Library Services
Libraries what we do
There are 19 library access points across Drakenstein Municipality providing a range of services including:
• Online stories
• Book reviews
• Outreach programs
• Learner support
Library Navigation web pages
Our Vision:
Being a flexible and responsive library service.
Our Mission:
To
enrich and enhance the lives of individuals and communities through the
provision and promotion of a range of high quality Library services and
to provide equal access to information and resources to support
community discussion and lifelong learning
We
also focus on the following key missions as set out in the UNESCO
Public Library Manifesto relating to information, literacy, education
and culture and should be at the core of public library services:
• creating and strengthening reading habits in children at an early age;
• supporting both individual and self-conducted education as well as formal education at all levels;
• providing opportunities for personal creative development;
• stimulating the imagination and creativity of children and young people;
• promoting awareness of cultural heritage, appreciation of the arts, scientific achievements and innovations;
• providing access to cultural expressions of all performing arts;
• fostering inter-cultural dialogue and favouring cultural diversity;
• supporting the oral tradition;
• ensuring access for citizens to all sorts of community information;
• providing adequate information services to local enterprises, associations and interest groups;
• facilitating the development of information and computer literacy skills;
• Supporting and participating in literacy activities and programmes for all age groups,
and initiating such activities if necessary.
Our Values
Everything that we do will be guided by our five values:
• Patrons come first;
• Development of staff;
• Innovating and Improving;
• Purposefulness; and
• Responsibility.
Patrons come first
We
will listen to our patrons and respond to their needs in respect of
libraries for leisure, learning or information. Reader development
initiatives will nurture the love of reading and access to new stock
will enable that desire to read to be fostered. We will provide
opportunities to enable people to pursue personal learning goals. Access
can be provided in a safe and neutral environment to specialised
information sources.
Development of staff
Staff
is key to the provision of a service that meets the needs of our
patrons to the highest standards. We will put in place a range of
strategies to support our staff in the workplace so that they are fully
equipped to provide the standards of service you expect from a modern
library service. We will work as a team and encourage our staff to not
only work together but to work in partnership with our patrons and other
stakeholders to deliver the high quality services that public library
users deserve and expect.
Innovating and Improving
We
will strive always for improvement in all that we do and we will foster
at all levels the need for innovation and improvement. In being
innovative about the services we provide and how we provide them we can
encourage further and better use of the library as a central hub within
the community. We seek to engage in partnerships that foster the aims of
the service. We work towards attaining accreditation against standards
that are appropriate to the services delivered and that demonstrate
excellence and a culture of continuous improvement in our service.
Purposefulness
As
a core value we will take the decisions that need to be made in the
best interests of the Service and the ever changing needs of the public
and wider society. We will base our decisions on a positive engagement
with, and understanding of, our patrons and their needs. With strong
leadership we will be decisive in transforming the current services into
a single harmonised service that meets the needs of all our patrons. We
will take those decisions and demonstrate that leadership in integrity
and showing the accountability that is needed and expected in public
life.
Responsibility
We
will demonstrate leadership in all that we do and working to standards,
being clear in communicating with staff and the public and setting the
direction for services. We will be accountable through the Drakenstein
Library and Information Services within the Community Services
Directorate explaining our decisions and reporting progress on
priorities, delivering value for money, as well as working within the
financial constraints of the budget allocation.