Success stories @UKZN Library Services

By Simon Shezi & Dr Nonhlanhla Ngcobo

It is a great pleasure to share exciting developments and highlights of activities and initiatives that are aimed at enhancing user experiences of the broader University community and the community at large.

1. Introduction of Thola, the Library robot and Artificial Intelligence - A recent development is the launch of the robotic librarian, Thola at the Medical Library, an AI-powered assistant. - To ensure inclusive services, Thola offers voice-activated and touchscreen assistance tailored for all students, including students with disabilities. - The Library hosted the 5th IFLA Symposium on Artificial Intelligence in June 2025 which explored the latest advancements, challenges, and best practices in leveraging AI technologies within libraries and information services. This conference was attended by nearly 100 people from 13 countries. An eight-point pledge, known as the Pietermaritzburg Declaration on responsible and ethical use of AI was developed. - Consequently, librarians have incorporated AI literacy into their information training, with emphasis on responsible and ethical use of AI. 

2. Addressing the Digital Gap for Students During and post the COVID-19 pandemic, UKZN Library Services played a crucial role in ensuring fair access to education. Librarians swiftly transitioned services to online platforms, broadened access to e-books, journals, theses, and virtual training, and assisted students from rural and economically disadvantaged backgrounds. These endeavors enabled numerous students to successfully complete their studies despite limited resources. 

3. ResearchSpace: Safeguarding and Disseminating Knowledge The UKZN Libraries host ResearchSpace, the University's institutional archive. It safeguards theses, dissertations, and research outcomes while making them freely accessible globally. Many postgraduate students and emerging researchers laud ResearchSpace for enhancing the visibility and citation of their work, creating opportunities for collaboration and further research. 

4. Preserving South Africa's History and Culture Through projects like Digital Innovation South Africa (DISA) and the Gandhi Luthuli Documentation Centre, UKZN Libraries have digitized rare anti-apartheid publications and historical archives of the struggle. These collections are now accessible to scholars and students worldwide, ensuring the preservation and remembrance of significant African histories. 

5. UKZN Libraries made history in Africa by being the pioneer institution to implement the full suite of OCLC's WorldShare Management Services, enhancing the availability of scholarly journals, simplifying services, and enabling students to locate various educational materials on one platform, significantly boosting the efficiency of research endeavors. 

6. Enhancing Student Well-Being and Study Areas In March 2026, UKZN Libraries installed coffee makers in all campus libraries, understanding that students, particularly postgraduates, often engage in extended study sessions. This innovation turned libraries into more inviting communal study environments, promoting relaxation, concentration, and emotional welfare. 

7. Unsung Heroes in Graduation Triumphs Beneath numerous success stories of graduation at UKZN lie libraries that provide round-the-clock study areas, research assistance, instruction in information literacy, and access to global resources, aiding students from diverse backgrounds in achieving academic distinction. 

8. Global Expansion of "Yabelana" - The Yabelana research repository has undergone significant enhancements. - UKZN Libraries organized a workshop in April 2026, titled "Elevating Yabelana Repository for Global Visibility," in which the DVC for Research at UKZN gave the opening address. - Emphasizing the impact of their research, the repository aims to showcase UKZN's research, particularly in fields like African Psychology and Climate Research, to the global scientific community.

9. Transformation of Library Spaces - The library environment at UKZN is evolving from a traditional reading space to a dynamic and adaptable study area. - Collaborative spaces have been established with digital learning hubs and computers to facilitate peer-to-peer learning and research database navigation among undergraduate students. - Renovation of the Alan Paton Centre has commenced to enhance accessibility to research materials.

10. Community Engagement: Success of Mandela Day - in addition to serving students, the Library actively participates in community engagement initiatives. - A primary school has benefitted from UKZN Library Services' support, resulting in the establishment and enhancement of a library at The Grange Primary. - Through book collections and furniture donations, this initiative aligns with the Library's mission to leverage education for positive change in the KwaZulu-Natal region.

This is Thola, the Library robot, surrounded by Library Services staff. The picture was taken at the launch of the robot at the Medical Library on 29 May 2026.

