Being a flexible and responsive library service.
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.
Everything that we do will be guided by our five values:
• Innovating and Improving;
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
