Old books and new
By: Political PerspectivePERHAPS he meant to say something different, but I was quite astounded this week to read that Elia Kaiyamo, Chair of the Namibia Library and Information Council, and also Swapo MP, was expressing 'shock' at the high number of "outdated" books found in libraries across the country, some going as far back as 1948!
I mean, a book is a book is a book, and in my view its value
increases with age.
OLD books, new books, any books.
If only Namibians would adopt a reading culture, I'm sure we'd
be immeasurably better off as a country with an educated
populace.
Kaiyamo was speaking at a function featuring a donation by the
United States to the Walvis Bay public library this week.
Of course, the issue is not whether many of the books are old,
but why the Ministry of Education doesn't allocate substantially
more money to buy new books and more books.
There is hardly a book budget to speak of.
And, while we may praise Government for a huge allocation to the
Ministry of Education, most of it goes on salaries which rather
defeats the object and the money never gets to where it is most
needed.
Books are not high on the agenda of most Namibians,
unfortunately.
It seems we've become very materialistic and only DSTVs or DVDs
will do - a sad reflection that many people mainly access their
information in this way.
A reading culture, and books, remain very low on the list of
priorities.
Anyone who's been burgled knows that no thief is going to raid
the bookshelf and this fact perhaps proves my point! Further to the
book issue, it has to be said that, when we have resources, scant
though they may be, we should look after them.
It is horrifying to note how these are abused.
Build a new stadium in Oshakati, and before long the seats are
broken and parts vandalised.
Accepted, the place was shoddily built in the first place, but
there is still no excuse for this sort of pillaging.
Likewise, one reads frequently of vandalism at schools or at new
tourist facilities.
Namibians will fast be getting a reputation in this regard: you
name it, we'll steal it.
And even worse perhaps, if we can't steal it, we'll destroy
it.
Kaiyamo also went on to say that not only the youth but parents
need to read.
Nice thought, but I think his wish is largely an illusion.
It is not as if people who have never read books will suddenly
start doing so, which is why we need to promote this culture among
our youth.
I also totally agree with him that Government should ratify the
Florence Agreement and abolish Customs duties and other restrictive
measures on educational, scientific and cultural materials.
In this way, such materials may become less expensive, because
even the most prolific readers in this country cannot read as much
as they like, with libraries dormant to dead or non-existent in
certain areas, and books very costly to buy.
In my view, reading underpins just about everything.
Identify all the dumbos out there - in politics, in government,
wherever they may find themselves - and invariably they are not
readers.
They are not people keen to expand their minds in the literary
sense, deepen their knowledge about the world around them, or
simply intent on plain and simple self-improvement.
Formal education is one thing, but it is not quite enough to
fully round off an individual.
Reading complements self-development, and people who do so are
usually easy to spot.
What point, you may say, is there in having hundreds of
libraries, and a wealth of books in this country? To make them as
accessible as possible.
Not only non-fiction or educational books, but fiction as
well.
Those who at least want to make the effort to improve their
minds should be given the opportunity to do so.
If it were possible, I'd make reading compulsory for all.
We manage to make people pay their taxes, get their car
licences, register their births and deaths, so why not make them
read, too? I'd guarantee we'd be much better off in the long
run.
And,while we're about it, we should hang onto and cherish the
older books, for their value only increases with age, for research
and other purposes.
OLD books, new books, any books. If only Namibians would adopt a
reading culture, I'm sure we'd be immeasurably better off as a
country with an educated populace. Kaiyamo was speaking at a
function featuring a donation by the United States to the Walvis
Bay public library this week. Of course, the issue is not whether
many of the books are old, but why the Ministry of Education
doesn't allocate substantially more money to buy new books and more
books. There is hardly a book budget to speak of. And, while we may
praise Government for a huge allocation to the Ministry of
Education, most of it goes on salaries which rather defeats the
object and the money never gets to where it is most needed. Books
are not high on the agenda of most Namibians, unfortunately. It
seems we've become very materialistic and only DSTVs or DVDs will
do - a sad reflection that many people mainly access their
information in this way. A reading culture, and books, remain very
low on the list of priorities. Anyone who's been burgled knows that
no thief is going to raid the bookshelf and this fact perhaps
proves my point! Further to the book issue, it has to be said that,
when we have resources, scant though they may be, we should look
after them. It is horrifying to note how these are abused. Build a
new stadium in Oshakati, and before long the seats are broken and
parts vandalised. Accepted, the place was shoddily built in the
first place, but there is still no excuse for this sort of
pillaging. Likewise, one reads frequently of vandalism at schools
or at new tourist facilities. Namibians will fast be getting a
reputation in this regard: you name it, we'll steal it. And even
worse perhaps, if we can't steal it, we'll destroy it. Kaiyamo also
went on to say that not only the youth but parents need to read.
Nice thought, but I think his wish is largely an illusion. It is
not as if people who have never read books will suddenly start
doing so, which is why we need to promote this culture among our
youth. I also totally agree with him that Government should ratify
the Florence Agreement and abolish Customs duties and other
restrictive measures on educational, scientific and cultural
materials. In this way, such materials may become less expensive,
because even the most prolific readers in this country cannot read
as much as they like, with libraries dormant to dead or
non-existent in certain areas, and books very costly to buy. In my
view, reading underpins just about everything. Identify all the
dumbos out there - in politics, in government, wherever they may
find themselves - and invariably they are not readers. They are not
people keen to expand their minds in the literary sense, deepen
their knowledge about the world around them, or simply intent on
plain and simple self-improvement. Formal education is one thing,
but it is not quite enough to fully round off an individual.
Reading complements self-development, and people who do so are
usually easy to spot. What point, you may say, is there in having
hundreds of libraries, and a wealth of books in this country? To
make them as accessible as possible. Not only non-fiction or
educational books, but fiction as well. Those who at least want to
make the effort to improve their minds should be given the
opportunity to do so. If it were possible, I'd make reading
compulsory for all. We manage to make people pay their taxes, get
their car licences, register their births and deaths, so why not
make them read, too? I'd guarantee we'd be much better off in the
long run. And,while we're about it, we should hang onto and cherish
the older books, for their value only increases with age, for
research and other purposes.