Academic Libraries Participating in Promoting Open Science

 

Open Science, the movement to enhance accessibility to scientific information at all levels of society through collaborative networks, has impacted the crucial role academic libraries play in the area of information sharing, hence there is an ever-growing emphasis on new innovations which aim to encourage access to and networking of information and skills. In the period of 30 years of democracy there have been new developments to promote Open Science in libraries, such as digitisation and dissemination of information largely through institutional repositories, use of artificial intelligence (AI), collaboration between academic libraries and the growth of a personalised librarian service.

The creation of the African Open Science Platform (AOSP) in 2017, hosted by the National Research Foundation aims to develop policy, governance, enabling practices and institutional frameworks to support the development and deployment of Open Science in South African higher education institutions. The focus is to prioritise capacity building through networking, infrastructure capacitation and a federated system for researchers to create, deposit, manage and share data, since it has been identified that research data management and information sharing capacity are lacking in universities. In some higher institutions there is a lack of capacity and ability to coordinate information sharing of research on a local as well as a national basis. Most academic libraries are now set to kick start the implementation of Open Science in South Africa at the national level and across universities in the country.

Academic libraries are deliberately focusing on institutionalising Open Science and   Open Access Repository in South Africa. In academic libraries, there is a need to adopt formal policies and invest in appropriate infrastructure to convince researchers to support this initiative and record progress in their research.

According to Ngulube (2024) the Open Science movement is on the same trajectory regarding the need to share knowledge, irrespective of the origin as envisaged in the pronouncements made by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO),  International Communication Association (ICA) and International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA).

 

However, many issues and difficulties arise when managing institutional knowledge in a digitised environment. The Open Science movement recognises access to information as a basic human right, and asserts that access should be equitable and fair.  The underlying principle of the Open Science movement is that data should be findable, accessible, interoperable and usable.

Open access publishing offers wide benefits to the scholarly community and may also afford relief to financially embattled academic libraries. The progress of the open access model rests upon the acceptance and validation of open access journals and open archives or institutional repositories by the academic mainstream, particularly by publishing researchers.

In addition, open access publishing offers wide-ranging benefits to the scholarly community and may also afford relief to financially embattled academic libraries. The progress of the open access model rests upon the acceptance and validation of open access journals and open archives or institutional repositories by mainstream academia and particularly by publishing researchers (Fullard, 2007). Faculty librarians can act as change agents by informing and advocating for open access within the departments they serve.

 

In South Africa, libraries are progressively establishing the foundation for enhanced services, achieving varying degrees of success. This evolution includes formulating policies, building infrastructure, training library staff, and conducting awareness and advocacy campaigns aimed at academic staff and researchers. However, these efforts are met with challenges, such as limited resources and infrastructure, as well as a notable scarcity of data management skills among library personnel.

 

The University of KwaZulu-Natal has an achievement on the digitisation of information for easy access to the users. The university academics are publishing their journals in the open access to promote easy access of the information. The university is enhancing library services by integrating cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), aiming to automate repetitive tasks and streamline operations.

 

In conclusion, South African academic libraries have made significant progress in facilitating user access to information in a convenient and free manner. This advancement has notably enhanced the quality of education, ensuring users no longer face obstacles in their information search. A prime example of this is the University of KwaZulu-Natal's investment in an extensive collection of e-books, ensuring everyone can easily access the information they need.

 

Bibliography

Chiware, E., & Mathe, Z. (2015). Academic libraries' role in research data management services: A South African perspective. South African Journal of Libraries and Information

Fullard, A. (2007). South African responses to open access publishing: a survey of the research community. South African Journal of Libraries and Information Science, 73(1), 40-50.

Ngulube, P. (2024). From Orality to Digital Assets: Managing Indigenous Knowledge in Africa in theWake of the Open Science Movement. The Serials Librarian, 1-15. 

The importance of digitization for special collections and the role libraries play.

