports and current affairs. Newspapers are scanned by Themba Mtshali. Then we select what we view as important topics. Information requests from clients come by email, telephone or otherwise (internally/externally). Data cleansing is done while indexing. We search information on Sabinet, Newbase, Media24 and other search engines; export articles to the intranet; monitor the Newbase server; update topic list on the system and administrate and correct minor mistakes done during indexing and scanning processes.
Tell us more about your collection and the scope of material you need to preserve in the library.
Answer: The cutting section has a backlog of manual files of about a million articles (not currently scanned or indexed on Newbase). The Newbase system has a backlog from 2006 to date. Last year we managed to put all TRC collection on the system. However, the Mandela collection and the ANC, SABC and Elections collections still need to be scanned and indexed.
Do you struggle with technical difficulties, and if so, what?
Answer: Some days we do experience technical difficulties, the server would just act up and we need to reboot our system, wait for BIT to assist us but we manage. It needs to be said that we have a good system (Newbase).
If you have an anecdote about a specific piece of interesting information, please share it with us.
Answer: I can say all the collections, especially articles from the files. However I came across the ANC and NNP files and there is a lot that needs to be preserved. If it were up to me I would say every file in cutting service should be scanned and indexed immediately.
Tell us why you enjoy doing the work that you do.
Answer: The satisfaction on the faces of all our clients and learning the history of the country on a daily basis is fascinating!
Related post:
Interview with the Information Librarian at the SABC Information Library
Questions and blog post by Karen du Toit, Afrikaans Archivist in the SABC Radio Archives
Thursday, January 20, 2011
The SABC Music Library – interview with the intern
This is the first post of a series of posts of interviews with personnel in the SABC Media Libraries. I will be posing the same six questions to all of us.
We have five departments which fall under the SABC Media Libraries here at the South African Broadcasting Corporation. It is the SABC Music Library, the SABC Record Library, the SABC Information Library, the SABC Radio Archives and SABC Audio Restoration.
We work with different types of collections and different formats, and we are not always aware of what our colleagues are doing on a daily basis. This is a way of getting to know each other a little bit better with regards the work we do, and the importance of our collections in the broadcasting sector.
My first interview is with our intern that we have at the Music Library. Ignatia Madalane started to work with us just short of a year ago. She is unfortunately leaving us at the end of the month.
The SABC Music Library has musical instruments of the highest quality, as well as printed music scores which they rent out to professional orchestras or music organisations on a daily basis.
Iggy Madalane:
1. Please tell us a little bit about yourself. (Where you grew up, where and what you studied and your work experience before you joined the SABC Music Library)
4. Do you struggle with technical difficulties, and if so, what?
Questions and intro by Karen du Toit (SABC Radio Archivist)
We have five departments which fall under the SABC Media Libraries here at the South African Broadcasting Corporation. It is the SABC Music Library, the SABC Record Library, the SABC Information Library, the SABC Radio Archives and SABC Audio Restoration.
We work with different types of collections and different formats, and we are not always aware of what our colleagues are doing on a daily basis. This is a way of getting to know each other a little bit better with regards the work we do, and the importance of our collections in the broadcasting sector.
My first interview is with our intern that we have at the Music Library. Ignatia Madalane started to work with us just short of a year ago. She is unfortunately leaving us at the end of the month.
The SABC Music Library has musical instruments of the highest quality, as well as printed music scores which they rent out to professional orchestras or music organisations on a daily basis.
Iggy Madalane:
1. Please tell us a little bit about yourself. (Where you grew up, where and what you studied and your work experience before you joined the SABC Music Library)
Hi, I, Iggy, grew up in Witbank, now called Emalahleni (Place of Coal). I studied Business Practice at TUT for a year, then did Cost and Management Accounting, which I never finished because it was choking me. So I went to Wits where I studied music, majoring in classical voice.2. Please tell us about a normal day in your office.
Before coming to the SABC, I worked as a tutor at Wits. I also did some office admin work occasionally for the Music department. For the 4 years of my undergraduate studies at Wits, I worked in the SRC office as an office admin assistant. I have done a lot of performing, also as a solo artist. I joined a marimba band in 2005 and with this band we did a lot of performances, such as concerts, theatre productions, workshops, etc. We’ve just returned from Mexico, from participating in the international Marimba Festival which took place in Chiapas in November, 2010. I also had the privilege of working with some of South African’s most revered artists such as Professor Jeanne Zaidel-Rudolph, with composer, story-teller, ethnomusicologist, Pedro Espi-Sancis, as well as Jeff Maluleke and world renowned and award winning percussionist and composer Lukas Ligeti.
Providing our clients with the best service are our main priority, therefore we do our best to ensure that we provide them with their requests as effectively and efficiently and as promptly as possible.3. Tell us more about your collection and the scope of material you need to preserve.
I think I can safely say that we need to preserve everything we have, and we need more material. One of these days, I am hoping that we will be able to digitize out collection seeing that everything and everyone is going digital. Companies like Apple and Blackberry are inventing digital music stands, which means that musicians will be moving away from the conventional way of reading music from a piece of paper, to downloading the music directly to their music stands. It’s only a matter of time before the frenzy hits South Africa and I am afraid if we do not get on with the programme we might be left with no business to run.
4. Do you struggle with technical difficulties, and if so, what?
Struggle? Are you kidding? I can go to campus square, buy groceries, come back and bake a cake while the computer is trying to log on.5. If you have an anecdote about a specific piece of interesting music or musical instrument, please share it with us.
Secondly, since our catalogue is not digitized, we always find ourselves having to either keep our clients waiting on the phone, or call them back (an expense which can be avoided), because we need to put the phone down and go search the carded catalogue to see if we have the music they require.
Did you know that The Ride of the Valkyries, which is a music except from Richard Wagner’s opera Die Walkure was apparently used by some German soldiers during World War II. They played it just before they attacked in the Battle of Memel. This story was incorporated into the 1979 film Apocalypse Now where the music accompanies the ride of the helicopters while they attack a Vietnamese village. Therefore you might want to think twice before playing Wagner when having your Jewish friends over for dinner.6. Tell us why you enjoy doing the work that you do.
It is only in this field where you can learn something new every single day.
Questions and intro by Karen du Toit (SABC Radio Archivist)
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
The Library and Information career and Social Media
It is up to the LIS profession to constantly look at ways of reinventing themselves and their professional careers. One of the new ways of doing that is through social media technologies and building up a social media presence. It is difficult for old school LIS professionals who are by nature introverted (a generalization, I know) to “convert” to the idea of selling themselves and their expertise and their “business” through an active online presence. We need to change our thinking and our way of working to incorporate social media into our daily work/networking activities.
A subgroup of the American Library Association on LinkedIn has been formed, called LIS Career Options which discuss topics such as:
The discussions demonstrate the need to build up a social media presence, albeit personally, but the presence of the person linked to a service/company is always inclusive. We work within a certain framework of business.
As archivists, information specialists and record librarians we are still in infancy in our company with regards to social media presence. We are beginning to notice the importance of being actively engaged online. Our recent endeavours on social media have opened up our eyes to the possibilities. We are getting more feedback, more requests and more awareness of our services.
Check us out:
SABC Media Libraries Blog
SABC Media Libraries site
Twitter:
SABC Media Libraries
SABC Radio Archives
SABC Music Library
SABC Record Lib
SABC Information Library
SABC Audio Restoration
We also started with Facebook presences, but that's for another post.
Karen du Toit
Senior Afrikaans Archivist
SABC Radio Archives
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