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LIASA 2019: Makhanda librarian wins Sabinet-sponsored award


Centurion, Pretoria, 08 Nov 2019
Vuyokazi Jamieson
Vuyokazi Jamieson

Sabinet was once again proud to show its support of LIASA through sponsorship of the 20th Annual LIASA Conference and the LIASA Librarian of the Year 2019 Second Runner-Up Award. Heartfelt congratulations go to deserving winner Vuyokazi Jamieson.

She brings with her a combination of over a decade of committed service to the library and information services industry, and an innovative outlook for the future.

Jamieson has been the chief librarian of the Cawse Library at St Andrew's College in Makhanda since January 2016. Prior to this, she spent five years at the Rhodes University library, where she was instrumental in implementing the Personal Librarian Programme. The programme, which she modelled on one she personal observed at Yale University, aims to connect each incoming student to a librarian and has proved to be extremely popular among undergraduate students.

At the 2019 South African School Librarians’ conference, hosted by Jamieson at St Andrew’s College this year, the following statement set the tone for her inspiring presentation: “In the midst of evolving technology, libraries have stood the test of time. Where many thought libraries would become extinct, its resilient spirit constantly adapts to a changing world. With all this in mind: how do we future-proof our libraries?”

Jamieson was a driving force in the renovation of the St Andrew’s College Cawse Library in 2017. Her wealth of experience ranges from 10 years at the University of Cape Town libraries, 18 months at Bishops Diocesan College and a year as a librarian at the UCT Graduate School of Business Library. She has also been commissioned by the HELIG IL (Information Literacy) Committee to adapt an information literacy manual for school libraries as a member of the HELIG IL (information literacy) Task Team.

“School learners often do not have good sources to refer to when it comes to research articles. Their most reliable source is Google and there is often no librarian or curator to guide the learner on how to use the wealth of information that is presented to them on the Web. This presents challenges to the South African education system as we have children who are overloaded by information.”

Jamieson is passionate about conducting research on how students learn and designing library spaces influenced by these findings. She would ultimately like to share her findings in order to enhance the experience of users in libraries through her research. She holds a BBibl degree from Walter Sisulu University, a LIS Hons from UCT and is currently registered for a master’s degree in education at Rhodes University, where her research topic is “The Library of the Future”.

Sabinet applauds Jamieson’s commitment and inspiring efforts, and proudly supports her vision of empowering the youth of South Africa through knowledge. 

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Sabinet

With a sound performance history of over 35 years, Sabinet has firmly established itself as a leader in facilitating access to a wide spectrum of high-quality and credible information sources. Over the course of the last three decades, Sabinet has built a strong local and international reputation for providing Africa's information to the world and the world's information to Africa.

Sabinet's mission to support libraries' technical processes, promote resource sharing and enable access to information sources is underpinned by its commitment, partnerships, understanding and support.

Sabinet's roots are in library support services, where it is recognised for providing central platforms for collaboration and resource sharing among libraries.

Editorial contacts

Jeanine Liebenberg
Sabinet
jeanine@sabinet.co.za