 

                                                                         By Simon Shezi

At the present times we are seeing rapid developments in technologies that are changing the fundamental ways that library users find and retrieve the information needed to carry out their studies, work, and other everyday aspects of their lives. The impact of digitization of information  on teaching, learning, and research presents difficult challenges as well as exciting opportunities, that we are only are beginning to glimpse through the Internet. 

 Digitization is an excellent way of providing access to library materials and preserving them, but the technology, in the current stage of development, is not fully adequate for archival preservation however. Digitization has proven to be possible for nearly every format and medium presently held by libraries from maps to musical recordings and more (Kanndppanaar, Rajanikanta, & Tandur, 2010). Digitization of special collections is one of the strategies to elevate the preservation of information in academic institutions such as University of KwaZulu-Natal. Historical special collections are an essential part of our cultural heritage. Agyen-Gyasi, (2011) pointed out that, special collections are rare books and manuscripts which provide resources for the increasing needs of the research community in an academic or research institution. Furthermore, special collections preserve, develop, promote, and facilitate access to the nation’s or university’s heritage collections, which, by virtue of their rareness, provenance, or special physical features, require secure closed access storage and supervised use (Agyen-Gyasi, 2011).

Additionally special collections seek to raise the profile of the university and its library by achieving recognition of the regional and national significance of its collections. The impact of special collections has become so important that librarians and information scientists are paying them increasing attention.

Digitization preserves information even if there is a disaster in an institution. Institutions know that important and particularly rare information must be secured. There have been various horrific examples in recent times of non-digitized material going up in flames and possibly being lost forever. Consider the disaster that happened at the University of Cape Town where the fire burnt down library buildings and materials. The South African Parliament Library at Cape Town is another example. These were eye openers as to why digitization is so important and how vulnerable material collections are.

 Parliament buildings on fire in December 2021

Agyen-Gyasi, K. (2011). The Ghana Collection at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Library. Information Development, 27(1), 66-73.

 

Kanndppanavar, B., Rajanikanta, S., & Tandur, S. K. (2010). Importance of digitization of library materials. SRELS Journal of information management, 47(1), 61-70.

 

The UN development goals, IFLA and the University of KwaZulu-Natal library

By Simon Shez

In 2015, after nearly 3 years of negotiations, the member states of the United Nations agreed to a final version of the post 2015 development agenda known as the UN 2030 agenda. UN 2030 includes 17 goals and 169 targets. One of the stakeholders involved in the negotiations of UN 2030 was IFLA, the International Federation of Library Associations. Access to information permeates many of the goals and targets and “IFLA’s consistent position is that access to information is essential in achieving the SDGs, and that libraries are not only key partners for governments but are already contributing to progress towards the achievement of the 17 Goals.”[1] IFLA has continuously advocated for “the inclusion of access to information, safeguarding of cultural heritage, universal literacy, and access to information and communication technologies (ICT)” in the agenda framework. Like any library, the UKZN library can play its role in supporting the achievement of these goals, most notably Goal 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.

In my observation as a librarian at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, libraries are at the heart of schools, universities and colleges in every country around the world. Libraries support literacy programmes, provide a safe space for learning, and support researchers to use/reuse research and data to create new knowledge. It is therefore crucial for libraries in South Africa to realize Sustainable Development Goal 4.

Adeyomoye[2] notes that “lifelong learning is crucial in enabling workers to compete in the global knowledge economy.” According to Krolak,(2006)[3] “the role of libraries and professional librarians is changing worldwide. Librarians are no longer passive keepers and preservers of books; rather, they have evolved to become facilitators of information and lifelong learning opportunities with an emphasis on service, identifying user needs and communicating solutions. Modern libraries are unfolding the community’s learning potential by providing information on community issues, such as health, employment, continuing education and local history. This equitable access to information is essential to enable educated and informed citizens to participate in a democratic global community”.

The University of KwaZulu-Natal librarians are encouraging students to use the e-resources and printed material. The University of KwaZulu-Natal library is fundamental to the support of teaching, learning and research. We provide a technological advanced and innovative library service. The library is the central collection point on campuses of a vast store of information resources that will help students with their studies and prepare for lifelong learning. The University of KwaZulu-Natal library has a collection of books, journals and theses in both print and digital formats as well as multimedia material. The library also subscribes to core databases and has a digital repository (ResearchSpace) that stores the research output of the University.

The University of KwaZulu-Natal library has subject librarians to assist patrons with finding information. Each librarian has subject specific support pages that are called Libguides.

The subject librarians are there to assist students with finding information and using the library Catalogue that is a one-stop shop to search across all types of resources in print and online formats and to discover and expose students to the worldwide library collections. The subject librarians are there to provide in-depth assistance and expertise, advice on the use of suitable print and electronic resources, literature searches, research support and training.

The University of KwaZulu-Natal library conducts user education by designing, implementing and facilitating strategic and pedagogically appropriate teaching and learning in the knowledge and skills (technical and conceptual) of access, retrieval and management of the information environment.

As a strategic partner to the University of KwaZulu-Natal, to fulfill its goal for lifelong learning and pre-eminence in Research, the library has established research commons on all its campuses. A research commons is a dedicated space to support scholarship and research to its PhD and Masters students and academic researchers at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. This space provides a peaceful environment where researchers can access extensive electronic resources, work on their research, relax in a comfortable lounge area, and collaborate with colleagues.

Kavulya (2004)[4] pointed out that “the justification for investing in higher education libraries lies in the extent to which a linkage can be demonstrated between such an investment and improvement in quality, efficiency and achievement in university education”. At the university, the library has been seen as an instrument of teaching alongside lecture and discussion methods and the librarian serves as a teacher, guiding the student in the ways of investigation and research. This is achieved by first acquiring information materials to support every course in the curriculum and every research project of the faculty, and secondly organizing them in a manner that permits easy access to their contents and finally, ensuring that such access is facilitated by giving users the necessary skills to retrieve the required information.

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[1] IFLA Libraries, development and the United Nations 2030 agenda, available at https://www.ifla.org/libraries-development

[2] Adeyomoye (2011) Emergence of the global knowledge economy: implications

for libraries and lifelong learning in Nigeria African symposium 1192), 77 - 91

[3] Krolak (2006) The role of libraries in the creation of literate environments, 7,  available at https://www.ifla.org/files/assets/literacy-and-reading/publications/role-of-libraries-in-creation-of-literate-environments.pdf

[4] Kavulya (2004) Challenges in the provision of library services for distance education: a case study of selected universities in Kenya. African journal of library, archives and library science, 14(1), 15  - 28.

The academic role of Librarians in the University environment

Simon Shezi

Academic librarians play vital and varied roles in the life of the university, guiding students and faculty at the reference desk, instructing library research sessions, and developing library collections.  It is a truism to say that librarians in all sectors of an academic library wear many different hats and provide numerous services to patrons (Alsop & Bordonaro, 2007).

Some reasons why an academic librarian with disciplinary expertise could be of help, be it physically or virtually include:

• Search for full text of an article about a particular subject

• Find new coverage of an event from historic times  to today

• Help locate content that is subscribed to by the libraries

• Undertake general searches about information and other items

• Look at  historical manuscripts, maps, writings, and images or film footage

• Identify legislation, hearing, or other government publications about a subject

• Help with research writing, referencing, resources gathering, publication, and post publication matters

• Train in the use of information resources

• Locate background information about an institution, produce well researched        papers and identify useful market research resources, etc., these are some of the    roles that academic librarians can play within the institution.

However, from observation and informal social interactions among students and faculty members in any country it has become obvious that many members of the university environment do not appreciate the roles that librarians play in the system. They retain a stereotype notion of librarians and books within the walls of a library and the "HUSH" sign they have become accustomed to. As librarians, it is important we rebrand ourselves; get ourselves etched into the consciousness of these patrons we are meant to serve.
It is important for librarians to learn to use technology, become more proactive by anticipating user needs, attend events within the university, and relate more with faculty members, other staff, and students.


Reference
Alsop, J and Bordonaro, K. 2007. Multiple roles of academic librarians. Electronic Journal of Academic and Special Librarianship.
Http://Southenlibrarianship.icaap.org